Marketing programs should always be driven by the combination of your current position and the agreed strategy. Your marketing objectives should be directly and overtly tied to the achievement of the longer-term strategy.
In the absence of an overall strategy, writing a marketing plan becomes an exercise with little meaning. The marketing plan is how you allocate external communication investment and align internal resource allocation priorities to the achievement of the strategic objective.
The marketing objectives should be designed to contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives, along with other corporate plans such as the financial plan (budget) manufacturing plan, personnel plan. They work together to achieve the overall strategic objective. They represent the desired end points, the strategies and tactics employed are how you get there.
It is a simple formula: Objectives = Current situation X strategic choices.
A plan without an objective is not a plan.
Objectives have three functions:
- They provide the target that every stakeholder understands is, or should be, the focus of their daily, weekly, monthly activity.
- They provide the framework and means for the alignment of cascading contributing objectives, performance measures, milestones, accountabilities, and responsibilities, through the organisation, up, down, and across.
- They provide a framework for measurement of progress.
The compounding of the effectiveness of effort when these three functions are present, and working together, is enormous.
These three functions of objectives are the same at the strategic level as they are at the coalface. The only difference is the time frame, the nature of the immediate objectives, and the activities to be undertaken by individuals.
At the coalface you are looking at the objectives for today, tomorrow, and next week.
At the strategic level you are looking at next quarter, year, and 3 years.
The means by which the gap between the levels is addressed is reflected in the 2-way flow of information, priority and feedback that occurs, which is a function of the culture and resulting ‘flow’ through the processes in the business.
It is easy for me to say, but very hard to get right, and it is not a task, it is a continuing journey.
Everyone, at every level should be aware of the strategic objectives, the strategy, and how their piece of the world fits into and contributes to the larger picture.
Think about the many wheels inside a mechanical clock, all are driven by the central objective of telling the time, then hours, minutes, date, day of the week. All are run off the central powered flywheel.
The strategy is the flywheel, delivering accurate information is the objective.
The strategic objectives should evolve out of the interrogation and questions that are asked in the assessment of the current situation, and the vision/mission, whatever you choose to call it, of the organisation.
A daily ‘toolbox’ or ‘stand-up’ is the coalface equivalent of a quarterly strategy review, just held at a different level. They are the catalyst for the difficult questions that need to be answered.
