| By Robert Croston Do you ever wonder why it is that the marketing plan you completed last quarter is sitting on your shelf collecting dust? You had the energy and forethought to create the plan in the first place; but there it sits, nicely filed next to those manuals from last month's corporate retreat. In my experience, few firms treat their marketing plan as the living and breathing document it should be. All too often, marketing plans are theoretical exercises that have few, if any, real world consequences. Many are difficult to understand and nearly impossible to implement. As a result, I see way too many plans that are not implemented in their entirety or just completely shelved. Implementation lapses like this ruins the integrity of any plan. The interdependent nature of integrated communications activity makes marketing success a cumulative process; without a sustained effort results are elusive. To make the marketing plan that kinetic business tool that you intend it to be, it needs to not only discuss what should happen and why it should happen, but how it will happen. The how part of this equation often gets lost in the marketing speak that might impress the board, but does not always get the job done. Ready, Aim, Fire Think of your marketing plan in these terms. The plan is itself provides the ready, aim, but nothing will happen if you don't pull the trigger. Here are five areas related to pulling the trigger that routinely deserve more attention in most marketing plans. - Tactics
I know what you're thinking, “What's a marketing plan without tactics? Of course I list out the tactics in my plan.” While most plans list and discuss recommended tactics, they often fall short by not outlining the specific steps that need to happen to pull the trigger on each one.
The devil is in the details, and if you want something to get done, all the details must be specified. Don't be afraid to get granular by assigning specific responsibilities to specific people. If the people involved in the execution of the plan have a clear understanding of exactly what they are expected to do, you will experience less ramp up time and greater internal commitment.
Specifying a tactic that does not have a person associated with its completion is an unfortunate pitfall of many marketing plans. So when listing the tactics and tasks, never leave anything blank. If no one is accountable for it getting done, than it probably won't.
The same holds true for outside resources. Identify all vendor and agency responsibilities clearly. Be sure to make them a partner in the planning process by sharing not only the marketing plan, but your exact expectations for their specific role.
- Schedules
This is one of the most important parts in any plan. It also may be one of the most difficult and tedious to create. I have found that the more time put into the scheduling process, the greater the likelihood of successful plan implementation.
It is often best to seek help in creating your schedule. Coordinate with your internal staff, involved departments, and any outside resources to set realistic expectations on how long it will take to implement each tactic and to obtain buy-in on when things happen.
Once the schedule is set, identify actionable goals for each week to rally the troops around a common objective. This of course depends on activity levels and the seasonal patterns of your business, but this simple strategy keeps you, and your team, focused on the plan's objectives and helps to create the type of committed culture that you will need to continually pull the trigger.
- Budgets
All marketing plans outline a budget but most don't fully explain where the numbers come from. If you can justify your recommended budget, explain where the numbers come from, and detail expected outcomes, you will have an easier time defending the plan.
What's the best way to justify your budget? First, coordinate with sales to confirm forecasts, then by working backward with the company's historical data, determine the leads needed to achieve the forecasts.
With the number of required leads identified, determine the cost of a typical lead and the excepted results of the various recommended tactics based on historical examples from the company, market and medium.
Simply by following this basic calculation, you will be able to roughly determine the return on your marketing investment. Fine tune this analysis with continuous measurement and update as needed to address present market conditions and any unforeseen challenges.
- Measurement
What needs to be measured depends on the objectives and strategies outlined in your plan. Regardless of what these measurements are, the one thing you want to focus on is how your proposed marketing activity improves your company's current state.
It is impossible to measure what your marketing will do if you don't have something to measure against. So, start by fully understanding what is happening today, so you can effectively measure the impact of the marketing activity tomorrow.
Information is power, and proper assessment should give you a good idea of exact outcomes and how these will affect the bottom line. Use this information to continuously update and adjust your plan as necessary.
- Updates
Remember, your marketing plan is a living and breathing document, so update it as actions dictate. Ideally, on a quarterly basis you will want to look at the schedule, budget and any assessment results to fine tune as necessary. Then, be sure to report back to management to align expectations.
Many marketing executives that I have worked with feel updating a plan in midstream amounts to admitting defeat; that their original ideas simply did not pass muster. My reaction: Life continually changes, so why wouldn't your marketing plan?
There are always factors beyond your control: people come and go, sales may not reach their goals, and there are always economic considerations. Nobody has a crystal ball (or one that works anyways), so by default change is a necessary and healthy component of any planning activity.
So rather than creating a marketing plan that just covers the ready, aim and then sits on your shelf only to collect dust, consider focusing the plan on those activities that will help you pull the trigger and fire. Arguably, all these executional components are the unglamorous blocking and tackling; however, from the details of these basic activities come great results and a plan that does more than just sits on your shelf. |