Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Anna,

Great question! Prioritizing has to be done everywhere and in a "service function" like marketing sometimes becomes, you have to justify to the managers of other functions as to why you aren't going to get to their brainchild until sometime in December - they all want everything to be #1 priority! And you have to balance strategic actions versus the tactical (diving catches in the endzone - non planned items). First, it has to be driven at a process level. Implementing a strategic process helps. Annually, in most cases, the plan is put together with a three to five year timeframe in mind and activities are sanctioned for this year necessary to implement that strategy (this is a total organizational consensus) a 3W's action plan for each activity - What is going to be done by Whom and When. Goals are set over all and for each activity, metrics defined, and measurements are taken. Periodically, reviews are held to see if all the 3W's are getting done and to assess how the organization is doing on the metrics. This is typically a monthly review. Then, quarterly, perhaps, a strategic review is held to make sure the strategy is still appropriate. Of course, if obvious issues surface, then a review is called immediately for either strategy or tactics. For instance, if these creative ideas about which you speak come up and someone feels they should interrupt planned activities, a review is held to make sure everyone agrees with that re-prioritization.

With the measurements and metrics, like all investments, the organization should concern itself with return on investment (ROI). Most of the time a revenue and/or profit goal is set for the organizations and for each marketing activity, a supporting goal should be set. Costs for the marketing activities are known, so you can calculate expected ROI by either dividing expected revenue or profit by expected cost. Revenue can be used if the product/service costs are fairly uniform for each of the products/services targeted by the marketing activities. If you have a wide range of product/service costs, then contribution margin dollars(price - variable cost) can be used if the overhead costs are uniform. If not, then you have to use gross profit. I mention this because revenue is usually easier to measure versus contribution margin dollars versus gross profit. With an ROI ranking, you can prioritize the activities according to their expected payback. An exception point might be an activity that is agreed upon as "strategic" and just has to be done now might be difficult to see an ROI until years out. With agreement of the team, the ROI priority can be overridden. So when someone comes up with the "next big thing" to do in marketing, take a look at the ROI and file it on the things to do list according to it's projected impact to the business. And, on a monthly basis at the reviews, as resources become free, you can review that list and pick the next ones on the list to tackle - and get everyone to agree that these are the ones that are next.

I hope this helps.

Wayde

I know it doesn't make things easier, but what you are experiencing is a common occurrence. When I coach companies I often find they have 142 top priorities. The net result of this is zero - top priorities.

My suggestion... lock in on a calendar
with room for
10 long range initiatives (2year)
10 mid range (1 year)
10 Six month
5 next quarter

Once Five make it to the next quarter - allow only one change. Anything else that comes up is handled after the priority stuff.... if there is no time, it can either be the one change or it goes to the 6 month list.

Anna,

Well, you have about 29 more people than me and I do look at it in this "process" perspective. Not because of a huge number of priorities to deal with but because I have limited resources (aka cash) to pour into marketing so I select carefully based on the expected return and execute based on that priority. Additionally, I measure the effectiveness of the activities and set time aside each month to sit down and review where I am and take necessary actions to get back on track if I'm not. Not so much formal as regular and routine. I have a client with 2 people and we do the same thing - for now on a weekly basis, since we just started, but soon to be monthly. We have identified "loser" activities that we have axed and other activities we put on the "to do" list with a date when we think we'll be ready to pick it up.

Randall, thanks for your generousity with Anna's points at allocating me a whole 10! And hello back.

Wayde

First to Anna: OK, we may have a lot of points, but we have egos to match, too! It's necessary to have that many points or we'd run away crying (well, Randall would, anyway)!

And now to Linnea: For companies (and Vice Presidents) not into processes, what I describe is like herding cats. First let me describe my perspective on marketing. The Marketing Process consists of three distinct phases: Strategy, Planning, and Execution. In the strategy phase, you analyze the market, customers, competition, and your company. Then, you do direction setting, which is strategic actions, position statements, product/service definition, and brand strategy. During the Planning stage, you set your goals and objectives, define your metrics and measurements, your marketing activities, and the review cycles. During execution, you're a project manager of your activities, a process manager for the reviews and handling exceptions, and score keeper.

Hey, things happen. The plan is a living document. But, when they do happen, as a company stakeholder and the "process manager," you have the right to ask how the new things stack up against the present plan in terms of the expected. In doing this, you may highlight that this interruption has to be shelved so that another crucial activity is completed. I do agree it isn't easy to do this when the exec management team doesn't buy in, however.

You are only 4.5 hours drive from me. I give half day seminars on this kind of thing. If you would like to discuss that off-forum, eMail me separately.

Wayde