Are you guilty of the “shoot and point” approach to doing business? Hurriedly implementing and then (maybe) trying to sharpen your aim after the fact? We’ve all been there. Too much to do, not enough time —sometimes it seems better to get something done rather than taking the extra time to plan and focus. And sometimes it is better but not always.
With marketing, it can be easy to pull the trigger on opportunities that are time-sensitive. But if you find yourself doing this all the time, you may have gone into “tail-wag-dog” reactive mode without even realizing it. Take a breath. Time for a reality check on your marketing efforts.
A productive reality check involves comparing your results to-date but also using this new, evidenced-based information to challenge some of the assumptions made in your annual plan. The end of first quarter offers a snapshot of how the year may unfold. A lot can change over the coming months. But you can observe trends, make some interpretations and forecast how things could track.
The soundness of any structure depends on the strength and viability of its foundation. Your marketing plan is no different. How are your pillars holding up? Are the components the right ones—doable, affordable and likely to generate results? And are each of the pillars supporting your marketing efforts
and reinforcing the others?
Business plan linkage.
Marketing can’t propel the business forward without being tied to your business goals. If somehow these two have diverged, make adjustments so that marketing programs will contribute directly to the business.
Objectives.
For the plan overall, as well as for individual programs, marketing objectives need to be articulated in detailed, specific terms, quantifiable whenever possible. “Growing the business” isn’t an objective that will help focus you into specific measurable action. “Growing revenue by 10 percent in 2014,” on the other hand, is an example of something that will. Add specificity now if you need to.
Intelligence.
No one needs to “shoot from the hip” or rely on hunches any more. Marketing intelligence is accessible and gives you a data-based view of the landscape. But did you know that that marketing intelligence itself has four cornerstones—competitor intelligence, product intelligence, market understanding and customer understanding? At pragmaticmarketing.com, contributor Ed Crowley says that although each of these four cornerstones can be a discipline in and of itself, the real power of intelligence comes from integrating all four. Click here to read this intelligence primer.
Strategies.
These broad areas of focus articulate how you’re going to achieve your objectives. If one of your objectives is growing revenue by 10 percent this year, strategies might include increasing customer acquisition by 25 percent and making an additional sale to 50 % of your existing customers. First-quarter results provide initial indicators of the soundness of your strategy. If one or the other is more cost effective and/or has some momentum going, double down. Stay nimble and flexible, letting your results guide you and adjusting your plan accordingly.
Tactics.
First quarter customer response to social media offers has been gangbusters! So don’t curtail successful tactics just because it’s in the plan. At the same time, be ready with that planned email campaign in case your offer response falls.
Measurement.
Zeroing in on first-quarter results is an indicator of the validity of your plan and assumptions. The most obvious measure is revenue—how does it stack up against your plan projections? Gauge where you are on the expense side, too. Review results to-date against projections for other key measures, such as traffic, conversion rates, or incremental sales per customer. If any of them are way off plan, go back and revisit your assumptions. Were there extenuating factors beyond your control? Or do your strategies and tactics need to be ramped up or tweaked?
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