Marketing Plans How to implement them and avoid the awful fate of others Malcolm McDonald, Emeritus Professor, Cranfield University Edmund Bradford, Director, Malcolm McDonald Marketing Ltd Steve Erickson, VP Strategic Marketing, Parker Hannifin Inc Slide 1
Implementation is a real challenge No one said they hit their targets all the time Only a minority (39%) of respondents said they hit their targets most of the time Most respondents (61%) said they hit them just some of the time or rarely Source: Survey of senior executives in 70 organizations around the world 2011, Bradford and Erickson Slide 2
There are many causes of failure Slide 3
But the root cause is relatively simple Slide 4
Do you have the three pre-conditions for successful implementation? Implementation 3. A Good Marketing Plan 2. An Implementationfriendly Environment Good Marketing Plan, Good Change Capability, Calculated Risk-taking, Good Goal-alignment Understanding the change required, having a good talent pool of human resources, having a good organizational environment, having sufficient financial resources and a good marketing strategy 1. Good Leadership Good Business Leadership, Marketing Leadership and Change Leadership Slide 5
The Implementation Steps Slide 6
Step 1: Anticipate Marketing Plan Change Plan Marketing Plan: Whatconditions will we be facing? Where shall we compete? Howshall we compete? Whenshall we compete? Change Plan: Whatconditions will we be facing? Where shall we implement? How shall we implement? When shall we implement? Think forward Slide 7
Step 2: Initiate Pull together a small team Agree the project spec. The above to include the right oversightat this stage Sketch out the vision and key elements/principles of the solution Seek input from key stakeholders Agree and present the outline business case for change Convert this to strong images Choose your first target audience Add in basic supporting infrastructure Assess the degree of change Assess the risks, take action and plan the reaction Run controlled test(s) Look for quick wins Evaluate the results Act small Slide 8
Step 3: Accelerate Act big Refine the solution Decide the roll-out plan Define and present the actual business case for change Re-form the whole team and steering group Look for early and significant wins Ensure real engagement by senior leadership Add implementation targets to personal development plans Use a Roadshow approach Expand external input with specific experts, benchmarks and tools Improve the solution as required/ possible Build up a good supporting infrastructure Test and evaluate the results Slide 9
Step 4: Integrate Think back Human resources (at all levels, their commitment, ability and resourcing levels) The organization (including its structure, culture, metrics, processes and reward mechanisms) Financial resources (including the size and timing of budgets allocated) Strategy (including how effective it is in delivering the desired sales & marketing targets and sustainable competitive advantage) The Degree of Change required (including its scale, nature and speed) Slide 10
Implementation must be flexible Slide 11
How can we sense how well it is going? Slide 12
Using the new technologies Google Adwords Banner Advertising Facebook Email marketing Surveys LinkedIn Video marketing Website analytics Apps Mobile marketing Spot the difference: Source: Chris Cardell Business Breakthroughs, Vol 1, Issue 6, Feb 2011 Slide 13
Using new tools like Simulations Replicate current and future market conditions Teams play out the marketing plan against each other Unexpected customer and competitor reactions can be gauged Different scenarios setup The strategy can then be redone to be more robust......thereby improving the chances of successful implementation Slide 14
Use your existing marketing skills in new ways Implementation Progress in all 33 internal segments 2009 NA EMEA AP LA Total Division A 50.0% 0.0% 63.6% 100.0% 27.0% Division B 100.0% 100.0% N/A N/A 100.0% Division C 100.0% 75.0% 100.0% 100.0% 91.7% Division D 85.7% 66.7% 66.7% 100.0% 78.6% Division E 90.0% 100.0% 0.0% 100.0% 80.0% Division F 100.0% 100.0% 33.3% 100.0% 84.0% Division G 50.0% 0.0% 100.0% N/A 50.0% Division H 80.0% 80.0% 100.0% 100.0% 83.3% Division I 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% Total 90.3% 49.0% 60.0% 100.0% 70.9% Source: Global engineering business Define the internal market and competition Segment the market into meaningful stakeholders Understand their different needs (and look for unmet needs) Target the right stakeholders who will most influence the change Plan your internal marketing change strategy (e.g roll-out conversion plan) Define your value proposition for each stakeholder segment Use every marketing trick in the book to promote and measure the change Slide 15 Internal marketing + Change leadership = Marketing change leadership
...and borrow brilliance from other disciplines For example: FMEA from engineering Relationship Mapping from key account mgt. Gantt charts from project management Change Loop analysis from change management Process Mapping from manufacturing See also Borrowing Brilliance: The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others, David Kord Murray Slide 16
Reduce your risks of failure Bottom-up Implementation Successful Implementation Low Growth Idea Commercial Risk -Organization -Strategy -Change -Financing High Growth Growth Idea Idea Perilous Implementation Top-down Implementation High Slide 17 Commitment Risk Low Stakeholder Attitude, Ability, Resourcing, Relationships
Beware, this is not a traditional process audit strategy plan execute review Slide 18
You may need to go back-and-forth a few times Slide 19
Think of it like the Helm of a boat Slide 20
The Helm Implementation Model Think Integrate (Think back/ Refine Anticipate (Think forward/ prepare) Perform Evaluate (Test) Probe Accelerate (Act big/ Roll out) Initiate (Act small/ pilot) Act Slide 21
Project Management *Source: Kotter The CMO of tomorrow Marketing Leadership Relationship Management Risk Management Change Management Marketing Management Establishing direction* Aligning people* Motivating and inspiring* Political Entrepreneur Trusted Advisor Innovator Slide 22 Planning and budgeting* Organizing and staffing* Controlling and problem-solving* Risk awareness Risk assessment Risk mitigation Change strategy Change tactics Getting buy-in where needed Marketing strategy Marketing tactics Marketing operations
In summary Source: DigitalGlobe Setting off on a fixed course with a poor plan, insufficient risk assessment, zero support from key stakeholders, poor leadership, insufficient training, insufficient contingency planning and not enough testing of the water can cost you dear. Make sure you are ready for the perilous implementation journey ahead! Slide 23
Additional tools, diagnostics and help: www.malcolm-mcdonald.com ed.bradford@mmcd-marketing.com New book out on how to successfully implement marketing plans (Summer 2012): By Edmund Bradford, Steve Erickson and Malcolm McDonald Slide 24