subject: Marketing Plan - Objectives [print this page] Marketing Plan - Objectives Marketing Plan - Objectives
If you read my earlier articles, it's about identifying where you are now, establishing where you want to be and the road you need to take to get there.
The format of any marketing plan will follow roughly the same structure which should be logical, starting with an in depth look at the current position, the setting of the overall goal and the strategies which will be employed to achieve that goal. It will go on to look at the specific tactics that will be used and this will be at a micro level. By this I mean that consideration will have to be given to the individual elements of the marketing mix which will involve a minute examination of the product itself, the packaging, methods of distribution etc.
All this will come about as a result of the careful planning process. What is the target market, how will it be reached, what "angle" could be used.
Objectives
I covered mission statements in an earlier article but simply put, this is a statement of what the company is trying to achieve, its raison d'tre and should provide the organisation with a sense of purpose and direction. Before these can be properly established, certain agreements will have to be made following on from the marketing audit and SWOT analysis, they will involve collating all the information and coming up with a set of criteria. In larger companies many people may have input into the plan and they could have conflicting views about what it is that competitors may do, they may be more bullish about the trading position and all these views need to be formulated into a consensus.
The plan does need to challenge people but it also needs to be realistic and achievable; there is no point planning your entire business on the basis of a 10% market share if you are only likely to get 1%. Critical analysis at this point is vital; assumptions should be challenged to ensure that everyone in the process is comfortable that what is being suggested is "doable" even if it will take some effort to get there. Objectives should focus on the market or markets in which the organisation trades and the products that are available to service that market.
You will, I am sure, have heard many times that objectives should be SMART; they must be specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and timely. So "we want to be the best supplier of product X" is not a proper objective. Sales of product X to increase by 10% on last year over the course of the next trading year however, is all of those things; it's very specific, there is a measure, it's not unreasonable on the face of it so it is a realistic goal and it has a time span.
Summary
Using the quadrant example so loved by marketers again, we are looking here at spelling out what is required for;
Existing products in existing markets
New products in existing markets
Existing products in new markets
New products in new markets
Conveniently they probably rank from 1 to 4 in the degree of difficulty and effort that will be needed to achieve the objective.
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