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CONDUCTING A MARKETING PLAN CMI LEVEL 5 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
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Table of Contents The meaning and role of marketing ...................................................................................................... 3
A marketing culture ............................................................................................................................ 3
What is market culture? ................................................................................................................. 4
Who are the customers? ..................................................................................................................... 4
Breaking Down 'Customer'.............................................................................................................. 4
Customers Are Consumers .............................................................................................................. 4
Customers Spend Their Own Money .............................................................................................. 4
Customers Can Be Studied .............................................................................................................. 5
Customer Service ............................................................................................................................ 5
Who is your customer? ................................................................................................................... 5
Who are the stakeholders? ................................................................................................................. 6
Who Are the Key Stakeholders in an Organization? ..................................................................... 10
Meeting customer expectations ....................................................................................................... 14
Importance of Communicating and Meeting Customer Requirements ....................................... 15
Gaining Clarity ............................................................................................................................... 15
Reinforcing the Sale ...................................................................................................................... 15
Implementing Change ................................................................................................................... 15
Staying in Touch ............................................................................................................................ 15
Assessing service quality ................................................................................................................... 16
Analyzing the market ........................................................................................................................... 22
What is marketing planning? ............................................................................................................ 22
An overview of the analysis stage ..................................................................................................... 35
Clarify Your Vision ......................................................................................................................... 35
Gather and Analyze Information................................................................................................... 35
Formulate a Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 35
Implement Your Strategy .............................................................................................................. 35
Evaluate and Control ..................................................................................................................... 35
6 Phases in New Product Development ........................................................................................ 36
The Idea Phase .............................................................................................................................. 36
The Research Phase ...................................................................................................................... 36
The Development Phase ............................................................................................................... 36
Collecting information – the external and internal environment..................................................... 37
Analyzing the information ................................................................................................................ 46
Why It’s Important to Analyze Information? ................................................................................ 46
Managing Data .............................................................................................................................. 47
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Informing Decisions ...................................................................................................................... 47
Analyzing Trends ........................................................................................................................... 47
Examining Scenarios ..................................................................................................................... 48
Developing the marketing plan ........................................................................................................... 48
An overview of the process............................................................................................................... 48
Managing Data .............................................................................................................................. 48
Informing Decisions ...................................................................................................................... 48
Analyzing Trends ........................................................................................................................... 48
Examining Scenarios ..................................................................................................................... 49
Strategy development....................................................................................................................... 49
Strategy Development Planning ................................................................................................... 52
Marketing objectives ........................................................................................................................ 53
Increase Sales ................................................................................................................................ 53
Improve Product Awareness ......................................................................................................... 53
Establish Yourself in the Industry .................................................................................................. 54
Brand Management ...................................................................................................................... 54
How to Define and Measure Marketing Objectives: A Start-to-Finish Guide ................................... 54
Shaping the “P’s” .............................................................................................................................. 60
The marketing plan ........................................................................................................................... 67
Assessing the progress of the plan ................................................................................................... 69
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The meaning and role of marketing
A marketing culture Companies that are growing are always on the lookout for new opportunities. Some of these
opportunities present themselves in new countries. Product diversification and growth may demand
a product to be introduced on a global level. To develop a successful marketing strategy, an
organization must take into consideration the cultural influences of the society where a new product
is being introduced. People make decisions about consumption of a product based on these cultural
influences.
Cultural Values
Values of a society dictate what acceptable and unacceptable behavior is. Some countries, such as the
United States, are more individualistic, with citizens making purchasing decisions based on personal
preferences. In other countries, such as Japan, people tend to make purchasing decisions based on
the welfare of a group, such as the family. The way this plays out in marketing strategies is that ads
focused on individuals do better in individualistic countries while group advertising works better in
countries with collective group values.
Symbols and Symbolism
Symbols in relation to cultural influences refers to language, both spoken and unspoken. Language is
a symbol of cultural pride. While some foreign influence may be acceptable, a culture may want to
preserve its specific cultural heritage. A marketer would need to conform advertising in such a country
into language symbols acceptable to the population of that particular country. Other forms of culture
symbols include folklore, drama, dance and music.
Rituals
Rituals are patterns of behaviors that are learned and repeated. Rituals play an important role in how
life events, such as births, marriages, graduations and funerals, are conducted in different cultures.
Life is also full of smaller rituals such as watching a television show at a certain time or having dinner
every Tuesday at your favorite restaurant. Rituals play an important role in marketing strategies as
they focus on consumers' everyday interactions and how these interactions will play into the
promotion and selling of a product or service.
Thought Processes
Thought processes may vary among different cultures. This could affect the way a marketing strategy
is perceived. People who are part of one culture may take in the whole picture in an advertisement
and be able to report specific details of what they have seen, even in the background; those of another
culture may only see and identify with the central figure and ignore background items altogether. This
would affect the way a marketer presents his message based on cultural thought processes.
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What is market culture? A market culture is a type of corporate culture that emphasizes competitiveness not only between the
organization and its market competitors but also between employees.
The market model is the most aggressive and capitalistic of the four common corporate culture
models. Employees are encouraged to set difficult goals and strive to achieve them. Employee
performance is closely monitored and often directly rewarded or punished.
The emphasis on individual performance is thought to lead to greater achievement for the individual
employee and, as a result, greater success for the organization.
Critics of the market model, on the other hand, argue that the emphasis on individual achievement
can promote dishonesty and an unpleasant -- and thus unproductive -- work environment.
Here are the basic characteristics of the other three models:
• A hierarchical corporate culture has a fairly rigid and fixed organizational structure.
• An adhocracy is based on the ability to adapt quickly to changing conditions.
• A clan culture is a family-like or tribe-like environment that values consensus and
commonality of values and goals.
Who are the customers? A customer is an individual or business that purchases the goods or services produced by a
business. Attracting customers is the primary goal of most public-facing businesses, because it is the
customer who creates demand for goods and services. Businesses often compete through
advertisements or lowered prices to attract an ever-larger customer base.
Breaking Down 'Customer' Businesses often follow the adage "the customer is always right" because happy customers are
expected to continue buying goods and services from companies that meet their needs. Many
companies closely monitor the relationships they have with customers, often asking for feedback to
learn whether new products should be created or adjustments made to what is currently offered.
Virtually everybody in a modern economy buys products or services from companies, and so almost
everybody at least occasionally acts as a customer. Several traits mark a customer as opposed to a
client or vendor.
Customers Are Consumers The terms "customer" and "consumer" are almost synonymous. Customers are defined by their
purchase of goods, or their contracting for services, as the consumer, or end user. As the term is
commonly used, a customer is the end consumer of a product. This distinguishes true customers
from resellers and vendors, who usually make purchases to sell later.
Customers Spend Their Own Money Customers are also likely to make purchases with their own money, or the money given to them by
others who know them personally. Unlike a purchasing agent, who may be buying goods wholesale
for use in a commercial or industrial setting, true customers are almost always individuals who buy
products with cash or credit that belongs to them, rather than to a corporate entity employing them.
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Customers Can Be Studied Businesses frequently take a keen interest in knowing the sort of person who buys their products as
an aid to focusing their marketing approach and tailoring their inventory to appeal to the most
lucrative possible customer base. Customers are often grouped according to their demographics. Age,
race, sex, ethnicity, income level and geographic location all go into a customer's demographic profile.
Knowing these things about the people who shop with a business builds up a picture of the "ideal
customer," or "customer persona." This information helps companies approach the demographics
where they are already strong and deepen ties with loyal customers, as well as reach out to wholly
new demographics to cultivate a public where sales are weak, thus creating a new base of customers
for further expansion.
Customer Service Customer service, the process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a good or service, is one of the
most important aspects of the seller/customer relationship. Loyalty in the form of good reviews,
referrals and future business can be lost or won based on good or bad customer service. Customer
service has moved in recent years to real-time interactions that utilize automation, chats, social media,
text and other means of communication.
Who is your customer?
There are many possible customers; buyers, users, influencers, administrators, and distributors. So
who is your customer? When looking through a jobs-to-be-done lens, we see that they are all trying
to get a job done, but not the same job. Of course, companies want to help any and all potential
customers get their unique jobs done better, earning their loyalty. The key to success, however, is
knowing who the primary customer is and the hierarchy to follow to optimize value creation and
profits.
Myths that mislead
When asked who is your customer, companies often tell us that they serve many customers. This
includes internal and external customers, distributors, buyers, influencers, employees, and so on.
Calling them all “customers” is common, even acceptable. But it perpetuates a myth that misleads.
They are not all customers in the true sense of the word. Companies are making a mistake when they
give all these constituents an equal or greater priority than they give their primary customer. This
leads to focusing time and energy in the wrong places, inhibiting a company’s ability to create value
and grow.
How do you decide who the primary customer is?
Concluding that the distributor, the purchasing department, or the buyer is the primary customer is
almost always a mistake. Products and services exist to help someone get a functional job done, not
so someone can distribute, buy, or install them. Of course, companies have to make sure its
distributors, buyers, contractors, sales team, and employees are all happy, but they are not the reason
the company exists. When deciding who is the customer, the focus should always be on the people
using the product. They are the ones for whom value is being created and the reason why the market
and the product exists.
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This can be a little tricky when a company sells its product as a component in another company’s
product. In this case, the primary customer is the designer of that product. The designer is hiring the
product to help deliver a specific function. It should be noted, however, that more value could
potentially be created for these designers if the company knew more about their customer. Knowing
more about the end users’ job reveals an avenue for growth that is often worth pursuing.
Focusing on the wrong primary customer leads to failure
It’s hard to conceive that the people you sell to, collect revenue from, and talk to every day of the
week are not your primary customers. IBM thought ComputerLand was its primary customer, not the
computer user. But then Dell and Apple created offerings that took the distributor out of the equation.
The result? ComputerLand went the way of the dinosaur, and IBM eventually got out of the PC
business. But computer users didn’t disappear. They were, and are still today, the primary customer.
The first step in profiting from the customer is knowing who they are. We work through the confusion
and the resistance to make the right choices, so value can be created. This is part of our innovation
process, Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI). Learn more about our growth strategy consulting
services.
Who are the stakeholders? In a corporation, as defined in its first usage in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research
Institute, a stakeholder is a member of the "groups without whose support the organization would
cease to exist". The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s.
Since then it has gained wide acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to strategic
management, corporate governance, business purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR). A
corporate stakeholder can affect or be affected by the actions of a business as a whole.
Whereas shareholders are often the party with the most direct and obvious interest at stake in
business decisions, they are one of various subsets of stakeholders, as customers and employees also
have stakes in the outcome. In the most developed sense of stakeholders in terms of real corporate
responsibility, the bearers of externalities are included in stakeholdership.
Examples of a company's stakeholders
Stakeholders: Stakeholder's concerns:
Government taxation, VAT, legislation, employment, truthful reporting, legalities,
externalities...
Employees rates of pay, job security, compensation, respect, truthful communication,
appreciation, acknowledgement, recognition.
Customers value, quality, customer care, ethical products.
Suppliers providers of products and services used in the end product for the customer,
equitable business opportunities.
Creditors credit score, new contracts, liquidity.
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Community jobs, involvement, environmental protection, shares, truthful communication.
Trade unions quality, worker protection, jobs.
Owner(s) profitability, longevity, market share, market standing, succession planning,
raising capital, growth, social goals.
Investors return on investment, income.
Types of stakeholders
Any action taken by any organization or any group might affect those people who are linked with them
in the private sector. For examples these are parents, children, customers, owners, employees,
associates, partners, contractors, and suppliers, people that are related or located nearby.
Primary Stakeholders – usually internal stakeholders, are those that engage in economic transactions
with the business (for example stockholders, customers, suppliers, creditors, and employees).
Secondary Stakeholders – usually external stakeholders, are those who – although they do not
engage in direct economic exchange with the business – are affected by or can affect its actions (for
example the general public, communities, activist groups, business support groups, and the media).
Excluded Stakeholders – those such as children or the disinterested public, originally as they had no
economic impact on business. Now as the concept takes an anthropocentric perspective, while some
groups like the general public may be recognized as stakeholders others remain excluded. Such a
perspective does not give plants, animals or even geology a voice as stakeholders, but only
an instrumental value in relation to human groups or individuals.
The definition of corporate responsibilities through a classification of stakeholders to consider has
been criticised as creating a false dichotomy between the "shareholder model" and the "stakeholders
model" or a false analogy of the obligations towards shareholders and other interested parties.
Company stakeholder mapping
A narrow mapping of a company's stakeholders might identify the following stakeholders:
• Employees
• Communities
• Shareholders
• Creditors
• Investors
• Government
• Customers
• Owners
• Financiers
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• Managers
A broader mapping of a company's stakeholders may also include:
• Suppliers
• Distributors
• Labor unions
• Government regulatory agencies
• Government legislative bodies
• Government tax-collecting agencies
• Industry trade groups
• Professional associations
• NGOs and other advocacy groups
• Prospective employees
• Prospective customers
• Local communities
• National communities
• Public at Large (Global Community)
• Competitors
• Schools
• Future generations
• Analysts and Media
• Research centers
In management
In the last decades of the 20th century, the word "stakeholder" became more commonly used to mean
a person or organization that has a legitimate interest in a project or entity. In discussing the decision-
making process for institutions—including large business corporations, government agencies,
and non-profit organizations—the concept has been broadened to include everyone with an interest
(or "stake") in what the entity does. This includes not only vendors, employees, and customers, but
even members of a community where its offices or factory may affect the local economy or
environment. In this context, a "stakeholder" includes not only the directors or trustees on its
governing board (who are stakeholders in the traditional sense of the word) but also all persons who
paid into the figurative stake and the persons to whom it may be "paid out" (in the sense of a "payoff"
in game theory, meaning the outcome of the transaction). Therefore, in order to effectively engage
with a community of stakeholders, the organisation's management needs to be aware of the
stakeholders, understand their wants and expectations, understand their attitude (supportive, neutral
or opposed), and be able to prioritize the members of the overall community to focus the
organisation's scarce resources on the most significant stakeholders.
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Example
• For example, in the case of a professional landlord undertaking the refurbishment of some
rented housing that is occupied while the work is being carried out, key stakeholders would
be the residents, neighbors (for whom the work is a nuisance), and the tenancy-management
team and housing-maintenance team employed by the landlord. Other stakeholders would
be funders and the design-and-construction team.
The holders of each separate kind of interest in the entity's affairs are called a constituency, so there
may be a constituency of stockholders, a constituency of adjoining property owners, a constituency
of banks the entity owes money to, and so on. In that usage, "constituent" is a synonym for
"stakeholder".
In corporate responsibility
In the field of corporate governance and corporate responsibility, a debate is ongoing about whether
the firm or company should be managed for stakeholders, stockholders (shareholders), or customers.
Proponents in favour of stakeholders may base their arguments on the following four key assertions:
1) Value can best be created by trying to maximize joint outcomes. For example, according to this
thinking, programs that satisfy both employees' needs and stockholders' wants are doubly valuable
because they address two legitimate sets of stakeholders at the same time. There is evidence that the
combined effects of such a policy are not only additive but even multiplicative. For instance, by
simultaneously addressing customer wishes in addition to employee and stockholder interests, both
of the latter two groups also benefit from increased sales.
2) Supporters also take issue with the preeminent role given to stockholders by many business
thinkers, especially in the past. The argument is that debt holders, employees, and suppliers also make
contributions and thus also take risks in creating a successful firm.
3) These normative arguments would matter little if stockholders (shareholders) had complete
control in guiding the firm. However, many believe that due to certain kinds of board of
directors structures, top managers like CEOs are mostly in control of the firm.
4) The greatest value of a company is its image and brand. By attempting to fulfill the needs and wants
of many different people ranging from the local population and customers to their own employees
and owners, companies can prevent damage to their image and brand, prevent losing large amounts
of sales and disgruntled customers, and prevent costly legal expenses. While the stakeholder view has
an increased cost, many firms have decided that the concept improves their image, increases sales,
reduces the risks of liability for corporate negligence, and makes them less likely to be targeted by
pressure groups, campaigning groups and NGOs.
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Stakeholder theory
Post, Preston, Sachs (2002), use the following definition of the term "stakeholder": "A person, group
or organization that has interest or concern in an organization. Stakeholders can affect or be affected
by the organization's actions, objectives and policies. Some examples of key stakeholders are
creditors, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers,
unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources. Not all stakeholders are
equal. A company's customers are entitled to fair trading practices but they are not entitled to the
same consideration as the company's employees. The stakeholders in a corporation are the individuals
and constituencies that contribute, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to its wealth-creating capacity
and activities, and that are therefore its potential beneficiaries and/or risk bearers." This definition
differs from the older definition of the term stakeholder in Stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1983) that
also includes competitors as stakeholders of a corporation. Robert Allen Phillips provides a moral
foundation for stakeholder theory in Stakeholder Theory and Organizational Ethics. There he defends
a "principle of stakeholder fairness" based on the work of John Rawls, as well as a distinction between
normatively and derivatively legitimate stakeholders. Real stakeholders, labelled stakeowners:
genuine stakeholders with a legitimate stake, the loyal partners who strive for mutual benefits.
Stakeowners own and deserve a stake in the firm. Stakeholder reciprocity could be an innovative
criterion in the corporate governance debate as to who should be accorded representation on the
board. Corporate social responsibility should imply a corporate stakeholder responsibility.
Who Are the Key Stakeholders in an Organization? As a business grows, the number of people involved in that business grows as well. From the day an
entrepreneur forms a new venture, there’s at least one person invested in that company’s success.
From there, that number increases as workers, partners, shareholders and others join in. Project
managers and investors identify these people as “stakeholders,” with those who are instrumental in
the business’s success designated as “key stakeholders.”
What Does Key Stakeholders Mean?
A stakeholder has an interest, or “stake,” in the success or failure of a business or its projects. If a
business folded tomorrow, these people would be affected in some way. Stakeholders aren’t limited
to those who work directly for or with a company, though. A business’s influence can go through
several layers, affecting employees of vendors, for instance, or other companies in the same
community. But having a stake in the business’s success doesn’t necessarily entitle a person to the
same consideration as someone who is closely connected to the business itself.
When somebody is labeled a key stakeholder, it simply means that person is one of the top
stakeholders in the business and its projects. Determining which stakeholders are key can be tricky
since a business may feel that everyone attached to its goings-on is critical to its success. But there
are questions you can ask that can help identify who goes at the top of the list. Once the hierarchy has
been established, a business can better determine who needs to be looped in on important decisions.
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When You’ll Need Stakeholders
Although it’s important to be aware of your business’s stakeholders, there are instances where you’ll
need to make a clear decision as to which parties are key stakeholders and which aren’t. Stakeholders
can vary from one situation or project to the next, so don’t feel as though your choices are set in stone.
You can determine key stakeholders for something as simple as a project meeting. By only including
those who have a stake in the topic at hand, you’ll avoid inviting people who won’t be able to
contribute anything to the meeting.
For documentation purposes, you’ll need to identify key stakeholders when you’re creating a business
plan or pitch a presentation for investors. Project managers will also list key stakeholders in their
project plans. In the case of a business plan or pitch, your stakeholder list will be those who have an
overall stake in your business, while project plans will list stakeholders specific to that project. These
are the people the project manager often involves in discussions of the project and its progress.
Internal Versus External Stakeholders
It can help, as you’re trying to determine your business’s stakeholders, to separate them into those
who are internal and those who are external to your day-to-day activities. Your leadership team and
workers each have a stake in your business and are internal. This includes not only your employees
and freelancers but also your board members and investors. Your business has a responsibility to its
internal stakeholders since they often have both a financial and a personal interest in whether it
succeeds or fails.
External stakeholders aren’t actively involved in the day-to-day activities of the organization. The
business’s impact on them is generally indirect. One way to determine external stakeholders is to
consider all of the people who would be affected if the business suddenly folded. These would be, of
course, customers or clients, but they would also be your suppliers and creditors, who financially
benefit from your existence. Those who are external to your organization won’t be among your key
stakeholders. Even the clients whose payments you rely on won’t be involved in the crucial business
decisions you make.
A List of Key Stakeholders
If you’re trying to find general key stakeholders – as opposed to key stakeholders attached to a specific
project – you’ll need to look at your leadership team first. Your Chief Executive, Chief Operations
Officer and department heads will likely be circled at first glance, since they sit in on meetings and
make major business decisions. But added to this will probably be investors and government agencies
that fund your products, especially if they expect you to consult them on decisions or report back to
them on your progress.
If you have borrowed money from a bank or credit union, that creditor also serves as a key
stakeholder, since its support is essential to operations. Any government agencies that provide grants
or regulate what you do can serve as key stakeholders, particularly if losing that support will shut your
business’s doors for good. Most of your other employees will be stakeholders, but the level to which
they are key to your overall business’s survival depends in large part on what they do.
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How to Identify Your Key Stakeholders
It can be easy to rely too heavily on the impact your business has on its stakeholders. But when
determining those who are key to your operations, take a minute to ask what effect that person has
on your organization. If his support for a major project were withdrawn, would that project be able to
move forward? Key stakeholders are either crucial to a particular project or to your day-to-day
activities as a business.
A key stakeholder doesn’t just influence the success or failure of a business venture. Her approval is
vital to the business’s success. Someone to whom you report on a regular basis is likely a key
stakeholder. For instance, public companies have quarterly earnings calls that are accessible to all
shareholders. However, often these calls are geared toward the board of directors and others who
are key stakeholders in the organization, with shareholder accessibility used for transparency
purposes.
What Do the Key Stakeholders in a Company Do?
Key stakeholders don’t just exist to be put on a list that you show to potential investors. They play a
direct role in your business’s success. Some come into the office every day and work by your side to
make sure your business is a success. Still, others serve in more of an advisory capacity, whether they
pour their own money into your business or not. You may only see some of your key stakeholders a
few times a year, but they may check in at any time to ask questions or request progress updates.
You’ll generally see key stakeholders sitting in on planning meetings. When an important decision
needs to be made, they’ll either call in or show up in the conference room. If a crisis comes up, they’re
the ones who summit to determine how to manage the situation best. While the many employees
who work hard each day to support operations are essential, they won’t be seen as key stakeholders
unless they’re the ones whose decisions determine the success or failure of a project.
Why Companies Need Key Stakeholders
Even one decision can make a difference in a business’s success, especially if a business is at a turning
point. Key stakeholders are the ones who make those determinations. If an organization needs to
change the way it processes applications, for instance, the key stakeholders will be in those early
development meetings, explaining to the designated project leaders precisely how the new process
should look. Although the project manager may work with other employees to get a feel for the work
they do each day, the key stakeholders will be the ones who monitor progress and sign off for things
to move forward.
As a business grows, it becomes more critical to have a leadership team in place who can make those
decisions that drive things forward. Key stakeholders can convene to discuss ideas, then agree on the
best course of action. Having a robust and capable leadership team lets a business’s customers and
employees know that things are in good hands.
Are Customers Key Stakeholders?
Although customers don’t drive the overall direction of a business, they can serve as key stakeholders
in a specific project. If you’ve developed a new product, for instance, you’ll likely keep customers in
mind throughout the process. You may even consult the customers during development. As your
project reaches completion, a subset of your customer base may be involved in testing and providing
feedback on it.
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Even if you don’t think of customers as key stakeholders in your overall business, that may change if
for some reason you alienate some of them. A widespread protest of your business or even a surge of
customer complaints can destroy your business’s reputation, forcing you to realign your priorities to
win back customer trust. In the absence of controversy, you’ll probably find that customers don’t
participate in the significant decisions your leadership team makes, even if you’re anticipating their
reactions during the planning process.
Other Possible Stakeholders
Once your company goes public, you’ll consider shareholders a vital part of your operations. The
investments they make in your company keep it operating. If something your business does alienates
investors, they’ll speak using dollars and cents, driving your stock prices down, which makes them key
stakeholders in your business. If you rely on legal counsel or a public relations professional for advice
on a regular basis, they also become key stakeholders in your business.
On a secondary level, your competitors can become key stakeholders in your business, mainly if their
response to your activities leads you to change direction. If you monitor their popularity with
customers and adjust your tactics in response, they’re making a direct impact on how you run things.
You may also find, to a lesser degree, that your industry as a whole is a key stakeholder since you’ll
likely track trends and adjust your activities accordingly.
How Does a Company Keep Stakeholders Happy?
Sometimes it can feel as though keeping stakeholders happy is a losing battle. This is especially true if
your leadership team is always at odds. But if you want your projects to succeed, you need to be able
to show that their feedback matters. It may seem that keeping some of your key stakeholders out of
the loop for a while will help move things forward; however, there are consequences to that. You
might put months of work into a project, only to have it shot down when a few key stakeholders finally
see what you’ve been up to and refuse to sign off on it.
In many instances, businesses find that keeping stakeholders happy means compromising.
Stakeholders may not care that to get what they want; the project will take twice as long or cost
double what you have budgeted for it. Instead of battling until things shut down completely, it can
help to work with project managers to find a way to make stakeholders happy while still meeting all
of your other goals.
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Meeting customer expectations Although virtually every business model is based on meeting customer needs by providing a product
or service that clients are willing to pay for, meeting customer needs does not always correlate directly
with the process of generating profit. Successful businesses meet customer needs in ways that balance
the cost of delivering satisfying results with the expenses that must be incurred to create these results,
while also taking into account the prices that customers are willing to pay.
The Service-Profit Chain
According to the Harvard Business Review, practices aimed at maximizing customer satisfaction create
a mutually reinforcing value chain, as happy customers continue to support companies that
successfully meet their needs. In turn, the business reaps the benefit of increased revenue, which
provides tangible and intangible benefits for employees, and enables the company to continue
keeping customers happy. Businesses that provide products rather than services experience a similar
value chain as increased sales contribute to the overall health and vitality of the business, enabling
workers to continue putting out great products and taking excellent care of the customers who
purchase these offerings.
Mutual Satisfaction
Although the service-profit chain is at the heart of the well being of many successful companies, it is
also sometimes important for business owners to know when to draw the line. For example, if a
restaurant serves a regular customer who continually complains that the portions are too small, then
meeting the needs of this customer may eventually interfere with profitability. Working towards the
goal of customer satisfaction will only increase profitability if customer expectations are reasonable
and consistent with the level of service that the business can realistically provide relative to the prices
it charges.
Long-Term Profitability
Sometimes it is important for a business owner to sacrifice short-term profitability in the interests of
customer satisfaction, for the sake of improving long-term profitability. Replacing an inferior product
with a new one may compromise short-term profitability because the replacement product costs
money. However, this attention to the customer's needs can build loyalty to the company, increasing
long-term profitability through repeat sales and word-of-mouth referrals.
Marketing
Customer satisfaction is an invaluable marketing tool, one that will ultimately save you money on
marketing and advertising. According to the Gallup Business Journal, customers continue supporting
businesses over time because they make emotional connections with the brand or product. Building
brand loyalty by prioritizing customer satisfaction and building emotional connections may save a
business on advertising expenses, even though it may add to other costs such as labor.
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Importance of Communicating and Meeting Customer Requirements Focusing on customer communication is important to the long-term success of any business. In the
early stages of the relationship, effective communication ensures your product or service meets the
customer's immediate needs. As time goes on, regular communication with your customer base allows
you to adapt and grow so you can continue to meet its requirements.
Gaining Clarity Clarity of communication is important when attempting to understand what the customer truly needs.
Attaining clarity often involves asking key questions to gain a better understanding of the customer's
situation. Providing the customer with a clear understanding of what actions you intend to take the
remedy the situation along with a specific time frame leaves little doubt in her mind of what to expect
and eliminates confusion or misunderstandings.
Reinforcing the Sale Communication can serve as a valuable reinforcement tool to solidify the purchase. For example, a
salesperson who stays in touch with a customer in the period immediately following the sale can
reinforce the benefits of his product or service and how they meet the customer's needs. They can
also quickly address any problems the customer may have, such as attempting to figure out how to
use a new product. In the process, the salesperson can also lay the foundation for a long-term
relationship leading to repeat sales.
Implementing Change Your customers' requirements are likely to change over time, and the ability to communicate with
them helps you adapt to their changing needs. If you're a distributor of goods, for instance, an increase
in a customer's business may require a corresponding increase in the frequency of your deliveries. By
maintaining regular communication with the customer, you are better prepared to provide the
needed change in delivery schedule quickly and efficiently. In some cases, you may even be able to
anticipate the customer's need for change and make helpful suggestions.
Staying in Touch Failure to communicate with customers for extended periods of can cause them to forget about you
or make them think you no longer care about their business. When the time comes where they need
your services again, they may decide to look to your competition instead. Even if a customer doesn't
have a current need for what your business provides, the simple act of staying in touch with a
newsletter, email or even the occasional in-person visit can reassure them you're still there to assist
them whenever they need you.
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Assessing service quality But measuring service quality is absolutely crucial. Although it's not the same as customer satisfaction
— which has its own methods — there’s a strong and positive correlation between the two.
Here are 9 practical techniques and metrics for measuring your service quality.
1
SERVQUAL
This is the most common method for measuring the subjective elements of service quality. Through a
survey, you ask your customers to rate the delivered service compared to their expectations.
Its questions cover what SERVQUAL claims are the 5 elements of service quality: RATER.
• Reliability - the ability to deliver the promised service in a consistent and accurate manner.
• Assurance - the knowledge level and politeness of the employees and to what extend they
create trust and confidence.
• Tangibles - the appearance; of e.g. the building, website, equipment, and employees.
• Empathy - to what extend the employees care and give individual attention.
• Responsiveness - how willing the employees are to offer a speedy service.
2
Mystery Shopping
This is a popular technique used for retail stores, hotels, and restaurants, but works for any other
service as well. It consists out of hiring an ‘undercover customer’ to test your service quality – or
putting on a fake moustache and going yourself, of course.
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The undercover agent then assesses the service based on a number of criteria, for example those
provided by SERVQUAL. This offers more insights than simply observing how your employees work.
Which will probably be outstanding — as long as their boss is around.
3
Post Service Rating
This is the practice of asking customers to rate the service right after it’s been delivered.
The customers make their rating, perhaps share some explanatory feedback, and close the chat.
Something similar is done with ticket systems like Help Scout, where you can rate the service response
from your email inbox.
It’s also done in phone support. The service rep asks whether you’re satisfied with her service delivery,
or you’re asked to stay on the line to complete an automatic survey. The latter version is so annoying,
though, that it kind of destroys the entire service experience.
Different scales can be used for the post service rating. Many make use of a number-rating from 1 –
10. There’s possible ambiguity here, though, because cultures differ in how they rate their
experiences.
People from individualistic cultures, for example, tend to choose the extreme sides of the scale much
more often than those from collectivistic cultures. In line with stereotypes, Americans are more likely
to rate a service as “amazing” or "terrible", while the Japanese will hardly ever go beyond “fine” or
"not so good". Important to be aware of when you have an international audience.
Simpler scales are more robust to cultural differences and more suited for capturing service quality.
Customers don’t generally make a sophisticated estimation of service quality.
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“Was it a 7 or an 8...? Well... I did get my answer quickly... On the other hand, the service agent did
sound a bit hurried…” No. They think the service was “Fine”, “Great!”, or “Crap!”.
That’s why at Userlike we make use of a 5-star system in our live chat rating, why Help Scout makes
use of 3 options (great – okay – not good), and the US government makes use of 4 smileys (angry –
disappointed – fine – great). Easy does it.
4
Follow-Up Survey
With this method you ask your customers to rate your service quality through an email survey – for
example via Google Forms. It has a couple advantages over the post-service rating.
For one, it gives your customer the time and space for more detailed responses. You can send a
SERVQUAL type of survey, with multiple questions instead of one. That’d be terribly annoying in a
post-service rating.
It also provides a more holistic overview of your service. Instead of a case-by-case assessment, the
follow-up survey measures your customers’ overall opinion of your service.
It’s also a useful technique if you didn’t have the post service rating in place yet and want a quick
overview of the state of your service quality.
But there are plenty of downsides as well. Such as the fact that the average inbox already looks more
like a jungle than a French garden. Nobody’s waiting for more emails – especially those that demand
your time.
With a follow-up survey, the service experience will also be less fresh. Your customers might have
forgotten about it entirely, or they could confuse it with another experience.
And last but not least: to send an email survey, you must first know their emails.
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5
In-App Survey
With an in-app survey, the questions are asked while the visitor is on the website or in the app, instead
of after the service or via email. It can be one simple question – e.g. ‘how would you rate our service’
– or it could be a couple of questions.
Convenience and relevance are the main advantages. SurveyMonkey offers some great tools for
implementing something like this on your website.
6
Customer Effort Score (CES)
This metric was proposed in an influential Harvard Business Review article. In it, they argue that while
many companies aim to ‘delight’ the customer – to exceed service expectations – it’s more likely for
a customer to punish companies for bad service than it is for them to reward companies for good
service.
While the costs of exceeding service expectations are high, they show that the payoffs are marginal.
Instead of delighting our customers, so the authors argue, we should make it as easy as possible for
them to have their problems solved. That’s what they found had the biggest positive impact on the
customer experience, and what they propose measuring.
Looking for better customer relationships?
Don’t ask: “How satisfied are you with this service?” – its answer could be distorted by many factors,
such as politeness. Ask: “How much effort did it take you to have your questioned answered?”.
The lower the score, the better. CEB found that 96% of the customers with a high effort score were
less loyal in the future, compared to only 9% of those with low effort scores.
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7
Social Media Monitoring
This method has been gaining momentum with the rise of social media. For many people, social media
serve as an outlet. A place where they can unleash their frustrations and be heard.
And because of that, they are the perfect place to hear the unfiltered opinions of your customers – if
you have the right tools. Facebook and Twitter are obvious choices, but also review platforms like
TripAdvisor or Yelp can be very relevant. Buffer suggests to ask your social media followers for
feedback on your service quality.
Two great tools to track who’s talking about you are Mention and Google Alerts.
8
Documentation Analysis
With this qualitative approach you read or listen to your respectively written or recorded service
records. You’ll definitely want to go through the documentation of low-rated service deliveries, but it
can also be interesting to read through the documentation of service agents that always rank high.
What are they doing better than the rest?
The hurdle with the method isn’t in the analysis, but in the documentation. For live chat and email
support it’s rather easy, but for phone support it requires an annoying voice at the start of the call:
“This call could be recorded for quality measurement”.
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Objective Service Metrics
These stats deliver the objective, quantitative analysis of your service. These metrics aren’t enough to
judge the quality of your service by themselves, but they play a crucial role in showing you the areas
you should improve in.
• Volume per channel. This tracks the amount of inquiries per channel. When combined with
other metrics, like those covering efficiency or customer satisfaction, it allows you to decide
which channels to promote or cut down.
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• First response time. This metric tracks how quickly a customer receives a response on her
inquiry. This doesn’t mean their issue are solved, but it’s the first sign of life – notifying them
that they’ve been heard.
• Response time. This is the total average of time between responses. So let’s say your email
ticket was resolved with 4 responses, with respective response times of 10, 20, 5, and 7
minutes. Your response time is 10.5 minutes. Concerning reply times, most people reaching
out via email expect a response within 24 hours; for social channels it’s 60 minutes. Phone
and live chat require an immediate response, under 2 minutes.
• First contact resolution ratio. Divide the number of issues that's resolved through a single
response by the number that required more responses. Forrester research showed that first
contact resolutions are an important customer satisfaction factor for 73% of customers.
• Replies per ticket. This shows how many replies your service team needs on average to close
a ticket. It’s a measure of efficiency and customer effort.
• Backlog Inflow/Outflow. This is the number of cases submitted compared to the number of
cases closed. A growing number indicates that you’ll have to expand your service team.
• Customer Success Ratio. A good service doesn’t mean your customers always finds what they
want. But keeping track of the number that found what they looked for versus those that
didn’t, can show whether your customers have the right ideas about your offerings.
• ‘Handovers’ per issue. This tracks how many different service reps are involved per issue.
Especially in phone support, where repeating the issue is necessary, customers hate
handovers. HBR identified it as one of the four most common service complaints.
• Things Gone Wrong. The number of complaints/failures per customer inquiry. It helps you
identify products, departments, or service agents that need some ‘fixing’.
• Instant Service / Queueing Ratio. Nobody likes to wait. Instant service is the best service. This
metric keeps track of the ratio of customers that were served instantly versus those that had
to wait. The higher the ratio, the better your service.
• Average Queueing Waiting Time. The average time that queued customers have to wait to
be served.
• Queueing Hang-ups. How many customers quit the queueing process. These count as a lost
service opportunity.
• Problem Resolution Time. The average time before an issue is resolved.
• Minutes Spent Per Call. This can give you insight on who are your most efficient operators.
• Find more service metrics.
Some of these measures are also financial metrics, such as the minutes spent per call and number of
handovers. You can use them to calculate your service costs per service contact. Winning the award
for the world’s best service won’t get you anywhere if the costs eat up your profits.
Some service tools keep track of these sort of metrics automatically. If you make use of
communication tools that aren’t dedicated to service, tracking them will be a bit more work.
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One word of caution for all above mentioned methods and metrics: beware of averages, they will
deceive you. If your dentist delivers a great service 90% of the time, but has a habit of binge drinking
and pulling out the wrong teeth the rest of the time, you won’t stick around long.
A more realistic image shapes up if you keep track of the outliers and standard deviation as well.
Measure your service, aim for a high average, and improve by diminishing the outliers.
Analyzing the market
What is marketing planning? A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation
of a well-written marketing plan. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound
strategic foundation, it is of little use to a business.
Definition
A marketing plan is a comprehensive document or blueprint that outlines a business advertising and
marketing efforts for the coming year. It describes business activities involved in accomplishing
specific marketing objectives within a set time frame. A marketing plan also includes a description of
the current marketing position of a business, a discussion of the target market and a description of
the marketing mix that a business will use to achieve their marketing goals. A marketing plan has a
formal structure, but can be used as a formal or informal document which makes it very flexible. It
contains some historical data, future predictions, and methods or strategies to achieve the marketing
objectives. Marketing plans start with the identification of customer needs through a market research
and how the business can satisfy these needs while generating an acceptable return. This includes
processes such as market situation analysis, action programs, budgets, sales forecasts, strategies and
projected financial statements. A marketing plan can also be described as a technique that helps a
business to decide on the best use of its resources to achieve corporate objectives. It can also contain
a full analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a company, its organization and its products.
The marketing plan shows the step or actions that will be utilized in order to achieve the plan goals.
For example, a marketing plan may include a strategy to increase the business's market share by
fifteen percent. The marketing plan would then outline the objectives that need to be achieved in
order to reach the fifteen percent increase in the business market share. The marketing plan can be
used to describe the methods of applying a company's marketing resources to fulfill marketing
objectives. Marketing planning segments the markets, identifies the market position, forecast the
market size, and plans a viable market share within each market segment. Marketing planning can
also be used to prepare a detailed case for introducing a new product, revamping current marketing
strategies for an existing product or put together a company marketing plan to be included in the
company corporate or business plan.
Outline
A marketing plan should be based on where a company needs to be at some point in the future. These
are some of the most important things that companies need when developing a marketing plan:
• Market research: Gathering and classifying data about the market the organization is currently
in. Examining the market dynamics, patterns, customers, and the current sales volume for the
industry as a whole.
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• Competition: The marketing plan should identify the organization's competition. The plan
should describe how the organization will stick out from its competition and what it will do to
become a market leader.
• Market plan strategies: Developing the marketing and promotion strategies that the
organization will use. Such strategies may include advertising, direct marketing, training
programs, trade shows, website, etc.
• Marketing plan budget: Strategies identified in the marketing plan should be within the
budget. Top managers need to revise what they hope to accomplish with the marketing plan,
review their current financial situation, and then allocate funding for the marketing plan.
• Marketing goals: The marketing plan should include attainable marketing goals. For example,
one goal might be to increase the current client base by 100 over a three-month period.
• Monitoring of the marketing plan results: The marketing plan should include the process of
analyzing the current position of the organization. The organization needs to identify the
strategies that are working and those that are not working.
Purpose
One of the main purposes of developing a marketing plan is to set the company on a specific path in
marketing. The marketing goals normally aligns itself to the broader company objectives. For example,
a new company looking to grow their business will generally have a marketing plan that emphasizes
strategies to increase their customer base. Acquiring marketing share, increasing customer
awareness, and building a favorable business image are some of the objectives that can be related to
marketing planning. The marketing plan also helps layout the necessary budget and resources needed
to achieve the goals stated in the marketing plan. The marketing plan shows what the company is
intended to accomplish within the budget and also to make it possible for company executives to
assess potential return on the investment of marketing dollars. Different aspects of the marketing plan
relate to accountability. The marketing plan is a general responsibility from company leaders and the
marketing staff to take the company in a specific direction. After the strategies are laid out and the
tasks are developed, each task is assigned to a person or a team for implementation. The assigned
roles allows companies to keep track of their milestones and communicate with the teams during the
implementation process. Having a marketing plan helps company leaders to develop and keep an eye
on the expectations for their functional areas. For example, if a company's marketing plan goal is to
increase sales growth then the company leaders may have to increase their sales staff in stores to help
generate more sales.
The marketing plan offers a unique opportunity for a productive discussion between employees and
leaders of an organization. It provides good communication within the company. The marketing plan
also allows the marketing team to examine their past decisions and understand their results in order
to better prepare for the future. It also lets the marketing team to observe and study the environment
that they are operating in.
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Marketing planning aims and objectives
Though it's not clear, behind the corporate objectives, which in themselves offer the main context for
the marketing plan, will lie the "corporate mission," in turn provides the context for these corporate
objectives. In a sales-oriented organization, the marketing planning function designs incentive pay
plans to not only motivate and reward frontline staff fairly but also to align marketing activities with
corporate mission. The marketing plan basically aims to make the business provide the solution with
the awareness with the expected customers.
This "corporate mission" can be thought of as a definition of what the organization is, or what it does:
"Our business is ...". This definition should not be too narrow, or it will constrict the development of
the organization; a too rigorous concentration on the view that "We are in the business of making
meat-scales," as IBM was during the early 1900s, might have limited its subsequent development into
other areas. On the other hand, it should not be too wide or it will become meaningless; "We want to
make a profit" is not too helpful in developing specific plans.
Jacob Zimmerem suggested that the definition should cover three dimensions: "customer groups" to
be served, "customer needs" to be served, and "technologies" to be used. Thus, the definition of IBM's
"corporate mission" in the 1940s might well have been: "We are in the business of handling accounting
information [customer need] for the larger US organizations [customer group] by means of punched
cards [technology]."
Perhaps the most important factor in successful marketing is the "corporate vision." Surprisingly, it is
largely neglected by marketing textbooks, although not by the popular exponents of corporate
strategy — indeed, it was perhaps the main theme of the book by Peters and Waterman, in the form
of their "Superordinate Goals." "In Search of Excellence" said: "Nothing drives progress like the
imagination. The idea precedes the deed." If the organization in general, and its chief executive in
particular, has a strong vision of where its future lies, then there is a good chance that the organization
will achieve a strong position in its markets (and attain that future). This will be not least because its
strategies will be consistent and will be supported by its staff at all levels. In this context, all of IBM's
marketing activities were underpinned by its philosophy of "customer service," a vision originally
promoted by the charismatic Watson dynasty. The emphasis at this stage is on obtaining a complete
and accurate picture.
A "traditional" — albeit product-based — format for a "brand reference book" (or, indeed, a
"marketing facts book") was suggested by Godley more than three decades ago:
1. Financial data—Facts for this section will come from management accounting, costing and
finance sections.
2. Product data—From production, research and development.
3. Sales and distribution data — Sales, packaging, distribution sections.
4. Advertising, sales promotion, merchandising data — Information from these departments.
5. Market data and miscellany — From market research, who would in most cases act as a source
for this information. His sources of data, however, assume the resources of a very large
organization. In most organizations they would be obtained from a much smaller set of people
(and not a few of them would be generated by the marketing manager alone).
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It is apparent that a marketing audit can be a complex process, but the aim is simple: "it is only to
identify those existing (external and internal) factors which will have a significant impact on the future
plans of the company." It is clear that the basic material to be input to the marketing audit should be
comprehensive.
Accordingly, the best approach is to accumulate this material continuously, as and when it becomes
available; since this avoids the otherwise heavy workload involved in collecting it as part of the regular,
typically annual, planning process itself — when time is usually at a premium.
Even so, the first task of this annual process should be to check that the material held in the
current facts book or facts files actually is comprehensive and accurate, and can form a sound basis
for the marketing audit itself.
The structure of the facts book will be designed to match the specific needs of the organization, but
one simple format — suggested by Malcolm McDonald — may be applicable in many cases. This splits
the material into three groups:
1. Review of the marketing environment. A study of the organization's markets, customers,
competitors and the overall economic, political, cultural and technical environment; covering
developing trends, as well as the current situation.
2. Review of the detailed marketing activity. A study of the company's marketing mix; in terms
of the 7 Ps - (see below)
3. Review of the marketing system. A study of the marketing organization, marketing
research systems and the current marketing objectives and strategies. The last of these is too
frequently ignored. The marketing system itself needs to be regularly questioned, because the
validity of the whole marketing plan is reliant upon the accuracy of the input from this system,
and `garbage in, garbage out' applies with a vengeance.
* Portfolio planning. In addition, the coordinated planning of the individual products and services can
contribute towards the balanced portfolio.
* 80:20 rule. To achieve the maximum impact, the marketing plan must be clear, concise and simple.
It needs to concentrate on the 20 percent of products or services, and on the 20 percent of customers,
that will account for 80 percent of the volume and 80 percent of the profit.
* 7 Ps: Product, Place, Price and Promotion, Physical Environment, People, Process. The 7 Ps can
sometimes divert attention from the customer, but the framework they offer can be very useful in
building the action plans.
It is only at this stage (of deciding the marketing objectives) that the active part of the marketing
planning process begins. This next stage in marketing planning is indeed the key to the whole
marketing process.
The "marketing objectives" state just where the company intends to be at some specific time in the
future.
James Quinn succinctly defined objectives in general as: Goals (or objectives) state what is to be
achieved and when results are to be accomplished, but they do not state "how" the results are to be
achieved. They typically relate to what products (or services) will be where in what markets (and must
be realistically based on customer behavior in those markets). They are essentially about the match
between those "products" and "markets." Objectives for pricing, distribution, advertising and so on
are at a lower level, and should not be confused with marketing objectives. They are part of the
marketing strategy needed to achieve marketing objectives. To be most effective, objectives should
be capable of measurement and therefore "quantifiable."
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This measurement may be in terms of sales volume, money value, market share, percentage
penetration of distribution outlets and so on. An example of such a measurable marketing objective
might be "to enter the market with product Y and capture 10 percent of the market by value within
one year." As it is quantified it can, within limits, be unequivocally monitored, and corrective
action taken as necessary.
The marketing objectives must usually be based, above all, on the organization's financial objectives;
converting these financial measurements into the related marketing measurements. He went on to
explain his view of the role of "policies," with which strategy is most often confused: "Policies are rules
or guidelines that express the 'limits' within which action should occur. "Simplifying
somewhat, marketing strategies can be seen as the means, or "game plan," by which marketing
objectives will be achieved and, in the framework that appears here, are generally concerned with the
8 P's. Examples are:
1. Price — The amount of money needed to buy products
2. Product — The actual product
3. Promotion (advertising)- Getting the product known
4. Placement — Where the product is sold
5. People — Represent the business
6. Physical environment — The ambiance, mood, or tone of the environment
7. Process — The Value-added services that differentiate the product from the competition (e.g.
after-sales service, warranties)
8. Packaging — How the product will be protected
In principle, these strategies describe how the objectives will be achieved. The 7 Ps are a useful
framework for deciding how a company's resources will be manipulated (strategically) to achieve its
objectives. However, the 7 Ps are not the only framework, and may divert attention from other real
issues. The focus of a business's strategies must be the objectives of the business— not the process of
planning itself. If the 7 Ps fit the business's strategies, then the 7 Ps may be an acceptable framework
for that business.
The strategy statement can take the form of a purely verbal description of the strategic options which
have been chosen. Alternatively, and perhaps more positively, it might include a structured list of the
major options chosen.
One aspect of strategy which is often overlooked is that of "timing." The timing of each element of the
strategy is critical. Taking the right action at the wrong time can sometimes be almost as bad as taking
the wrong action at the right time. Timing is, therefore, an essential part of any plan; and should
normally appear as a schedule of planned activities. Having completed this crucial stage of the
planning process, to re-check the feasibility of objectives and strategies in terms of the market share,
sales, costs, profits and so on which these demand in practice. As in the rest of the marketing
discipline, employ judgment, experience, market research or anything else which helps for conclusions
to be seen from all possible angles.
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At this stage, overall marketing strategies will need to be developed into detailed plans and program.
Although these detailed plans may cover each of the 7 Ps (marketing mix), the focus will vary,
depending upon the organization's specific strategies. A product-oriented company will focus its plans
for the 7 Ps around each of its products. A market or geographically oriented company will concentrate
on each market or geographical area. Each will base its plans upon the detailed needs of its customers,
and on the strategies chosen to satisfy these needs. Brochures and Websites are used effectively.
Again, the most important element is, the detailed plans, which spell out exactly what programs and
individual activities will carry at the period of the plan (usually over the next year). Without these
activities the plan cannot be monitored. These plans must therefore be:
• Clear - They should be an unambiguous statement of 'exactly' what is to be done.
• Quantified - The predicted outcome of each activity should be, as far as possible, quantified,
so that its performance can be monitored.
• Focused - The temptation to proliferate activities beyond the numbers which can be
realistically controlled should be avoided. The 80:20 Rule applies in this context too.
• Realistic - They should be achievable.
• Agreed - Those who are to implement them should be committed to them, and agree that
they are achievable. The resulting plans should become a working document which will guide
the campaigns taking place throughout the organization over the period of the plan. If the
marketing plan is to work, every exception to it (throughout the year) must be questioned;
and the lessons learnt, to be incorporated in the next year's .
Content of the marketing plan
A Marketing Plan for a small business typically includes Small Business Administration Description of
competitors, including the level of demand for the product or service and the strengths and
weaknesses of competitors
1. Description of the product or service, including special features
2. Marketing budget, including the advertising and promotional plan
3. Description of the business location, including advantages and disadvantages for marketing
4. Pricing strategy
5. Market Segmentation
Medium-sized and large organizations
The main contents of a marketing plan are:
1. Executive Summary
2. Situational Analysis
3. Opportunities / Issue Analysis - SWOT Analysis
4. Objectives
5. Marketing Strategy
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6. Action Program (the operational marketing plan itself for the period under review)
7. Financial Forecast
8. Controls
In detail, a complete marketing plan typically includes:
1. Title Page
2. Executive Summary
3. Current Situation - Macroenvironment
• Economic State
• Legal State
• Governmental State
• Technological State
• Ecological State
• Sociocultural State
• Supply chain State
4. Current Situation - Market Analysis
• Market definition
• Market size
• Market segmentation
• Industry structure and strategic groupings
• Porter 5 forces analysis
• Competition and market share
• competitors' strengths and weaknesses
• Market trends
5. Current Situation - Consumer Analysis
• Nature of the buying decision
• Participants
• Demographics
• Psychographics
• Buyer motivation and expectations
• Loyalty segments
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6. Current Situation - Internal
• Company Resources
• Finances
• People (workforce)
• Time
• Skills
• Objectives
• Mission statement and Vision statement
• Corporate objectives
• Financial objective
• Marketing objectives
• Long term objectives
• Description of the basic business philosophy
• Corporate Culture (Organizational Culture)
7. Summary of Situation Analysis
• External threats
• External opportunities
• Internal strengths
• Internal weaknesses
• Critical success factors in the industry
• Sustainable competitive advantage
8. Marketing Research
• Information requirements
• Research methodology
• Research results
9. Marketing Strategy - Product
• Unique selling proposition (USP)
• Product mix
• Product strengths and weaknesses
• Perceptual mapping
• Product life cycle management and new product development
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• Brand name, brand image, and brand equity
• Augmented product
• Product portfolio analysis
• B.C.G. Analysis
• Contribution margin analysis
• G.E. Multi Factoral analysis
• Quality Function Deployment
10. Marketing Strategy - segmented marketing actions and market share objectives
• By product
• By customer segment
• By geographical market
• By distribution channel
11. Marketing Strategy - Price
• Pricing objectives
• Pricing method (e.g.: cost plus, demand based, or competitor indexing)
• Pricing strategy (e.g.: skimming, or penetration)
• Discounts and allowances
• Price elasticity and customer sensitivity
• Price zoning
• break even analysis at various prices
12. Marketing Strategy - Promotion
• Promotional goals
• Promotional Mix
• Advertising reach, frequency, flights, theme, and media
• Sales force requirements, techniques, and management
• Sales promotion
• Publicity and public relations
• Electronic Promotion (e.g.: web, or telephone)
• Word of Mouth marketing
• Viral Marketing
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13. Marketing Strategy - Distribution
• Geographical coverage
• Distribution channels
• Physical distribution and logistics
• Electronic distribution
14. Implementation
• Personnel requirements
• Assigning responsibilities
• Giving incentives
• Training on selling methods
• Financial requirements
• Management information systems requirements
• Month-by-month agenda
• Gantt chart using PERT or critical path analysis systems
• Monitoring results and benchmarks
• Adjustment mechanism
• Contingencies (what ifs)
15. Financial Summary
• Assumptions
• Pro-forma monthly income statement
• Contribution margin analysis
• Breakeven analysis
• Monte Carlo method
• ISI: Internet Strategic Intelligence
16. Scenarios
• Prediction of future scenarios
• Plan of action for each scenario
17. Controls
• Performance indicator
• Feedback Mechanisms
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18. Appendix
• Pictures and specifications of products
• Results from completed research
Measurement of progress
The final stage of any marketing planning process is to establish targets (or standards) so that progress
can be monitored. Accordingly, it is important to put both quantities and timescales into the marketing
objectives (for example, to capture 20 percent by value of the market within two years) and into the
corresponding strategies. Marketers must be ready to update and adapt marketing plans at any time.
The marketing plan should define how progress towards objectives will be measured. Managers
typically use budgets, schedules and marketing metrics for monitoring and evaluating results. With
budget, they can compare planned expenditures with actual expenditures for given period. Schedules
allow management to see when tasks were supposed to be completed and when they actually were.
Marketing metrics tracks actual outcomes of marketing programs to see whether the company is
moving forward towards its objectives (P. Kotler, K.L. Keller).
Changes in the environment mean that the forecasts often have to be changed. Along with these, the
related plans may well also need to be changed. Continuous monitoring of performance, against
predetermined targets, represents a most important aspect of this. However, perhaps even more
important is the enforced discipline of a regular formal review. Again, as with forecasts, in many cases
the best (most realistic) planning cycle will revolve around a quarterly review. Best of all, at least in
terms of the quantifiable aspects of the plans, if not the wealth of backing detail, is probably a
quarterly rolling review — planning one full year ahead each new quarter. Of course, this does absorb
more planning resource; but it also ensures that the plans embody the latest information, and — with
attention focused on them so regularly — forces both the plans and their implementation to be
realistic.
Plans only have validity if they are actually used to control the progress of a company: their success
lies in their implementation, not in the writing'.
Performance analysis
The most important elements of marketing performance, which are normally tracked, are:
Sales analysis
Most organizations track their sales results; or, in non-profit organizations for example, the number
of clients. The more sophisticated track them in terms of 'sales variance' - the deviation from the target
figures — which allows a more immediate picture of deviations to become evident.
`Micro-analysis', which is simply the normal management process of investigating detailed problems,
then investigates the individual elements (individual products, sales territories, customers and so on)
which are failing to meet targets
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Market share analysis
Few organizations track market share though it is often an important metric. Though absolute sales
might grow in an expanding market, a firm's share of the market can decrease which bodes ill for
future sales when the market starts to drop. Where such market share is tracked, there may be a
number of aspects which will be followed:
• overall market share
• segment share — that in the specific, targeted segment
• relative share
Expense analysis
The key ratio to watch in this area is usually the `marketing expense to sales ratio'; although this may
be broken down into other elements (advertising to sales, sales administration to sales, and so on).
Expense analysis can be defined as a detailed report of all the expenses that a business incurs. It is
produced on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. It can be dissected into small business subsets to
determine how much money each area is costing the company.
In marketing, the marketing expense-to-sales ratio plays an important part in expense analysis
because it is used to align marketing spend with industry norms. Marketing expense-to-sales ratio
helps the company drive its marketing spend productivity. Marketing expense-to-sales analysis is also
included with the sales analysis, market share analysis, financial analysis and market-based scorecard
analysis as one of the five analysis tools marketers used to control and drive spending productivity.
The marketing expense-to-sales ratio allows companies to track actual spending that is relative to the
accepted budget and relative to sales goals as stated in the marketing plan.
Financial analysis
The "bottom line" of marketing activities should at least in theory, be the net profit (for all except non-
profit organizations, where the comparable emphasis may be on remaining within budgeted costs).
There are a number of separate performance figures and key ratios which need to be tracked:
• gross contribution<>net profit
• gross profit<>return on investment
• net contribution<>profit on sales
There can be considerable benefit in comparing these figures with those achieved by other
organizations (especially those in the same industry); using, for instance, the figures which can be
obtained (in the UK) from `The Centre for Interfirm Comparison'. The most sophisticated use of this
approach, however, is typically by those making use of PIMS (Profit Impact of Management
Strategies), initiated by the General Electric Company and then developed by Harvard Business School,
but now run by the Strategic Planning Institute.
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The above performance analyses concentrate on the quantitative measures which are directly related
to short-term performance. But there are a number of indirect measures, essentially tracking
customer attitudes, which can also indicate the organization's performance in terms of its longer-term
marketing strengths and may accordingly be even more important indicators. Some useful measures
are:
• market research — including customer panels (which are used to track changes over time)
• lost business — the orders which were lost because, for example, the stock was not available
or the product did not meet the customer's exact requirements
• customer complaints — how many customers complain about the products or services, or the
organization itself, and about what
Use of marketing plans
A formal, written marketing plan is essential; in that it provides an unambiguous reference point for
activities throughout the planning period. However, perhaps the most important benefit of these
plans is the planning process itself. This typically offers a unique opportunity, a forum, for information-
rich and productively focused discussions between the various managers involved. The plan, together
with the associated discussions, then provides an agreed context for their subsequent management
activities, even for those not described in the plan itself. Additionally, marketing plans are included in
business plans, offering data showing investors how the company will grow and most importantly,
how they will get a return on investment.
Budgets as managerial tools
The classic quantification of a marketing plan appears in the form of budgets. Because these are so
rigorously quantified, they are particularly important. They should, thus, represent an unequivocal
projection of actions and expected results. What is more, they should be capable of being monitored
accurately; and, indeed, performance against budget is the main (regular) management review
process.
The purpose of a marketing budget is to pull together all the revenues and costs involved in marketing
into one comprehensive document. The budget is a managerial tool that balances what is needed to
be spent against what can be afforded, and helps make choices about priorities. A budget can further
be used to measure a business's performance in the general trends of a business's spending.
The marketing budget is usually the most powerful tool by which one can determine the relationship
between desired results and available means. Its starting point should be the marketing strategies and
plans, which have already been formulated in the marketing plan itself; although, in practice, the two
will run in parallel and will interact. At the very least, a thorough budget may cause a change in the
more optimistic elements of a company's business plans.
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An overview of the analysis stage The strategic management process is more than just a set of rules to follow. It is a philosophical
approach to business. Upper management must think strategically first, then apply that thought to a
process. The strategic management process is best implemented when everyone within the business
understands the strategy. The five stages of the process are goal-setting, analysis, strategy formation,
strategy implementation and strategy monitoring.
Clarify Your Vision The purpose of goal-setting is to clarify the vision for your business. This stage consists of identifying
three key facets: First, define both short- and long-term objectives. Second, identify the process of
how to accomplish your objective. Finally, customize the process for your staff, give each person a
task with which he can succeed. Keep in mind during this process your goals to be detailed, realistic
and match the values of your vision. Typically, the final step in this stage is to write a mission statement
that succinctly communicates your goals to both your shareholders and your staff.
Gather and Analyze Information Analysis is a key stage because the information gained in this stage will shape the next two stages. In
this stage, gather as much information and data relevant to accomplishing your vision. The focus of
the analysis should be on understanding the needs of the business as a sustainable entity, its strategic
direction and identifying initiatives that will help your business grow. Examine any external or internal
issues that can affect your goals and objectives. Make sure to identify both the strengths and
weaknesses of your organization as well as any threats and opportunities that may arise along the
path.
Formulate a Strategy The first step in forming a strategy is to review the information gleaned from completing the analysis.
Determine what resources the business currently has that can help reach the defined goals and
objectives. Identify any areas of which the business must seek external resources. The issues facing
the company should be prioritized by their importance to your success. Once prioritized, begin
formulating the strategy. Because business and economic situations are fluid, it is critical in this stage
to develop alternative approaches that target each step of the plan.
Implement Your Strategy Successful strategy implementation is critical to the success of the business venture. This is the action
stage of the strategic management process. If the overall strategy does not work with the business'
current structure, a new structure should be installed at the beginning of this stage. Everyone within
the organization must be made clear of their responsibilities and duties, and how that fits in with the
overall goal. Additionally, any resources or funding for the venture must be secured at this point. Once
the funding is in place and the employees are ready, execute the plan.
Evaluate and Control Strategy evaluation and control actions include performance measurements, consistent review of
internal and external issues and making corrective actions when necessary. Any successful evaluation
of the strategy begins with defining the parameters to be measured. These parameters should mirror
the goals set in Stage 1. Determine your progress by measuring the actual results versus the plan.
Monitoring internal and external issues will also enable you to react to any substantial change in your
business environment. If you determine that the strategy is not moving the company toward its goal,
take corrective actions.
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If those actions are not successful, then repeat the strategic management process. Because internal
and external issues are constantly evolving, any data gained in this stage should be retained to help
with any future strategies.
6 Phases in New Product Development When you’re developing a new product or service, there is a process that is common to this
development, and it can help ensure that you make the best product or service for your target
audience. The challenge, however, is that some entrepreneurs are tempted to skip one of these steps,
in the hopes of making the process shorter, but that usually ends up short-changing the quality of the
product or service you’re developing. Understanding the necessity of each phase of new product
development can give you the confidence to stick with it, even during the most frustrating moments.
The Idea Phase The idea phase helps you go through a number of different iterations of a product or service, to
determine which one has the unique characteristics that will make it stand out in the industry in which
you compete. It’s important to remember that your product or service must be something that you
can improve, enhance, and upgrade, to account for changes in the wants and needs of your target
audience.
The Research Phase In some ways, the research phase should be first, because it is the step in which you research your
market and determine whether your idea will appeal to your target audience. Some of the questions
you need to ask include: Which problem will my product or service solve? What want or need will my
product or service satisfy? Does my product or service fill a need that competitors are not providing?
Research can also provide you with the qualities and characteristics that your audience wants to see
in your product or service.
The Development Phase Development is the phase in which you begin to build your product or service. It can be a frustrating
process, because you will likely go through a few prototypes before you land on the one that is the
most viable. In some instances, you may learn that a competitor has already launched the same
product or service, which will require you to make last-minute changes.
The Testing Phase
There’s no way to know whether or not your product or service is appealing, until you put it to the
test. In this phase, you will select a focus group in your target audience, and then you'll use this target
group to test your new product or service. You will analyze important factors such as ease of use,
appeal and function, as well as whether each customer would likely buy what you’re offering.
The Analysis Phase
Once you’ve gathered the testing information feedback from your target audience group, you can
analyze ways to improve or enhance your product or service, determine your pricing strategy, and
begin to develop a marketing strategy based on the feedback from your test group.
The Release Phase
After all the months or years you’ve spent developing an idea, it’s time to introduce it your product or
service to the market. The launch of your product is essential to its long-term success. The biggest
mistake business owners make, is that they don’t continue to market their product or service after it’s
launched. Without a strong marketing strategy, the product life cycle curve will be short.
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Collecting information – the external and internal environment The marketing environment surrounds and impacts upon the organization. There are three key
elements to the marketing environment which are the internal environment,
the microenvironment and the macroenvironment. Why are they important? Well marketers build
both internal and external relationships. Marketers aim to deliver value to satisfied customers, so we
need to assess and evaluate our internal business/corporate environment and our external
environment which is subdivided into micro and macro.
Macroenvironment
The macroenvironment is less controllable. The macro environment consists of much larger all-
encompassing influences (which impact the microenvironment) from the broader global society. Here
we would consider culture, political issues, technology, the natural environment, economic issues and
demographic factors amongst others.
Again for Walmart the wider global macro environment will certainly impact its business, and many
of these factors are pretty much uncontrollable. Walmart trades mainly in the United States but also
in international markets. For example in the United Kingdom Walmart trades as Asda. Walmart would
need to take into account local customs and practices in the United Kingdom such as bank holidays
and other local festivals. In the United Kingdom 2012 saw the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s
reign which was a national celebration.
The United States and Europe experience different economic cycles, so trading in terms of interest
rates needs to be considered. Also remember that Walmart can sell firearms in the United States
which are illegal under local English law. There are many other macroeconomic influences such as
governments and other publics, economic indicators such as inflation and exchange rates, and the
level nature of the local technology in different countries. There are powerful influencers such as war
(in Afghanistan for example) and natural disasters (such as the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
disaster) which inevitably would influence the business and would be out of its control.
To summarise, controllable factors tend to be included in your internal environment and your
microenvironment. On the other hand less controllable factors tend to be in relation to your macro
environment. Why not list your own controllable versus uncontrollable factors for a business of your
choice?
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Internal Environment
The internal environment has already been touched upon by other lessons on marketing teacher. For
example, the lessons on internal marketing and also on the functions within an organization give a
good starting point to look at our internal environment. A useful tool for quickly auditing your internal
environment is known as the Five Ms which are Men, Money, Machinery, Materials and Markets. Here
is a really quick example using British Airways. Looking internally at men, British Airways employees
pilots, engineers, cabin crew, marketing managers, etc. Money is invested in the business by
shareholders and banks for example. Machinery would include its aircraft but also access to air bridges
and buses to ferry passengers from the terminal to the aircraft. Materials for a service business like
British Airways would be aircraft fuel called kerosene (although if we were making aircraft materials
would include aluminium, wiring, glass, fabric, and so on). Finally markets which we know can be both
internal and external. Some might include a sixth M, which is minutes, since time is a valuable internal
resource.
Let’s look at an example of how the internal environment would impact a company such as Walmart.
We are looking at the immediate local influences which might include its marketing plans, how it
implements customer relationship management, the influence of other functions such as strategy
from its top management, research and development into new logistics solutions, how it makes sure
that it purchases high-quality product at the lowest possible price, that accounting is undertaken
efficiently and effectively, and of course its local supply chain management and logistics for which
Walmart is famous.
Microenvironment
The microenvironment is made from individuals and organizations that are close to the company and
directly impact the customer experience. Examples would include the company itself, its suppliers,
other marketing input from agencies, the markets and segments in which your business trades, your
competition and also those around you (which public relations would call publics) who are not paying
customers but still have an interest in your business. The Micro environment is relatively controllable
since the actions of the business may influence such stakeholders.
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Walmart’s Micro environment would be very much focused on immediate local issues. It would
consider how to recruit, retain and extend products and services to customers. It would pay close
attention to the actions and reactions of direct competitors. Walmart would build and nurture close
relationships with key suppliers. The business would need to communicate and liaise with its publics
such as neighbours which are close to its stores, or other road users. There will be other intermediaries
as well including advertising agencies and trade unions amongst others.
By and large, managers can control the four Ps of the marketing mix: they can decide which products
to offer, what prices to charge for them, how to distribute them, and how to reach target audiences.
Unfortunately, there are other forces at work in the marketing world—forces over which marketers
have much less control. These forces make up a company’s external marketing environment, which,
as you can see in Figure below we can divide into five sets of factors:
1. Political and regulatory
2. Economic
3. Competitive
4. Technological
5. Social and cultural
The Marketing Environment
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These factors—and changes in them—present both threats and opportunities that require shifts in
marketing plans. To spot trends and other signals that conditions may be in flux, marketers must
continually monitor the environment in which their companies operate. To get a better idea of how
they affect a firm’s marketing activities, let’s look at each of the five areas of the external environment.
The Political and Regulatory Environment
Federal, state, and local bodies can set rules or restrictions on the conduct of businesses. The purpose
of regulation is to protect both consumers and businesses. Businesses favor some regulations (such
as patent laws) while chafing under others (such as restrictions on advertising). The tobacco industry,
for example, has had to learn to live with a federal ban on TV and radio advertising. More recently,
many companies in the food industry have expressed unhappiness over regulations requiring the
labeling of trans-fat content. The broadcasting industry is increasingly concerned about fines being
imposed by the Federal Communications Commission for offenses against “standards of decency.”
The loudest outcry probably came from telemarketers in response to the establishment of “do-not-
call” registries.
All these actions occasioned changes in the marketing strategies of affected companies. Tobacco
companies rerouted advertising dollars from TV to print media. Food companies reduced trans-fat
levels and began targeting health-conscious consumers. Talent coordinators posted red flags next to
the names of Janet Jackson (of the now-famous malfunctioning costume) and other performers. The
telemarketing industry fired workers and scrambled to reinvent its entire business model.
The Economic Environment
Every day, marketing managers face a barrage of economic news. They must digest it, assess its
impact, and alter marketing plans accordingly. Sometimes (but not recently), the news is cause for
optimism—the economy’s improving, unemployment’s declining, consumer confidence is up. At other
times (like today), the news makes them nervous—our economy is weak, industrial production is
down, jobless claims are rising, consumer confidence has plummeted, credit is hard to get. Naturally,
business thrives when the economy is growing, employment is full, and prices are stable. Marketing
products is easier because consumers are willing to buy. On the other hand, when the economy is
slowing (or stalled) and unemployment is rising, people have less money to spend, and the marketer’s
job is harder.
Then there’s inflation, which pushes interest rates upward. If you’re trying to sell cars, you know that
people facing higher interest rates aren’t so anxious to take out car loans. Sales will slip, and to
counteract the anticipated slowdown, you might have to add generous rebates to your promotional
plans.
Moreover, if you operate in foreign markets, you can’t focus on solely domestic economic conditions:
you have to monitor the economy in every region where you do business. For example, if you’re the
marketing director for a U.S. company whose goods are manufactured in China and sold in Brazil, you’ll
need to know as much as you can about the economies in three countries: the United States, China,
and Brazil. For one thing, you’ll have to pay particular attention to fluctuations in exchange rates,
because changes will affect both your sales and your profits.
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The Competitive Environment
Imagine playing tennis without watching what your opponent was doing. Marketers who don’t pay
attention to their competitors are playing a losing game. In particular, they need to monitor the
activities of two groups of competitors: the makers of competing brands and the makers of substitute
products. Coke and Pepsi, for instance, are brand competitors who have engaged in the so-called cola
wars for decades. Each tries to capture market share by convincing people that its soft drinks are
better. Because neither wants to lose share to the other, they tend to resort to similar tactics. In
summer 2004, both companies came out with nearly identical new colas boasting half the sugar, half
the calories, and half the carbohydrates of regular colas. Coke called its product Coke C2, while Pepsi
named its competing brand PepsiEdge. Both companies targeted cola drinkers who want the flavor of
a regular soda but fewer calories. (By the way, both products failed and were taken off the market.)
Meanwhile, Coke and Pepsi have to watch Nantucket Nectars, whose fruit drinks are substitute
products. What if Nantucket Nectars managed to get its drinks into the soda machines at more fast-
food restaurants? How would Coke and Pepsi respond? What if Nantucket Nectars, which markets an
ice tea with caffeine, introduced an ice tea drink with mega amounts of caffeine? Would marketers at
Coke and Pepsi take action? What if Nantucket Nectars launched a marketing campaign promoting
the health benefits of fruit drinks over soda? Would Coke and Pepsi reply with campaigns of their
own? Would they respond by introducing new non-cola products?
The Technological Environment
When’s the last time you rented a VHS tape of a new movie? If you had trouble finding it, that’s
because DVDs are in and videotapes are out. Videotape makers who were monitoring technological
trends in the industry would probably have taken steps to keep up (go into DVDs) or otherwise protect
themselves from losses (maybe even getting out of the market). In addition to making old products
obsolete, technological advances create new products. Where would we be without the cell phone,
digital cameras, text messaging, LASIK surgery, and global positioning systems?
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Web sites like iTunes and Amazon.com are now offering customers the option of downloading movies.
Do you think DVDs will suffer the same fate as videocassettes?
New technologies also transform the marketing mix in another important way: they alter the way
companies market their products. Consider the revolutionary changes brought about by the Internet,
which offers marketers a new medium for promoting and selling a vast range of goods and services.
Marketers must keep abreast of technological advances and adapt their strategies, both to take
advantage of the opportunities and to ward off threats.
The Social and Cultural Environment
Marketers also have to stay tuned to social and cultural factors that can affect sales. The values and
attitudes of American consumers are in a state of almost constant flux; what’s cool one year is out of
style the next. Think about the clothes you wore five years ago: would you wear them today? A lot of
people wouldn’t—they’re the wrong style, the wrong fit, the wrong material, the wrong color, or just
plain wrong. Now put yourself in the place of a marketer for a clothing company that targets teenagers
and young adults. You wouldn’t survive if you tried to sell the same styles every year. As we said at
the outset of this chapter, the key to successful marketing is meeting the needs of customers. This
means knowing what they want right now, not last year.
Here’s another illustration. The last few decades have witnessed monumental shifts in the makeup of
the American workforce. The number of women at all levels has increased significantly, the workforce
has become more diverse, and telecommuting is more common. More people place more importance
on balancing their work lives with the rest of their lives, and fewer people are willing to sacrifice their
health to the demands of hectic work schedules. With these changes have come new marketing
opportunities. As women spend more time at work, the traditional duties of the “homemaker” have
shifted to day-care centers, nannies, house-cleaning services, and (for those who can afford them)
child chauffeurs, birthday-party coordinators, and even family-photo assemblers (Loh, 2003). The
number of gyms has mushroomed, the selection of home office furniture has expanded, and
McDonald’s has bowed to the wishes of the health-conscious by eliminating its “super-size” option.
Generation Gaps
Clothiers who target teens and young adults (such as Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch) must estimate
the size of both current and future audiences. So must companies that specialize in products aimed at
customers in other age brackets—say, young children or retirees. Marketers pay particular attention
to population shifts because they can have dramatic effects on a consumer base, either increasing or
decreasing the number of potential customers.
Marketers tend to assign most Americans born in the last sixty years to one of three groups: the baby-
boom generation (those born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (1965 to 1975),
and Generation Y—also known as “echo baby boomers” or “millenniums” (1976 to 2001) (Sincavage,
2004). In addition to age, members of each group tend to share common experiences, values, and
attitudes that stay with them as they mature. These values and attitudes have a profound effect on
both the products they want and the marketing efforts designed to sell products to them. Let’s look a
little more closely at some of the defining characteristics of each group.
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Baby Boomers
The huge wave of baby boomers began arriving in 1946, following World War II, and marketers have
been catering to them ever since. What are they like? Sociologists have attributed to them such
characteristics as “individuality, tolerance, and self-absorption” (Leo, 2003). There are seventy million
of them (Neuborne & Kerwin, 2006), and as they marched through life over the course of five decades,
marketers crowded the roadside to supply them with toys, clothes, cars, homes, and appliances—
whatever they needed at the time. They’re still a major marketing force, but their needs have changed:
they’re now the target market for Botox, pharmaceutical products, knee surgery, financial
investments, cruises, vacation homes, and retirement communities.
Generation X
Because birth rates had declined by the time the “Gen X” babies first arrived in 1965, this group had
just one decade to grow its numbers. Thus, it’s considerably smaller (seventeen million (Neuborne &
Kerwin, 1999)) than the baby-boomer group, and it has also borne the brunt of rising divorce rates
and the arrival of AIDS. Experts say, however, that they’re diverse, savvy, and pragmatic (Neuborne &
Kerwin, 1999) and point out that even though they were once thought of as “slackers,” they actually
tend to be self-reliant and successful. At this point in their lives, most are at their peak earning power
and affluent enough to make marketers stand up and take notice.
Generation Y
When they became parents, baby boomers delivered a group to rival their own. Born between 1976
and 2001, their sixty million (Neuborn & Kerwin, 1999) children are sometimes called “echo boomers”
(because their population boom is a reverberation of the baby boom). They’re still evolving, but
they’ve already been assigned some attributes: they’re committed to integrity and honesty, family
oriented and close to parents, ethnically diverse and accepting of differences, upbeat and optimistic
about the future (although the troubled economy is lessening their optimism), education focused,
independent, and goal oriented (Neuborne & Kerwin, 1999; Richardson, 2002; Fernandez-Cruz, 2006).
They also seem to be coping fairly well: among today’s teens, arrests, drug use, drunk driving, and
school dropout rates are all down (Tulgan & Martin, 2001).
Generation Ys are being courted by carmakers. Global car manufacturers have launched a number of
2012 cars designed to cater to the members of Generation Y (Brauer, 2011). Advertisers are also busy
trying to find innovative ways to reach this group, but they’re finding that it’s not easy. Generation Ys
grew up with computers and other modes of high technology, and they’re used to doing several things
at once—simultaneously watching TV, texting, and playing games on the computer. As a result, they’re
quite adept at tuning out ads. Try to reach them through TV ads and they’ll channel-surf right past
them or hit their TiVo remotes (Bianco, 2004). You can’t get to them over the Internet because they
know all about pop-up blockers. In one desperate attempt to get their attention, an advertiser paid
college students fifty cents to view thirty-second ads on their computers (Baker, 2004). Advertisers
keep trying, because Generation Y is big enough to wreck a brand by giving it a cold shoulder.
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Consumer Behavior
Why did you buy an Apple computer when your friend bought a Dell PC? What information did you
collect before making the decision? What factors did you consider when evaluating alternatives? How
did you make your final choice? Were you happy with your decision? To design effective strategies,
marketers need to find the answers that consumers give to questions such as these. In other words,
they try to improve their understanding of consumer behavior—the decision process that individuals
go through when purchasing or using products.
The Buying Process
Generally speaking, buyers run through a series of steps in deciding whether to purchase a particular
product. Some purchases are made without much thought. You probably don’t think much, for
example, about the brand of gasoline you put in your car; you just stop at the most convenient place.
Other purchases, however, require considerable thought. For example, you probably spent a lot of
time deciding which college to attend. Let’s revisit that decision as a means of examining the five steps
that are involved in the consumer buying process and that are summarized in Figure below “The
Buying Process”: need recognition, information search, evaluation, purchase, and postpurchase
evaluation.
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1. Need recognition. The process began when you recognized a need to go to college. Perhaps
you wanted to prepare for a particular career, to become better educated, or to postpone
going to work full time. Maybe your parents insisted.
2. Information search. Once you recognized the need to go to college, you probably started
gathering information about colleges. You may have gone online and studied the Web sites
posted by a few schools. Perhaps you attended college fairs or spoke with your high school
guidance counselor. You probably talked with friends about your options. Once you let
colleges know that you were interested, admissions departments likely sent you tons of
information.
3. Evaluation. At this point, you studied the information you’d gathered. First, you probably
decided what you wanted from a college. Perhaps price was your number-one criterion, or
maybe distance from home. Maybe size was important, or reputation or available majors.
Maybe it was the quality of the football team or the male-to-female ratio.
4. Purchase. Ultimately you made a “purchase” decision. In so doing, you focused on what was
most important to you. Naturally, you could choose only among schools that had accepted
you.
5. Postpurchase evaluation. The buying process didn’t end when you selected a school. It
continues today, while you’re using the “product” you purchased. How many times have you
rethought your decision? Are you happy with it? Would you make the same choice again?
Understanding the buying process of potential students is crucial to college administrators in
developing marketing strategies to attract qualified “buyers.” They’d certainly like to know what
information you found useful, which factors most influenced your decision, and how you made your
final choice. They’ll also want to know whether you’re happy with your choice. This is the kind of
information that colleges are seeking when they solicit feedback, both from students who chose their
schools and from those who didn’t.
Influences on Buying Behavior
Did you ever buy something you knew you shouldn’t buy but just couldn’t help yourself—something
you simply wanted? Maybe it was a spring-break trip to the Bahamas that you really couldn’t afford.
Objectively, you may have made a bad decision, but not all decisions are made on a purely objective
basis. Psychological and social influences come into play. Let’s take a closer look at each of these
factors.
Psychological Influences
Under this category, we can identify at least five variables:
1. Motivation. The internal process that causes you to seek certain goals.
2. Perception. The way you select, organize, and interpret information.
3. Learning. Knowledge gained through experience and study.
4. Attitudes. Your predisposition to respond in particular ways because of learned values and
beliefs.
5. Personality. The collection of attributes that characterize an individual.
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Social Influences
Here, we find four factors:
1. Family.
2. Reference groups. Friends or other people with whom you identify.
3. Economic or social status.
4. Culture. Your set of accepted values.
It shouldn’t be surprising that marketers are keenly interested in the effect of all these influences on
your buying decisions. For instance, suppose the travel agency that sold you your spring-break
getaway found that you bought the package because you viewed it as a reward for studying hard and
doing well academically. In that case, it might promote student summer-travel programs as rewards
for a hard year’s work at school.
Analyzing the information There is an explosion of information that’s available to everyone, making people feel overwhelmed.
How can you gather, manage and organize information? What does the information mean? Are
patterns and trends in the information? When I had the SpeakPipe plugin on my website, a college
student asked me how to evaluate information. In this post, there is a simple process that teaches
you how to evaluate information – how to gather, organize and manage information.
I want to tell you a story about why it is important to analyze information. A few years ago, a client
asked me to verify some information and find the source, so they could properly quote the
information. I learned that you should find at least three independent sources. I spent a lot of time
trying to find the source for this information, everyone was saying the same thing, but no one was
saying where it came from. Finally, I found someone to contact. She was very responsive, but much to
my dismay, she told me that my client was the source of the information. I explained to her that was
not the case and my client asked me to verify the information.
I never did find the original source of the information. That’s not important for this article, but I wanted
to demonstrate that part of analyzing information is checking sources and accuracy of information.
Do you now see how important that is. By the way, I first wrote this post in 2009, before one of the
books I mentioned was published. I added the books only because there are folks who will want more
information, and a book will give more information than a post.
However, please read this post because I have some very good information in it that will help you.
Why It’s Important to Analyze Information? How to analyze information is something that many professionals think about because they are
overloaded with information. Every day you are bombarded with problems to solve and decisions to
make. The quality of your solutions and decisions is only as good as the information they are based
on.
With so much information at your fingertips, the question, “How to analyze the information” for best
results becomes more important. How can you organize the information in a systematic way? What
does the information mean?
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Another point I’d like to make, is that with the rapidly changing world that we live in, to remain
relevant, requires professionals to learn continuously. Part of that means reading books to get the
skills needed for future jobs. Knowing how to analyze the new information is important. What does
the information mean? You cannot attain knowledge without understanding. And knowledge is
useless if you cannot apply it.
As a professional with 20 years of experience in research, I constantly have to analyze the data
gathered, so the information requested by my client is streamlined and not overwhelming. I have to
filter the information by deciding which information is essential and which is non-essential. Here is a
simple process that could help you.
Management information systems provide the owner and other decision-makers at a business with
the data needed to make informed decisions for the company. A MIS provides background, current
data and trend analysis so you have ready information on all areas of the business.
You can use this detailed data on the company environment and finances to improve business
performance in the long- and short-term.
Managing Data Business owners and managers need to be informed about the overall operation of a company and
key areas of responsibility. If the president calls and wants to know how much sales have increased in
each of the last four years, the sales manager must provide the information. Management information
systems give you access to key data about your department and about the company in general. If the
manager needs reference information for a bid or for regulatory purposes, management information
systems are a good source.
Informing Decisions Decisions are only as valid as the information on which they are based. Management information
systems improve your decision-making, because they provide information that is accurate, timely,
relevant and complete. Self-checking and cross-checking features in management information
systems reduce errors, and IT professionals design the systems to offer a complete picture of a
situation or highlight that specific information is missing. Companies that use management
information systems ensure that all managers work from the same set of data and make their
decisions based on identical information.
Analyzing Trends A key part of management's responsibilities is preparing forecasts for strategic planning and budgets.
Management information systems contain past data for fundamental company functions such as
sales, production and customer service. They include information on revenue, expenses and
investments, broken down into separate components. You can search for trends by asking the systems
to project past performance patterns into the future. Management information systems have
sophisticated mathematical analysis tools that can evaluate relationships and calculate probable
future trends. You can base accurate forecasts on such information.
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Examining Scenarios Sometimes, the information and trends display an evolving situation that the company wants to
change. Management information systems can evaluate different possibilities and all you to examine
scenarios. What-if scenarios are a powerful tool that help you decide on the best strategy for the
company. Management information systems calculate what happens based on their collection of data
on how the company operations performed in the past. You can see what happens if the promotional
budgets increase or staff levels are reduced. With this knowledge, you can develop the optimal
strategy for the company.
Developing the marketing plan
An overview of the process Management information systems provide the owner and other decision-makers at a business with
the data needed to make informed decisions for the company. A MIS provides background, current
data and trend analysis so you have ready information on all areas of the business. You can use this
detailed data on the company environment and finances to improve business performance in the long-
and short-term.
Managing Data Business owners and managers need to be informed about the overall operation of a company and
key areas of responsibility. If the president calls and wants to know how much sales have increased in
each of the last four years, the sales manager must provide the information. Management information
systems give you access to key data about your department and about the company in general. If the
manager needs reference information for a bid or for regulatory purposes, management information
systems are a good source.
Informing Decisions Decisions are only as valid as the information on which they are based. Management information
systems improve your decision-making, because they provide information that is accurate, timely,
relevant and complete. Self-checking and cross-checking features in management information
systems reduce errors, and IT professionals design the systems to offer a complete picture of a
situation or highlight that specific information is missing. Companies that use management
information systems ensure that all managers work from the same set of data and make their
decisions based on identical information.
Analyzing Trends A key part of management's responsibilities is preparing forecasts for strategic planning and budgets.
Management information systems contain past data for fundamental company functions such as
sales, production and customer service. They include information on revenue, expenses and
investments, broken down into separate components. You can search for trends by asking the systems
to project past performance patterns into the future. Management information systems have
sophisticated mathematical analysis tools that can evaluate relationships and calculate probable
future trends. You can base accurate forecasts on such information.
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Examining Scenarios Sometimes, the information and trends display an evolving situation that the company wants to
change. Management information systems can evaluate different possibilities and all you to examine
scenarios. What-if scenarios are a powerful tool that help you decide on the best strategy for the
company. Management information systems calculate what happens based on their collection of data
on how the company operations performed in the past. You can see what happens if the promotional
budgets increase or staff levels are reduced. With this knowledge, you can develop the optimal
strategy for the company.
Strategy development A strategy is a way of describing how you are going to get things done. It is less specific than an action
plan (which tells the who-what-when); instead, it tries to broadly answer the question, "How do we
get there from here?" (Do we want to take the train? Fly? Walk?)
A good strategy will take into account existing barriers and resources (people, money, power,
materials, etc.). It will also stay with the overall vision, mission, and objectives of the initiative. Often,
an initiative will use many different strategies--providing information, enhancing support, removing
barriers, providing resources, etc.--to achieve its goals.
Objectives outline the aims of an initiative--what success would look like in achieving the vision and
mission. By contrast, strategies suggest paths to take (and how to move along) on the road to success.
That is, strategies help you determine how you will realize your vision and objectives through the nitty-
gritty world of action.
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING A GOOD STRATEGY?
Strategies for your community initiative should meet several criteria.
Does the strategy:
• Give overall direction? A strategy, such as enhancing experience and skill or increasing
resources and opportunities, should point out the overall path without dictating a particular
narrow approach (e.g., using a specific skills training program).
• Fit resources and opportunities? A good strategy takes advantage of current resources and
assets, such as people's willingness to act or a tradition of self-help and community pride. It
also embraces new opportunities such as an emerging public concern for neighborhood safety
or parallel economic development efforts in the business community.
• Minimize resistance and barriers? When initiatives set out to accomplish important things,
resistance (even opposition) is inevitable. However, strategies need not provide a reason for
opponents to attack the initiative. Good strategies attract allies and deter opponents.
• Reach those affected? To address the issue or problem, strategies must connect the
intervention with those who it should benefit. For example, if the mission of the initiative is
to get people into decent jobs, do the strategies (providing education and skills training,
creating job opportunities, etc.) reach those currently unemployed?
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• Advance the mission? Taken together, are strategies likely to make a difference on the mission
and objectives? If the aim is to reduce a problem such as unemployment, are the strategies
enough to make a difference on rates of employment? If the aim is to prevent a problem, such
as substance abuse, have factors contributing to risk (and protection) been changed
sufficiently to reduce use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs?
WHY DEVELOP STRATEGIES?
Developing strategies is really a way to focus your efforts and figure out how you're going to get things
done. By doing so, you can achieve the following advantages:
• Taking advantage of resources and emerging opportunities
• Responding effectively to resistance and barriers
• A more efficient use of time, energy, and resources
WHEN SHOULD YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR YOUR INITIATIVE?
Developing strategies is the fourth step in the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and
Action Plans) process outlined at the beginning of this chapter. Developing strategies is the essential
step between figuring out your objectives and making the changes to reach them. Strategies should
always be formed in advance of taking action, not deciding how to do something after you have done
it. Without a clear idea of the how, your group's actions may waste time and effort and fail to take
advantage of emerging opportunities. Strategies should also be updated periodically to meet the
needs of a changing environment, including new opportunities and emerging opposition to the group's
efforts.
HOW DO YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES?
Once again, let's refer back to our friends at the fictional Reducing the Risk (RTR) Coalition that hopes
to reduce the risk of teenage pregnancy in its community. We'll walk through the process of
developing strategies with this group so as to better explain the who, what, and why of strategies.
As with the process you went through to write your vision and mission statements and to set your
objectives, developing strategies involves brainstorming and talking to community members.
ORGANIZE A BRAINSTORMING MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERS
OF THE COMMUNITY
Remember, people will work best in a relaxed and welcoming environment. You can help achieve this
by:
• Making meetings a place where all members feel that their ideas are listened to and valued,
and where constructive criticism may be openly voiced. To help meet these goals, you might
post some "ground rules" so people feel free to express themselves. Ground rules might
include:
o One person speaks at a time
o No interrupting each other
o Everyone's ideas are respected
• Bringing fans or heaters (if needed) so people will be comfortable.
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• Asking members to escort each other home or to their cars, the subway, or the bus stop if the
meeting runs late.
• Providing refreshments. Never underestimate the power of homemade food, drinks, and
other treats.
The RTR Coalition held brainstorming sessions among organization members. They invited local teens,
parents, teachers, counselors, church members, and other community leaders to participate in
listening sessions. These were used to help develop strategies to reduce the risk of teen pregnancy.
Homemade cookies, fruit, and coffee helped make participants feel welcome.
REVIEW (IDENTIFY) THE TARGETS AND AGENTS OF CHANGE FOR YOUR INITIATIVE
• Your targets of change include all of the people who experience (or are at risk for) this issue
or problem addressed by your initiative. Remember to be inclusive; that is, include everyone
who is affected by the problem or issue or whose action or inaction contributes to it. For
example, a coalition such the RTR Coalition would want to include all teenagers as potential
targets of change, not just adolescents who seem particularly at risk, and parents, peers, and
teachers whose actions or inactions might make a difference.
• Your agents of change include everyone who is in a position to help contribute to the solution.
With the RTR Coalition, examples of agents of change might include teens, teachers, guidance
counselors, parents of teens, lawmakers, and others.
REVIEW YOUR VISION, MISSION, AND OBJECTIVES TO KEEP YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK
It is helpful to review your mission, vision, and objectives to ensure that your strategies are all aligned
with the goals expressed in your previous work.
WORK TOGETHER TO BRAINSTORM THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR YOUR INITIATIVE
The following list of questions can be a guide for deciding on the most beneficial strategies for your
group:
• What resources and assets exist that can be used to help achieve the vision and mission? How
can they be used best?
• What obstacles or resistance exist that could make it difficult to achieve your vision and
mission? How can you minimize or get around them?
• What are potential agents of change willing to do to serve the mission?
• Do you want to reduce the existing problem, or does it make more sense to try to prevent (or
reduce risk for) problems before they start? For example, if you are trying to reduce teen
sexual activity, you might consider gearing some of your strategies to younger children, for
whom sex is not yet a personal issue; or, to promote academic success, to work with younger
children who still have full potential for learning and school success.
• How will your potential strategies decrease the risk for experiencing the problem (e.g., young
girls getting pressure for sex from older men)? How will the strategies increase protective
factors (e.g., support from peers; access to contraceptives)?
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• What potential strategies will affect the whole population and problem? For example,
connecting youth with caring adults might be good for virtually all youth, regardless of income
or past experience with the problem. Also, just one strategy, affecting just one part of the
community such as schools or youth organizations, often isn't enough to improve the
situation. Make sure that your strategies affect the problem or issue as a whole.
• What potential strategies reach those at particular risk for the problem? For example, early
screenings might help focus on those at higher risk for heart disease or cancer; past academic
failure or history of drug use, for identifying with whom support and other intervention efforts
might be focused.
Strategy Development Planning Strategic planning is an essential aspect of every company's success. It enables senior management to
identify their goals for the organization and helps the organization move forward with direction and
purpose. Development of a strategic plan requires creative thinking and perseverance, but the
benefits to the organization far outweigh the resources required to develop this essential road map.
Goal Setting
Gather a group of senior managers to discuss high level strategic goals for the organization. Consider
a revenue or profit goal that the company hopes to achieve in the years ahead. This goal might be
achieved through the introduction of new products or services, the streamlining of processes to
improve efficiency or the introduction of different distribution channels or partners. For most
companies, the goal is achieved through a combination of these factors.
Products and Services
If the strategic goal requires introducing new products or services, or the revamping of existing
offerings, meeting participants need to define each opportunity. Identify the final product or
deliverable. Discuss the individual components of the offering, as well as how it will be produced.
Assign a champion to each opportunity and who will be responsible for the development of the new
offering, including its launch. Set a time line for each product or service, with key milestones and dates
identified for follow-up.
Information Technology
To ensure that technology spending is invested wisely, it is essential that an organization's strategy
include an I.T. component. Management should consider the role that I.T. plays within the
organization, identifying tools and approaches that can make the organization more productive. At a
strategic level, the group should identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and issues within the organization
that could be improved using new technology. Similarly, opportunities and technological advances
should be outlined that can provide the organization with a competitive advantage. Elevating this
conversation to a strategic goal ensures technology investments aren't wasted through impulsive or
reactionary spending.
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Distribution
The rise of the Internet as a means of distributing products and services is rapidly changing the way
consumers and companies acquire and purchase goods. Channel partners are trying to harness this
opportunity and some manufacturers are removing the middle-man from the sale. Faced with this
reality, organizations need to determine a strategy for how they will sell products or deliver services
in the future. Consideration needs to be given to retaining the business and goodwill of existing
channel partners while also considering how to benefit from other emerging distribution methods and
tools.
SWOT
Organizations use a SWOT, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis
to examine their organization in a holistic way. Participants use each of the four categories to explore
the pros and cons of their companies' positions. When discussing strengths, for example,
consideration should be given to areas in which the company excels. For weaknesses, senior
management needs to identify all the areas in which it does not perform admirably. Similarly,
opportunities will identify areas that the company can capitalize upon, whereas threats will identify
areas that need to be contained. At the end of the SWOT analysis, management will understand the
organization's position and how best to execute its strategy.
Tactics
Once products and services have been articulated, technological opportunities identified, distribution
methods determined and a SWOT analysis performed, the goals set at the start of the process should
be coming into focus. To finalize the strategy, some consideration needs to be given to its tactical
execution. At a strategic level, tactics that consider broad time lines, budgets and resources should be
established.
Marketing objectives Marketing is essential for any organization that wants to raise awareness about itself, its products or
its services. As the famous saying goes, “He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well is
not as apt to get the dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers.” Regardless of whether it's dollars
you’re after, having clear, established goals in getting the word out will help you successfully
implement a marketing plan.
Increase Sales One of the most important goals of marketing for-profit entities is driving business and increasing
sales. Marketing needs a good return on investment -- meaning the increase in sales should
significantly exceed the cost of the marketing -- and should therefore be specific. It is often insufficient
to simply state an objective of increasing sales by a certain percentage. The more specific, the better
-- “increase sales among women over 40,” or “increase the number of people who make a purchase
while browsing our online store by 20 percent.”
Improve Product Awareness A marketing effort can be focused at reviving or invigorating interest in a product that has been on
the market for a long time or about which people have longstanding attitudes. A good example is the
ubiquitous “Got Milk?” campaign, which was started by the California Milk Processor Board in the mid-
90s, but is now used nationwide. According to the man behind the campaign, the effort helped the
industry achieve a 91 percent awareness rating after it was in use for two years.
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Establish Yourself in the Industry A new organization will find it extremely difficult to be heard above the noise in a crowded
marketplace, with a public distracted by many stimuli. An example of a marketing objective for
organizations with little public awareness could be: “Become one of the top three brands in our
industry named among consumers.” An example of a successful marketing campaign in the 21st
century is that of GoDaddy.com, a company that hosts websites. It made a splash by running
provocative ads in high-profile places, such as during the Super Bowl.
Brand Management Maintaining a place in the mind of the public takes work, and some marketing efforts are simply aimed
to maintain a prominence in the public space. Major organizations known worldwide, such as
McDonald’s and Nike, often run ads that simply use images and tone to remind consumers of the
brand, rather than promote a particular product or service. An example of a similar marketing
objective could be, “Have our brand be recognized around the world, with no further explanation.”
Starbucks generated a lot of free publicity in 2011 by removing the company name from its logo,
relying on simply the well-known siren to remind customers of the company.
How to Define and Measure Marketing Objectives: A Start-to-Finish Guide At the core of any great marketing plan is a list of strategic and clear marketing objectives.
Marketing objectives are a brand’s defined goals. They outline the intentions of the marketing team,
provide clear direction for team members to follow, and offer information for executives to review
and support.
Marketing objectives are a pivotal part of a marketing strategy. Without defined goals, a brand will
struggle with achieving its plans because it won’t be clear on what it wants to do. A straightforward
plan is required to know what you hope to do and how you plan on doing it.
So if you’re developing a marketing strategy that has a vision but lacks a concrete list of marketing
objectives – use this guide to improve and upgrade your plans.
You will be far more likely to reach your goals when they are defined, outlined, and compiled into a
clear list of measurable marketing objectives.
How to Choose Marketing Objectives
The first step in creating a useful list of marketing objectives is reviewing the options you have for your
strategy.
While there are many goals you can outline in your marketing plans, some of the most frequently used
marketing objectives examples include the following goals. Consider the stage and position of your
brand, and select two or three marketing objectives to focus on.
Example Marketing Objectives
Promote New Products or Services
If your upcoming plans include launching new offerings, your marketing objectives should include
promoting those new products and services.
Grow Digital Presence
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If your brand doesn’t have a large footprint online, your marketing plans may be to start SEO and grow
your visibility in search engine rankings as well as social media platforms.
Lead Generation
If your pipeline isn’t full, you may want to focus on lead generation tactics that grow your email list
and fill your client relationship management (CRM) system with qualified prospects.
Target New Customers
You may choose this goal if you already have a loyal client base but would like to expand out and reach
new audiences, customers, and clients.
Retain Existing Customers
Rather than focus on new customer acquisition, you may want to focus on keeping the existing
customers you already have.
Build Brand Awareness
If your brand is new or only known to a small audience, one of the marketing objectives to focus on
could be expanding your reach and getting more people to learn about your brand.
Develop Brand Loyalty
If audiences already know your brand, you may want to focus on building not just awareness, but a
deeper brand affinity and loyalty.
Increase Sales and/or Revenue
If you are selling products or services, you may want to focus on selling more of those offerings. This
is one of the marketing objectives that will increase revenue and the amount of money coming into
your business.
Increase Profit
This marketing objective is different from increasing sales and revenue, because you may increase
your profit through means other than selling more. This objective may include cutting expenses and
overhead, selling more items that have higher margins, or other changes that increase profit (which
may not necessarily increase revenue).
Expand Into a New Market
If your brand is already well-known or successful in a specific industry or geographic area, you may
want to expand out into a new target market, vertical, or location.
Grow Market Share
Instead of growing into a new area, you may want to expand your footprint in your current market.
This objective helps you get more available customers in your industry or geographic location.
Build Industry Authority
Another way to grow your visibility in an industry is to become an expert in the field. You can focus on
establishing your brand as an authority in your vertical.
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It may be tempting to look at this list and want to choose five, 10, or even all of the marketing
strategies. But it’s important to note you should keep your list of marketing objectives relatively short.
Take time to focus on two to three objectives at a time, and then create plans to revisit and refocus
on other goals at a later time.
How to Define Clear Marketing Objectives
Once you know which marketing objectives you want to focus on, it’s time to drill down into the details
of those goals.
It’s not enough to just outline the marketing goals you want to accomplish. You also need to validate
your plans and make sure they are practical, useful, and reasonable. You must check to see if your
objectives are SMART.
SMART marketing objectives are:
• Specific: The goals are clearly defined and outlined so the whole team understands the
objective and why it’s important.
• Measurable: The goals have key performance indicators (KPI) and benchmarks that allow you
to measure your success.
• Achievable: The goals are within the ability of your company and team. While you want to set
a high bar, you also need to remember to set goals within your means, so you don’t set your
team up for failure.
• Relevant: The goals are relevant to your brand mission and direction of your business. You
should have good reasons for each of your marketing objectives.
• Time-Bound: The goals need to have a timeline that indicates when the objectives begin and
end.
The types of marketing objectives that work best are SMART. So use this method to check each of
your goals to make sure they are worth pursuing.
KPIs to Assign to Marketing Objectives
Once you know your marketing objectives and goals, it’s time to figure out how to measure them.
As mentioned above, successful goal setting requires placing KPIs and benchmarks on your plans. You
need to assign numbers, deadlines, and metrics to each of your marketing objectives.
KPIs and marketing metrics allow you to evaluate progress along the way and assess results at the end
of your campaign. Without benchmarks for your goals, you will have no way of knowing if your work
was successful.
So as you lay out your marketing plan, assign relevant KPIs that will help you assess and measure the
output of your work. Examples of KPIs you could use include the following metrics.
Example KPIs for Marketing Objectives
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Sales Growth
When looking to improve your sales, keep an eye on your revenue (amount of income coming into
your business) and/or number of units sold. Both of those metrics will help you gain insight into
whether your sales are growing. Monitor changes over specific time frames as well as during the
duration of campaigns or marketing initiatives to see trends and fluctuations.
Changes in Profit
Changes in profit, or ROI , don’t necessarily mean increases in revenue or sales. It specifically monitors
your profit margins, which is how much you take in after your expenses and costs.
Market Share
Your market share is the portion of a market that your brand or product controls. This metric helps
you compare your company to others in your industry and identify ways to reach your growth
potential. To measure changes in your market share, you need to know your current share of the
market.
To find your market share, consider the total revenue and market size of your industry or geographic
location. Then divide your company’s total revenue by the total revenue of the market. This calculation
will give you an estimate of the percentage of the market your brand controls.
Lead Generation
There are many ways to measure lead generation metrics. Depending on your marketing objectives,
determine which metrics will measure your success best.
• Number of leads: total number of new leads brought in
• Increase in leads: percentage change in lead generation compared to other time frames
• Cost per lead: amount of money spent to acquire one new lead
• Conversion rate: percentage of your traffic that becomes a lead after visiting your website
You can also break down these metrics into SQLs (sales qualified leads) and MQLs (marketing qualified
leads) to get an even more detailed look at your data.
New Customer Acquisition
When in a growth phase, you should keep an eye on new customer acquisition and the metrics that
help you monitor growth. KPIs that measure customer acquisition include the following metrics.
• Number of new customers: amount of new customers acquired over a certain period
• Increase in new customers: percentage change of new customers compared to other time
frames
• Cost per new customer: amount of money spent to acquire a new customer
• Lead-to-customer ratio: percentage of leads that become paying customers
Lifetime Value of a Customer
If you’re focused on marketing objectives that relate to your current customer base and keeping those
shoppers and clients happy, consider these metrics.
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• Number of repeat customers: number of customers who return
• Customer retention rate: percentage of customers who return
• Lifetime spend: average amount customers spend with a company over their lifetime
Customer Spend
You may also want to look at metrics that relate to individual, one-time purchases. Monitor the
average spend per customer to see the most common ticket sizes for each shopper or client.
Conversion Rates
When running campaigns that have intended results (such as a customer making a purchase, a website
visitor signing up for a free trial, an audience clicking on a link in an email, etc.), you should always
monitor the conversion rates.
Conversion rates are the percentage of people who perform the desired action when presented with
an option to act. Track conversion rates for all of your landing pages, website opt-ins, emails links, free
trial sign-ups, or any other call to action in your marketing campaigns.
Website Metrics
When your marketing objectives include digital plans, it’s important to keep an eye on web
analytics and online KPIs that tell you how well your site is performing.
• Sessions: number of visits to a website
• Unique visitors: number of unique people who visit a website
• Page views per visit: average number of pages a website visitor views on a website
• Bounce rate: percentage of website visitors who leave a site after viewing only one page
• Time on site: average amount of time that website visitors stay on a site
To view these stats: use Alexa’s Site Overview Tool. Enter your site URL and produce a report to view
data for these metrics.
Social Media Engagement
When engaging in digital strategies as they relate to social media, you may also want to utilize KPIs as
they relate to social performance.
• Increase in fans/followers: amount of new followers/fans acquired over a certain period
• Number of comments: number of comments left on your posts or updates
• Number of shares: number of times your content was shared
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• Number of opt-ins: numbers of leads generated through your social campaigns and/or posts
• Traffic to website from social media sources: percentage of your website traffic that is referred
by social media sites
SEO Performance
If your marketing plans include improving your visibility in search, monitor KPIs that show
improvement in your SEO status. To get an accurate look at each of these metrics, use Alexa tools to
keep track of (and improve) your numbers.
• Alexa Rank: a measure of how popular a website is compared to other websites (the lower a
website’s number, the more popular it is)
To check your Alexa Rank: use the free version of Alexa’s Site Overview Tool to view a site’s score in
the U.S. as well as across the world.
• Number of sites linking in: number of websites that have published a link to a website
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Shaping the “P’s” The last element of the marketing mix is the place. Also called placement or distribution, this is the
process and methods used to bring the product or service to the consumer.
In this section we will take a look at 1) an introduction of place, 2) distribution channels and
intermediaries, 3) making channel decisions, 4) managing distribution channels, 5) the impact of
the marketing mix on place, and 6) an example of Dell Computers’ distribution strategy.
PLACE – AN INTRODUCTION
In the marketing mix, the process of moving products from the producer to the intended user is
called place. In other words, it is how your product is bought and where it is bought. This movement
could be through a combination of intermediaries such as distributors, wholesalers and retailers. In
addition, a newer method is the internet which itself is a marketplace now.
Through the use of the right place, a company can increase sales and maintain these over a longer
period of time. In turn, this would mean a greater share of the market and increased revenues and
profits.
Correct placement is a vital activity that is focused on reaching the right target audience at the right
time. It focuses on where the business is located, where the target market is placed, how best to
connect these two, how to store goods in the interim and how to eventually transport them.
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DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS & INTERMEDIARIES
What is a Distribution Channel?
A distribution channel can be defined as the activities and processes required to move a product from
the producer to the consumer. Also included in the channel are the intermediaries that are involved
in this movement in any capacity. These intermediaries are third party companies that act as
wholesalers, transporters, retailers and provide warehouse facilities.
Types of Distribution Channels
There are four main types of distribution channels. These are:
Direct
In this channel, the manufacturer directly provides the product to the consumer. In this instance, the
business may own all elements of its distribution channel or sell through a specific retail location.
Internet sales and one on one meetings are also ways to sell directly to the consumer. One benefit of
this method is that the company has complete control over the product, its image at all stages and the
user experience.
Indirect
In this channel, a company will use an intermediary to sell a product to the consumer. The company
may sell to a wholesaler who further distributes to retail outlets. This may raise product costs since
each intermediary will get their percentage of the profits. This channel may become necessary for
large producers who sell through hundreds of small retailers.
Dual Distribution
In this type of channel, a company may use a combination of direct and indirect selling. The product
may be sold directly to a consumer, while in other cases it may be sold through intermediaries. This
type of channel may help reach more consumers but there may be the danger of channel conflict. The
user experience may vary and an inconsistent image for the product and a related service may begin
to take hold.
Reverse Channels
The last, most non tradition channel allows for the consumer to send a product to the producer. This
reverse flow is what distinguishes this method from the others. An example of this is when a consumer
recycles and makes money from this activity.
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Types of Intermediaries
Distribution channel intermediaries are middlemen who play a crucial role in the distribution process.
These middlemen facilitate the distribution process through their experience and expertise. There are
four main types of intermediaries:
1. Agents
The agent is an independent entity who acts as an extension of the producer by representing them to
the user. An agent never actually gains ownership of the product and usually make money from
commissions and fees paid for their services.
2. Wholesalers
Wholesalers are also independent entities. But they actually purchase goods from a producer in bulk
and store them in warehouses. These goods are then resold in smaller amounts at a profit.
Wholesalers seldom sell directly to an end user. Their customers are usually another intermediary
such as a retailer.
3. Distributors
Similar to wholesalers, distributors differ in one regard. A wholesaler may carry a variety of
competition brands and product types. A distributor however, will only carry products from a single
brand or company. A distributor may have a close relationship with the producer.
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4. Retailers
Wholesalers and distributors will sell the products that they have acquired to the retailer at a profit.
Retailers will then stock the goods and sell them to the ultimate end user at a profit.
Importance of Distribution Channels
It may seem simplistically possible and smarter for a company to directly distribute its own products
without the help of a channel and intermediaries. This is especially so because the internet allows
sellers and buyers to interact in real time. But in actual practice it may not make business sense for a
company to set up its own distribution operation. Large scale producers of consumer goods for
example, need to stock items of basic necessity such as soap, toilet paper and toothpaste in as many
small and large stores in as many locations as possible. These locations may be as close together as
two on the same street. They may also be remote rural convenience stores, rest stops and petrol
stations. It would be counterproductive and costly for the company to attempt to achieve this without
a detailed distribution channel.
Even in cases where a company does sell directly, there remain activities that are performed by an
outside company. A laptop may be sold from a company website to a consumer directly, but it will be
sent out using an existing courier service. This is why, in some form or the other, all producers must
rely on a distribution channel.
MAKING CHANNEL DECISIONS
Setting Goals and Direction
The first step to deciding the best distribution channel to use, a company needs to:
• Analyze the customer and understand their needs
• Discuss and finalize channel objectives
• Work out distribution tasks and processes.
Some key questions to ask in finalizing these three areas include:
• Where do users seek to purchase the product?
• If is a physical store, is it a supermarket or a specialist store? Is it an online store or a
catalogue?
• What is the access available to the right distribution channels?
• What are competitors doing? Are they successful? Can best practices be used in making
channel decisions?
Selecting Distribution Strategies
A company may need to use different strategies for different types of products. Three main strategies
that can be used are:
• Intensive Distribution – This strategy may be used to distribute lower prices products that
may be impulse purchases. Items are stocked at a large number of outlets and may include
things such as mints, gum or candy as well as basic supplies and necessities.
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• Selective Distribution – In this strategy, a product may be sold at a selective number or
outlets. These may include items such as computers or household appliances that are costly
but need to be somewhat widely available to allow a consumer to compare.
• Exclusive Distribution – A higher priced item may be sold at a single outlet. This is exclusive
distribution. Cars may be an example of this type of strategy.
Assessing Benefits of Distribution Channels
While making channel decisions, a company may need to weigh the benefits of a partner with the
associated costs. Some potential benefits to look out for include:
1. Specialists – Since intermediaries are experts at what they do, they can perform the task
better and more cost effectively than a company itself.
2. Quick Exchange time – Being specialists and using established processes, intermediaries are
able to ensure deliveries faster and on time.
3. Variety for the Consumers – By selling through retailers, consumers are able to choose
between a varieties of products without having to visit multiple stores belonging to each
individual producer.
4. Small Quantities – Intermediaries allow the cost of transportation to be divided and this in
turn allows consumers to buy small quantities of a product rather than having to make bulk
purchases. This is possible when a wholesaler buys in bulk, stores the product in a warehouse
and then provides the product to retailers located close by at lower transportation costs.
5. Sales Creation – Since retailers and wholesalers have their own stakes in the product, they
may have their own advertising or promotions efforts that help generate sales.
6. Payment Options – Retailers may create payment plans and options for customers allowing
easier purchases.
7. Information – The distribution channel can provide valuable information on the product and
its acceptability, allowing product development as well as an idea of emerging consumer
trends and behaviors.
Assessing Possible Channel Costs
With the benefits in mind, here are some costs that a producer may have to weigh in order to make
channel decisions
1. Lost Revenue – Because intermediaries need to be either paid for their services or allowed to
resell at a higher price, the company may lose out on revenue. Pricing needs to stay consistent,
so the company will have to reduce its profit margin to give a cut to the intermediary.
2. Lost Communication Control – Along with revenue, the message being received by the
consumer is also in the hands of the intermediary. There is a danger of wrong information
being communicated to the customer regarding product features and benefits which can lead
to dissatisfaction.
3. Lost Product Importance – When a product is handed over to an intermediary, how much
importance it gets is now out of the company’s hand. The intermediary may have incentives
to push another product first at the expense of others.
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MANAGING DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Channel management is an essential activity for the manufacturer. Intermediaries need to be kept
motivated and offered incentives to ensure timely and efficient delivery of products and services.
Clear messages regarding products and their functionalities need to be passed on to attempt to keep
clear communication regarding a product or brand all the way to the end user.
Channel Segmentation
Just as a customer base is segmented and addressed according to their specific needs and
requirements, distribution channels can also be segmented. Now all intermediaries or the markets
they serve will be similar. There may be a need to foster stronger relationships with a retailer that sells
in a knowledgeable and discerning urban market with high competition. Similarly, if a product is
expensive and highly specialized, a retailer may need to be trained and given the relevant information.
Benefits of Channel Segmentation
A company may achieve one of more of the following benefits through channel segmentation:
• Product Management – Relevant products may be provided to the right channel which can
help reduce cost of irrelevant stock as well as unnecessary logistical arrangements.
• Price Management – Local price differentiation may be possible.
• Promotion Management – More targeted and relevant promotional activities may be
possible with more clear and consistent marketing messages.
• Efficiency in Operations – Time and resource wastage through the channel can be removed.
Development needs of every channel segment can be addressed separately, in a more
targeted manner.
IMPACT OF MARKETING MIX ON PLACE
No element of the marketing mix works in isolation. Information from each of them acts as input to
the others. This is why when shaping a distribution strategy, input needs to be taken from all other
elements of the mix and any considerations need to be addressed or incorporated. Product, price and
promotion may have the following impacts on the distribution strategy:
Impact of Product Issues
The type of product being manufactured is often the deciding factor in distribution decisions. A
delicate or perishable product will need special arrangements while sturdy or durable products will
not require such delicate handling.
Impact of Pricing Issues
An assessment of the right price for a product is made by the marketing team. This is the price at
which the customer will be willing to make the purchase. This price will often help decide the type of
distribution channel. If this price does not allow a high margin, then a company may choose to use
less intermediaries in its channel to ensure that everyone gets their cut at a reasonable cost to the
manufacturer.
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Impact of Promotion Issues
The nature of the product also has an impact on the type of promotions required to sell it. These
promotion decisions will in turn directly affect the distribution decisions. Disposable goods or those
of everyday use do not require too many special channels. But for a car, there needs to be extensive
salesperson and user interaction. For this type of product, a specialist channel may be needed.
EXAMPLE – DIRECT SELLING AT DELL COMPUTERS
Dell Computers was founded by a college freshman Michael Dell. By 1985, the company had
developed its unique strategy of offering made to order computers. As a result of this, sales went from
6 million dollars in 1984 to 70 million in 1985. In another 5 years the sales jumped to 500 million dollars
and by the end of 2000 they had crossed 25 billion dollars.
A superior supply chain and innovative manufacturing had an important role to play in this
phenomenal success. Another important contributing factor was the unique distribution strategy
employed by the company. Identifying and capitalizing on an emerging market trend, Dell eliminated
the middleman or retailers from their distribution channel. This was done after studying and analyzing
the personal computer value chain.
Dell became a strong direct seller, by using mail-order systems before the spread of the internet. After
the internet became more mainstream, an online sales platform was established. Early on in the
internet era, Dell began providing order status reports and technical support to their customers online.
Online sales reached 4 million dollars a day in 1997.
While competitors sold pre-configured and assembled PCs in retail stores, Dell offered something new
and attractive to the customers by providing the option to pick desirable features and that too at a
discounted price. This was possible because Dell did not have to bear the costs of the middleman.
Another useful aspect of this model was the information available regarding customers and their
needs and requirements. This helped the company predict market trends and segment its market. This
segmentation helped product development efforts and an understanding of what creates value for
each segment.
Through careful analysis of the target market, a study of available channel options and effective use
of a novel idea, Dell computers managed to reach early success in its industry.
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The marketing plan Second only to creating a stellar product or service, marketing is a crucial part of home business
success. Without it, people can't learn about your business to buy from you. Without customers or
clients, you don't have a business.
A marketing plan is a business document outlining your marketing strategy and tactics. It's often
focused on a specific period of time (i.e. over the next 12 months) and covers a variety of marketing-
related details, such as costs, goals, and action steps.
But like your business plan, a marketing plan is not a static document. It needs to change and evolve
as your business grows, and as new and changing marketing trends develop.
Purpose of a Marketing Plan
Many business owners create a marketing plan and then set it aside. However, your marketing plan is
a road map providing you with direction toward reaching your business objectives. It needs to be
referred to and assessed for results frequently.
While some small business owners include their marketing plan as part of their overall business plan,
because marketing is crucial to success, having a comprehensive, detailed marketing plan on its own
is recommended. If you don't want to make a mini-plan as part of your business plan, you can attach
your full marketing plan to the business plan as an appendix to the business plan.
Benefits to a Marketing Plan
The importance of a detailed marketing plan can't be overstated. A marketing plan:
• Gives clarity about who your market is. It's easier to find clients and customers if you know
who they are.
• Helps you craft marketing messages that will generate results.Marketing is about knowing
what your product or service can do to help a target market. Your messages need to speak
directly your market.
• Provides focus and direction. Email, social media, advertising, guest blogging, direct mail,
publicity, and on and on. With so many marketing choices, you need a plan for determining
the best course of action for your business.
How to Create Your Marketing Plan
A typical small business marketing plan covers many elements including a description of
competitors, demand for the product or service you offer, and strengths and weaknesses from a
market standpoint of both the business and its competitors.
A marketing plan is a tool you need to use daily to help you reach your market and your profit goals.
As you make your marketing plan, focus on what you need to understand and reach your market. The
basics include:
1. Details about your business' current situation. What is your product or service? What's working
and what challenges are you currently having in generating new clients and customers? What issues
might you encounter over the next year, such as a move (when you can't work) or new laws that might
impact how you do business?
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2. Who is your target market? Who is the most likely buyer of what you're offering? The answer
should never be "everyone." To help you define your market, determine how your product or service
helps people and then figure out the people who need that solution. You might have several groups
within your target market, often referred to as market segmentation (specializing in specific niche
markets or groups). For example, if your business helps people with weight loss, your target markets
could be moms wanting to lose baby weight and baby boomers wanting to improve their health.
Knowing your market and its needs helps you to create market specific messages and place them
where they'll be seen for greater effectiveness.
3. What are your goals for the time period of the plan? Be specific in your goals, such as increase
email list by x amount over the next year or find x number of new clients. It's important that you're
able to measure the effectiveness of your marketing plan by having a quantifiable goal.
4. What marketing tactics will you use to reach your market and goals? Let your target market be
your guide in deciding what marketing strategies you'll use. Where does your market hangout? How
can you entice them to check out your business? For example, if your market spends a lot of time on
Facebook, you might consider having a Facebook fan page or group, or perhaps investing in Facebook
advertising. If you're a service business catering to other businesses, you might want to write an article
for a newsletter or magazine that targets that same business industry.
5. How much will it cost? This is where you make a budget for your marketing plan. There are
many free marketing strategies, although they require time, which is a type of expense. Will you do
home parties and if so, what will be the cost of travel, mailing of invites, purchasing door-prizes, etc?
Will you pay for advertising or for a mailing list service? Of all the places to spend money in your home
business, marketing is the priority, as long as you're investing wisely.
6. How will you execute your marketing plan? Planning is fairly easy. Carrying out a plan is more of a
challenge. How will you fit in your marketing strategies into your business? If you're doing social
media, will you be using a social media management tool or hire a social media manager? Will
you write a blog or create content to share on other websites, such as article marketing? If so, how
often will you post or deliver content? You need to do something every say to get your business in
front of your market.
You're more likely to do it if you have a plan and fit the plan into your daily schedule.
Keep Your Marketing Plan up to Date
Like a business plan, a marketing plan is a living, breathing document. Analyzing your results and
tweaking or changing your marketing strategies is an important task in keeping your marketing plan
up to date and having it fulfill its purpose in helping reach your business goals. Many factors can
impact your marketing results and choices including market conditions, demand for your product or
service, pricing issues, and new marketing methods (i.e. a new social media platform). It's important
you stay aware of all of this and adjust your marketing plan accordingly.
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Assessing the progress of the plan Having ways to check on your progress (monitoring) and take stock of where things are at on a regular
basis (evaluation), are important for your group to function effectively.
Monitoring and evaluation are critical for taking stock of progress and for helping to ‘learn as we
go’. Monitoring and evaluation can help groups to identify issues, measure success and learn from
any mistakes. This notion is closely linked to the ‘learning’ principle of successful community
conservation projects.
You can use this worksheet for step-by-step guidance on how to plan your evaluation. Work through
the questions, fill in the worksheet as you go and refer back to these sections for ideas.
Monitoring
Monitoring is the systematic gathering and analysing of information that will help measure progress
on an aspect of your project. Ongoing checks against progress over time may include monitoring
water quality in a catchment or monetary expenditure against the project budget. Monitoring is not
evaluation as such but is usually a critical part of your evaluation process and should therefore be
included at your project planning stage.
Before undertaking any monitoring it is important to consider:
• Why you want to monitor
• What you will monitor
• Key features of effective monitoring
Why you want to monitor?
Keeping records and monitoring activities helps people see progress and builds a sense of
achievement. Records can be useful and even essential when promoting the group or applying for
funding.
Monitoring also has significance for the wider field of conservation. Ecosystem monitoring is not a
fully developed science, so any work undertaken by your group has the potential to contribute to the
refinement of measures of ecosystem health.
What you will monitor
The following list of questions will help you decide on your monitoring objectives:
• What information will help us make informed decisions? What will help us know that our
project/group is on track?
• What’s the appropriate scale for monitoring e.g. catchment, district, reserve boundary, whole
forest or whole ecosystem?
• What are our timeframes for monitoring e.g. days, months or years?
• Do we need input from other groups or agencies?
Features of effective monitoring
Monitoring can be considered to be effective when:
• Scientifically valid techniques are used.
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• Aspects relevant to your project are measured.
• It’s carried out regularly and consistently.
• Accurate records are kept.
• It is used as part of your evaluation to support or adjust project goals and actions.
Evaluation
Evaluation provides an opportunity to reflect and learn from what you’ve done, assess the outcomes
and effectiveness of a project and think about new ways of doing things. In other words, it informs
your future actions.
Evaluation should ideally be factored into your initial project planning (see setting your
direction). When you are setting your vision, goals and actions, you need to be considering how and
when you’ll check your progress against them. You may decide that you will:
• Refine your project as you go, so that evaluation is part of your regular project activities.
• Evaluate the project at agreed milestones e.g. on a yearly basis or after major activities.
• Carry out an initial baseline exercise against which you compare progress at the end of the
project.
To ensure your evaluation is effective, it is important to consider:
• Your purpose - what to evaluate
• Your approach - how to evaluate
Once evaluation data has been gathered and analysed, remember to check your conclusions against
your goals and objectives. Make sure you put your results into practice - take them on board and use
them to influence how you work!
Your purpose - what to evaluate
When designing your evaluation, make sure you’re clear about your purpose. It’s helpful to determine
what questions you want answered - make sure everything you ask or investigate during evaluation
relates back to these questions.
As a first step, decide what it is that’s important to evaluate. It might just be finding out what worked
and what didn’t, so you can improve things. It might be more specific, such as the extent to which
your project is achieving the outcomes set for it (in most cases, these will be conservation outcomes),
how well organised you are or whether you met the expectations of sponsors.
Your approach - how to evaluate
There are many different ways to evaluate your project, depending on what your purpose
is. However, it’s important to make sure the evaluation process involves valid and sound methods for
information gathering and analysis. This doesn’t mean you need to go to great expense but requires
that you be clear about the methods involved.
A small project, for example, could be evaluated using a well-structured workshop at an evening
meeting attended by all project partners. In comparison, a large, expensive multi-year project might
warrant employing a specialist or at least getting their help with the evaluation design.
