The 10 stages of strategy planning
THE ACADEMY OF BUSINESS STRATEGY
MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS BLOG
The 10 stages of strategy planning
AUTHOR
Matthew Francis (CBS) MBA LLB MCIPR
Introduction
Getting the right messages across to the right publics is fundamental to business success. In order to do this, it is necessary to put in place a clear and comprehensive planning strategy that will bring about the desired result. For this reason, Cutlip, S.M, Center, A.H and Broom, G.N (2002) stated in their book Effective Public Relations that planning is a 4 stage process. The process involves 1. Defining the Public Relations Problem, 2. Planning and Programming, 3. Taking Action and Communicating and 4. Evaluating the Programme. In reality, planning a Communications Campaign is a lot more detailed than this. This article will look at the 10 stages of planning, which if followed, will maximise your campaign’s chances of success.
The 10 Stages of Planning
Set Objectives. The first thing to do is sit down and agree what the objectives of the campaign are. These might be Macro, such as ‘We want to introduce a new product into the market-place’ or Micro, ‘Our latest product, the Platco Widget, needs to be marketed to the 14-19 year old market in the Manchester area.’ Irrespective of the extent of detail entered into, the objectives need to be set. At the beginning of the day, it is important to know, or at least have some idea, where you are going.
Perform Analysis: There is no point in launching a campaign to a market that you have not even researched. After-all, selling the latest singing, dancing touch-screen phone might seem like a good idea. It might not be however, after you release it and discover that Apple has the iPhone that not only sings and jumps but it dances as well!
Determine Who You Public Are. Well, this one speaks for itself really. Make sure you know in your mind who your customer is. Mercedes for instance would not launch a campaign aimed at everyone from 18-75. The Telly Tubbies would not have attracted such a large audience if aimed at middle-aged bankers, well probably not anyway!
Get The Messages Right. Decide what the message or messages are that are you want to communicate and make sure that different communications are not in conflict. A Social Media Campaign using Twitter is no use if it is saying something completely different to the message going out in you Direct Marketing campaign.
Adopt a Strategy. The implementation of the campaign needs to follow a predetermined strategy. This is not to say that new ideas cannot be tried out from time to time and certainly the strategy needs to be able to accommodate these. However, looking at the overall campaign from above, there needs to be some kind of predetermined approach that lays out when and how things will be done.
Determine the Tactics. Once an overall strategy has been determined, it is important to then look at how exactly this is going to be carried out. What different forms of public relations are appropriate and who should they be directed towards? The main idea should be to contact members of the public and then convince them through the power of communications messages. The ability to be able to achieve this will obviously determine the success of the campaign.
Set the Timescale. Some campaigns might involve a ‘Short, sharp shock,’ in that the whole purpose is to get the message across quickly and effectively. This is very much the case with a Crisis Management situation. However, others will involve building a relationship with the public over a longer period of time. For this reason it is important to determine the timescale of the campaign or the individual parts of it.
Resources. The three cost considerations when running a campaign are Human Resources, Operating Costs and Equipment. Without going into too much detail here, it is essential that the campaign is effectively managed and for this, a good PR professional will not be cheap. Obviously there are specialist areas of PR such as government lobbying or such like, that will command a premium price. There should also be an awareness of ongoing operating costs of the project and what equipment is needed in order to communicate the message of the campaign.
Perform an Evaluation. Once the campaign has been carried out, it is essential that a thorough evaluation of the project takes place. This will enable you to determine whether it has actually met the aims and objectives set before it started. It is always important to look at any problems that arose during the project and how these were dealt with.
Review the project. Based on the evaluation, a review of the project can take place. This enables you to determine whether it has been a success. Based on the review and the evaluation, future projects can then be planned.
Conclusion
Any communications project needs to be effectively planned. This planning will then enable the implementation to be conducted under the guidance of a framework. Whereas during the course of the project, there may be changes that need to be made to elements of the strategy, it is important to have this plan in place so that the delivery team and your stakeholders are clear as to where the project is headed. This way, not only is the message being communicated to the target audience, but you are well aware of where the project is headed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Francis (CBS) MBA LLB MCIPR is an approved Certified Business Specialist (CBS) with the Academy of Business Strategy and his specialist subject is marketing communications. He has achieved an MBA from Cass Business School, an LPC from Exeter University and an LLB from London University. He has also achieved a MCIPR from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. He initially qualified as a Lawyer before being employed as a Management and Operations Consultant for a variety of different companies and has experience within the oil and gas, telecommunications, consulting and financial service industries. A selection of his clients or employers have included Areva Mining, Credit-Suisse, Mars, Ernst and Young and RJ Reynolds. He has geographical working experience in Russia, Kazakhstan, The Ukraine and The US and he speaks English, Russian and French. His service skills incorporate international public relations management, marketing communications, project management and business process transformation.
To contact Matthew Francis, please contact the Academy of Business Strategy by forwarding an email, or alternatively visit Matthew’s CBS Blog.
