The business planning process begins with determining an organization's goals or objectives. A goal is the end result that the company's management team and employees are working toward. Goals can be stated in numerical terms, such as "reach $20 million in sales in three years," or they could be more subjective, such as "become the acknowledged market leader in our niche by the end of 2012." Goals are accomplished by implementing marketing strategies and tactics.
Strategies and Tactics Defined
Setting goals is the easy part. Marketing strategies and tactics are used to translate the goals into action. Strategies outline what we are going to do; tactics are the specific action steps required to bring the strategy to life. Tactics support the strategies just as the strategies support the goals.
The Challenge of Developing Strategies
Developing marketing strategies involves choosing from the myriad of paths available that could be taken to build or grow a company, making decisions without the benefit of sufficient data about customers or competitors, and having to deal with the constraints of available capital and human resources within an organization.
Strategies require creative, "big picture" thinking. Many people enjoy strategic planning because it is like a game of chess---or game planning by a football team, trying to outwit the opponent.
Strategic Thinking is the Ability to Look Ahead
Strategic thinkers within organizations are good at envisioning "what if" scenarios---including "if the economy improves, here are the strategies that will work best to increase our sales" or "if our competitor cuts prices, here are the strategies we will use in order to not lose market share." They must have the ability to see trends in the marketplace that will impact the company, and be able to formulate strategies to take advantage of these trends. It's much more than the Four P's taught in business school: product, price, place, promotion.
The Challenge of Developing Tactics
Tactics require thinking in an organized way---extremely detailed thinking. Tactical thinkers are good at seeing all the parts of an organization working together and the action steps that must be taken by all departments and all individuals in order to accomplish the strategy.
Problems with Implementing Strategies and Tactics
Not all managers are good at both strategic thinking and tactical thinking. Managers who are great at conceptualizing strategies often struggle with the little details of turning the strategies into actionable tactics.
Successful implementation of a company's strategic plan is often impeded by adopting a time frame that is unrealistic. Accountability is key to making the plan work. Managers must be responsible for on-time implementation of their tactics. But because departments must work together to complete their individual parts of the interlocking strategic plan, if one department is assigned unrealistic time frames, the entire implementation can be derailed. Department heads and managers must all have input during the planning process---and a voice in setting the time frame---so these types of bottlenecks can be avoided.
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