Anatomy of a Marketing Plan - The Objective

This is the first post in the 'Anatomy of a Marketing Plan' series. 

THE OBJECTIVE

An objective statement is often the first thing we think about when we sit down to write a business plan. In the anatomy of a marketing plan, this one, overarching statement holds the whole thing together. In this blog post, we’ll break down the objective statement, and hopefully give you some tools to try it on your own!

Why do I need one?

Having a clear objective is extremely valuable because it establishes the direction for your business. Once a direction is clear, you can begin the journey, gain momentum, and accelerate. If you decide not to determine a destination, by contrast, any road will get you there… for better or worse.

So what is an objective statement?

In essence, it is the overture for your marketing plan. A complete objective answers the ‘who?’ the ‘what?’ and the ‘so what?’ questions for your business in the year ahead.

OK, where do I start? 

As an exercise, try completing this mad-lib for your business in 2017:

The following marketing plan describes the goals, strategies and methods for (  your business  ) throughout (  2017  ). With this plan (  your business  ) seeks to (  achieve this goal  ) by (  doing this thing  ) and (  this thing  ) so that (  this customer group  ) has (  this result  ).

For example:

“With this plan, Beauty Renegade seeks to increase sales by expanding their line of ultra-premium organic beauty products and growing online retailer relationships so that men and women in their 20s and 30s consider using Beauty Renegade products a lifestyle rather than just a skincare regimen.”

The rest of your plan (strategies, tactics, and metrics) will outline exactly how you plan to achieve your objective goal. As a best practice, I often begin a marketing plan document by drafting an objective, and then refining it again after the entire plan is complete. This is important because you will need a concise, accurate, and clear statement that can be repeated again and again throughout the year.

Take this week to try the exercise of drafting your objective. In our next post, we’ll continue to discuss the anatomy of a marketing plan with an exploration of strategies. It's gonna be awesome. 

If you are thinking about changing direction in 2017 or expanding upon what’s already working, Tonic Marketing helps our clients create and execute plans to make it happen. If you would be interested in brainstorming with us, let’s grab coffee!