Marketing Objectives

10 Key excerpts on "Marketing Objectives"

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  eBook - ePub

  Market Segmentation

  How to Do It and How to Profit from It

  • Malcolm McDonald(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Unless the setting of Marketing Objectives and strategies is carried out well, everything that follows will lack focus and cohesion. In previous chapters, you have gone to a lot of trouble to develop an in-depth understanding of the market and to select the right targets. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that you score a bull’s-eye on your selected targets!

  This chapter is organized as follows:

  • A discussion about what Marketing Objectives are and how they relate to corporate objectives
  • How to set Marketing Objectives
  • What competitive strategies are and how they can be used to gain competitive advantage
  • How to start the process of marketing planning
  • A brief review of product development as a growth strategy
  • An introduction to marketing strategies and how to set them
  • How to develop effective marketing strategies for identified segments
  • A brief discussion about marketing in a downturn
  • Guidelines on the profitability aspects of setting Marketing Objectives and strategies
  • A review of the chapter
  • Exercises further to help you analyse the gap between sales and financial objectives and long-term forecasts

  Marketing Objectives: what they are and how they relate to corporate objectives

  There are no works on marketing which do not include at least one paragraph on the need for setting objectives. Setting objectives is a mandatory step in the planning process. The literature on the subject, though, is not very explicit, which is surprising when it is considered how vital the setting of Marketing Objectives is.

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  Definition:

  A marketing objective is the quantification of what an organization sells (its products) and to whom (its segments). - - - - - - - - - -

  An objective will ensure that a company knows what its strategies are expected to accomplish and when a particular strategy has accomplished its purpose. In other words, without objectives, strategy decisions and all that follows will take place in a vacuum.

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  Building a Marketing Plan

  • Ho Yin Wong(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Business Expert Press

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 5 Marketing Objectives and Strategy Formulation

  Now that we have completed the situation analysis, we’ll develop the marking plan itself. A marketing plan by definition means developing ways and means of achieving the corporate goals through utilization of the available resources and satisfying our target markets.

  This chapter discusses setting Marketing Objectives in the market planning process. The objectives developed for the marketing plan need to be consistent with the business plan, the overall corporate strategic plans, or both. First, this chapter provides an overview of the nature of Marketing Objectives. Second, it discusses formulating Marketing Objectives, then introduces the different types of Marketing Objectives. Finally, the chapter covers the stating of Marketing Objectives.

  Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to • understand why it is crucial to set Marketing Objectives, • develop and understand the Boston Consulting Group product-portfolio matrix, • develop and understand the Ansoff product-market matrix, • develop specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) Marketing Objectives.

  The Nature of Marketing Objectives

  Many authors agree that few steps are as critical in marketing planning as setting objectives. Objectives are designed to ensure the organization knows what its strategies are expected to achieve and when a strategy has achieved its purpose.1 Corporate objectives set the overall direction for the organization, while Marketing Objectives provide direction for the organization’s marketing efforts. As the corporate objectives provide direction for the organization, these objectives need to be considered or adhered to when formulating the Marketing Objectives. The relationships between corporate objectives and strategies and departmental objectives and strategies are represented in Figure 5.1

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  CIM Coursebook Marketing Essentials

  • Jim Blythe(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 2

  Planning within the Marketing Context

  Learning objectives

  After working through this module and reading around the subject, you should be able to

    Explain the importance of objectives, the processes for setting them and the influences upon them.

    Identify the various possible organisational objectives.

    Show how marketing planning is crucial in a market-oriented organisation.

    Describe the stages of the marketing planning process.

    Explain the concept of the marketing audit.

  STUDY TIP

  This section accounts for 25% of the marks for the module, so (like Unit 1) it should account for about 10 hours of study time in total for the average student. If you do less than this, you will need to be exceptionally bright, or you will lose marks! You need to read around the subject, read the course textbook and think about what you are reading – what you learn is not only about passing the exams, it also prepares you for a successful career in marketing.

  SETTING OBJECTIVES

  First, we need to distinguish between an aim and an objective. An aim is simply a statement of something we would like to do, for example, the firm might aim to be the best-respected in the industry, or we might aim for our promotional campaigns to be more memorable. These are not objectives. An objective is an aim which is measurable, that is, we have some means of knowing that we achieved the objective. Statements such as ‘we wish to sell as much as possible’ are aims, not objectives, because we have no real way of knowing how much ‘as much as possible’ actually is.

  Objectives are the building blocks of strategy. They are the basis for determining future direction, consistency, motivation and measurement of performance.

  EXAM TIP

  You will often be asked to make recommendations for future action for a firm. You will gain marks if you think in terms of setting objectives for your recommendations, because this will make them more concrete.

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  Advertising Campaign Strategy

  A Guide to Marketing Communication Plans

  • Donald Parente, Kirsten Strausbaugh-Hutchinson(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  People disagree about the nature of objectives in advertising. Some say objectives should be stated in terms of sales; others want objectives defined in terms of communica-tion effects, such as awareness or attitude shift. The discussion that follows will demonstrate that you need to do both within the scope of developing a marketing plan. M ARKETING VERSUS A DVERTISING (C OMMUNICATION ) G OALS Marketing Objectives and advertising objectives are far from the same, despite the fact that you will often hear them referred to as such. They orig-inate from different sources and aim to affect distinctive factors. Marketing Objectives and advertising objectives require separate but related strategies as plans to reach them. And they are not equal. One tiers up to, or helps to, achieve the other. Plus, they are measured in very different ways. Marketing Objectives are specific to the numeric elements surrounding a company ’ s “ bottom line, ” that is, increases in profit in terms of dollars, units sold, size of profit margin, and so forth. In short, these objectives nearly always refer back to the “ almighty dollar, ” which is one of the most significant measures of a company ’ s success. Such goals are often easily measured against sales and productivity reports but may vary greatly depending on product category or seasonality, for example. They may be expressed as driving traffic to a retail location, increasing average ticket sales, achieving annual growth rates, diversifying revenue streams, increasing return on an investment, or achieving higher market share. With an increased emphasis on online presence and sales these days, companies are also actually setting their e-commerce goals under the marketing objective heading. • To increase sales by 1.4 million units in the health and beauty segment by the end of December 2014. • To drive a 17 percent traffic increase to retail locations in the south-east by the end of Q1.

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  Strategic Marketing Planning

  • Richard M.S. Wilson, Colin Gilligan(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  10 Missions and Objectives

  DOI: 10.4324/9780080912127-10

  8.1 Learning Objectives When you have read this chapter you should be able to understand:

  • (a) the purpose of planning;
  • (b) the nature of the corporate mission and how a mission statement can best be developed;
  • (c) the significance of vision;
  • (d) the factors influencing objectives and strategy;
  • (e) the nature of corporate objectives;
  • (f) the nature of Marketing Objectives.

  8.2 Introduction

  To be effective, a strategic planning system must be goal-driven. The setting of goals or objectives is therefore a key step in the marketing planning process since, unless it is carried out effectively, everything that follows will lack focus and cohesion. In terms of its position within the overall planning process, which forms the basis of this book, objectives setting can be seen to follow on from the initial stage of analysis and, in particular, the marketing audit, which provided the focus of Chapter 3 (see Figure 8.1 ).

  Figure 8.1 The strategic planning process

  By setting objectives, the planner is attempting to provide the organization with a sense of direction. In addition, however, objectives provide a basis for motivation, as well as a benchmark against which performance and effectiveness can subsequently be measured. The setting of objectives is thus at the very heart of the planning process, and is the prelude to the development of strategies and detailed plans. Perhaps surprisingly therefore, in view of its fundamental importance, the literature on how to set Marketing Objectives is surprisingly thin, something that is reflected in a comment made more than 20 years ago by McDonald (1984 , p. 82):

  The literature [on marketing planning] is not very explicit, which is surprising when it is considered how vital the setting of Marketing Objectives is. An objective will ensure that a company knows what its strategies are expected to accomplish and when a particular strategy has accomplished its purpose. In other words, without objectives, strategy decisions and all that follow will take place in a vacuum.

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  Developing Strategic Marketing Plans That Really Work

  A Toolkit for Public Libraries

  • Terry Kendrick(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Facet Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Having segmented the market (Chapter 4) and decided on priority segments (Chapter 5) and their contribution towards the meeting of quantified Marketing Objectives and ambition (Chapter 2), it is now time to create marketing strategies to achieve those objectives. Marketing Objectives Objectives are the ‘what’ we want to achieve, and strategies are the ‘how’ we will achieve those objectives. Marketing Objectives, like all other objectives, should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific. Given that they are measurable, Marketing Objectives in public libraries will relate to items such as issues, visits, enquiries, income generation, website hits or similar. If the objective is to increase awareness Chapter 6 Clear objectives and winning strategies By the end of this chapter you will have identified objectives by segment and service-wide. You will also have considered the development of marketing strategies and offers for internal stakeholders, external users and non users. The chapter highlights traditional marketing-mix approaches – an expanded four-P to six-P model – and more modern relationship-marketing approaches to strategy. or develop the brand, this should be accompanied by pre- and post-campaign measurement. A vague ‘objective’ to increase awareness is not a good basis for a marketing strategy. By studying the picture of our options clearly drawn on the DPM (Chapter 5) it is possible to make decisions on priority actions. In other words, when we look at the relative attractiveness of our segments ( y -axis of the DPM) in the context of the strength of our offer to each of those segments ( x -axis), then it is possible to identify where our efforts are most likely to have impact and where our efforts are likely to fall by the wayside. In addition we should be able to make some estimate of the amount of return possible from each of these segments.

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  MBA Marketing

  • Malcolm McDonald, Ailsa Kolsaker(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  Figure 7.4 highlights the need to plan and integrate the marketing mix elements against defined Marketing Objectives. The important process of defining Marketing Objectives and strategies is considered in Chapter 8. Corporate objective Marketing objective Price objectives Pricing plan Promotional plan Sales plan Advertising plan Sales promotion plan Channel plan Service plan Place plan Product plan Promotion objectives Place objectives Product objectives Figure 7.4 The marketing mix is defined against the Marketing Objectives Having completed this major planning task, it is normal at this stage to employ judgement, experience and field tests to assess the feasibility of the objectives and strategies in terms of market share, sales, costs and profits. PROGRAMMES The general marketing strategies are now deployed into specific ‘sub-objectives’, each supported by more detailed strategy and action statements, with timings and responsibilities clearly indicated. 123 CHAPTER 7 – MARKETING PLANNING USE OF MARKETING PLANS A written marketing plan is the background against which operational decisions are taken on an ongoing basis; consequently, too much detail should not be included. We should remember that its major function is to determine where the company is now , where it wants to go and how to get there. This is cen-tral to the company’s revenue-generating activities, and from it flow all other corporate activities, such as the timing of the cash flow and the size and char-acter of the labour force. Finally, the marketing plan should be distributed to those who need to know what is going on, since its purpose is an aid to effective management. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PLANNING The process of marketing planning outlined in this chapter is universally applicable, irrespective of company size and complexity. The only real dif-ference concerns the degree of formality of the processes and procedures.

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  Strategic Marketing Management

  • Richard M.S. Wilson, Colin Gilligan(Authors)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  This process of moving from the general to the specific should lead to a set of objectives that are not just attainable within any budgetary or other constraints that exist, but that are also compatible with environmental conditions as well as organizational strengths and weaknesses. It follows from this that the process of setting objectives should form what is often referred to as an internally consistent and mutually reinforcing hierarchy. As an illustration of this, if we assume that corporate management is concerned first and foremost with, say, long-term profits and growth, it is these objectives that provide the framework within which the more detailed subset of operational objectives, including market expansion and product-specific increases in sales and share, are developed. Taken together, these then contribute to the achievement of the overall corporate objectives.

  It is these operational objectives that are the principal concern of those in the level below corporate management. Below this, managers are concerned with objectives that are defined even more specifically, such as creating awareness of a new product, increasing levels of distribution, and so on. This hierarchy points in turn to the interrelationship, and in some cases the confusion, that exists between corporate objectives and Marketing Objectives. The distinction between the two is an important one and is discussed at a later stage in this chapter. However, as a prelude to this, and indeed to the process of objectives setting, there is a need for the strategist to decide upon the business mission. We therefore begin this chapter with a discussion of the role and purpose of planning as the background against which we can more realistically examine approaches to the development of the mission statement and, subsequently, corporate and Marketing Objectives (see Illustration 7.1).

  Illustration 7.1 Objectives, strategies and plans

  The interrelationships between objectives, strategies and plans have been spelled out by Davidson (1987a , p. 122), who, in discussing BMW’s recovery efforts in Germany in the 1960s, made the following comments.

  BMW was on the verge of bankruptcy. It was producing motorcycles for a dwindling market, and making a poor return on its bubble cars and six-cylinder saloons. A takeover bid by Daimler-Benz, the makers of Mercedes, was narrowly avoided, and the group was rescued by a Bavarian investment group.

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  Pricing in Business

  • Douglas Hague(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  5 , we shall be especially concerned with the operational objectives that firms pursue in their marketing (including pricing) operations. We believe that marketing is best defined as including all the activities of the firm that are concerned with the assessment, stimulation and meeting of demand. However, using this definition, one immediately faces a problem. The definition makes virtually every business activity a part of marketing, and almost every business objective a marketing objective. On this definition, marketing seems to become synonymous with business.

  Perhaps the best way of sorting things out is to realize that businessmen use the term ‘marketing’ to describe three different activities, and that this is a major reason why there is so much confusion. First, at the policy-making level, the firm will be setting its corporate strategy; marketing strategy is an important element within the overall business strategy. At this policy-making level, marketing is, if not the whole of business, at least one of the key elements that the firm has to consider in formulating its corporate strategy. Second, marketing is, at the same time, an important functional activity within the firm. Those concerned with marketing as an everyday operational job have to ensure that the task of stimulating the market through pricing, advertising, and other forms of sales promotion, is well done. They also have to supply the market, using efficient transport and distribution systems. We believe that the most important source of confusion over the meaning of marketing is that marketing in the first and second senses—as an element of policy and as an operational activity—is not carefully separated out in managers’ thinking.

  The third activity covered by the word ‘marketing’ is that of market assessment or market research. This will often be performed by the marketing section of the firm, but it may well be a quite separate task. Once again, confusion can be caused if it is not remembered that market assessment is another functional job, though now one which precedes rather than follows a decision about what marketing strategy and marketing policy should be. It is also a research task. One would therefore expect it to be the job of a specialist department, though one that ought to be carefully briefed, used and controlled, by operational management. However, outside the consumer goods industries market research is frequently not the job of a specialist department. This is a major reason why market research is often badly done; it is too often attempted by operational staff or salesmen.

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  Evaluating Public Relations

  A Guide to Planning, Research and Measurement

  • Tom Watson, Paul Noble(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Kogan Page

    (Publisher)

  Here, we will be no more precise than accepting that goals and aims are frequently slightly broader and less closely defined than objectives and concentrate on understanding and applying the latter. It may be helpful to set overall campaign goals but, by and large, these will not be measurable. Indeed, many statements that are described as objectives in public relations proposals and programmes are no more than vague goals. Typical examples are ‘to raise awareness of…’ or ‘to position as…’. Such a goal may possibly be achievable in some loose way, but is certainly not measurable unless quantifiable elements are added. Purists might even argue that if an objective is not measurable then it is not achievable, as the fact of its achievement cannot be identified. Frequently, public relations – quite appropriately – sets broad outcomes such as raising awareness but it is unhelpful (indeed incorrect) to describe these as objectives, although they are almost universally so described.

  This is a key point. Virtually every public relations plan or proposal has stated objectives that are expressed in these vague terms. This reflects not so much lazy thinking on behalf of the practitioners involved, but rather (as we will see) the peculiar challenges of objective setting in large swathes of public relations activity. Simply stated, but more difficult to implement, public relations planning frequently requires the statement of broad aims and goals underpinned with more specific – and necessarily, therefore, limited – objectives.

  Note that this interpretation of the relationship between goals/aims and objectives is not universally accepted. Smith (2005: 69) points out that in public relations and marketing contexts, goals are indeed couched in general terms and objectives are specific. However, some other business disciplines ‘either reverse the meanings of the terms or use them interchangeably’. This is not the first time – nor will it be the last – that codifying and developing the practice of public relations is bedevilled by terminology rather than true content.

  So, unhelpfully, in actual practice these terms (goals and objectives) are used differently by different people. Public relations practitioners need to decide on their preferred definition and then stick to it. We commend the use of the terms as outlined by Smith (2005: 69–72) as follows and this is the approach used here:

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