A well-structured marketing plan should be a "by marketing for the business," not a "by marketing for marketing" document.
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A Marketing Plan Must Line Up With Strategic Business Priorities
By Carlos Guerrero | November 8, 2024
A marketing plan must tie to business goals
CMOs often struggle to position marketing as a strategic partner in business, primarily because their marketing strategies do not consistently tie short-term activities to long-term business outcomes.
The solution lies in a well-structured marketing plan that connects marketing efforts to business goals and provides a clear roadmap to success — while being flexible and adaptive to the environment in which they are executed.
A marketing plan should be actionable and encourage accountability
Too often, marketing plans are vague or overly tactical, making it difficult to gauge their effectiveness. This disconnect not only obscures the true value of marketing programs but also creates a short-term view of success.
A structured approach that is both actionable and accountable clarifies marketing's role in reaching the enterprise’s long-term, strategic goals — such as maximizing revenue, profits and ROI and minimizing costs — and empowers CMOs to prioritize initiatives that will have the most impact.
Adapting your marketing plan to environmental changes
As market conditions evolve, so must your marketing plan. Be on alert for changes in:
Macroenvironmental factors: External factors, such as economic shifts, social or cultural changes, or technological shifts, that are outside the control of the organization.
Microenvironmental factors: External factors, such as changes in the competitive landscape, shifts in customer behaviors, or changes in a once-valuable channel, that are within the control of the organization.
Internal factors: Factors inside the organization, such as budget shifts, organizational changes or capability changes — that impact expected performance.
Incorporate regular reviews of your marketing plan into your strategy rather than taking a set-it-and-forget-it approach. A good marketing plan is structured enough to build a clear roadmap but can be tweaked if previously unforeseen obstacles or opportunities arise.
Constant evaluation and refinement of your marketing plan
To maintain alignment with business goals, evaluate marketing performance against SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) objectives at least once per month. Ensure that marketing leaders within your team, who are accountable for delivering operational plans, check performance against KPIs at least once per week. Their teams should strive to check and optimize performance on a daily basis.
Consider performance review opportunities to refine and optimize the programs that are delivering well — and adjust, descope or dispose of programs that are not delivering as expected.
Marketing plan FAQs
What is a marketing planning process?
A marketing planning process involves setting clear goals, understanding your target audience, distributing resources and developing strategies that meet your organization’s larger business goals. Monitoring and refining these efforts based on data is an important and ongoing part of the process.
Why is marketing planning important for business growth?
Marketing planning helps align marketing strategies with the business’s overall goals. It helps ensure proper allocation of resources, targets the right audiences and provides an effective means of tracking performance.
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