{"id":889,"date":"2015-09-21T04:47:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T04:47:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/waymakerintromarketing1xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=889"},"modified":"2024-05-13T20:11:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T20:11:16","slug":"reading-aligning-strategy-and-objectives","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/chapter\/reading-aligning-strategy-and-objectives\/","title":{"raw":"Reading: Strategy and Objectives","rendered":"Reading: Strategy and Objectives"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>The Need for Objectives<\/h2>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-1400\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1505\/2015\/11\/04104540\/14659581920_c60f6e54f9_k-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of a child climbing a brightly colored brick wall.\" width=\"350\" height=\"197\" \/>As we discussed before, a business strategy must take into account the changing environment and identify a plan that will use the company's resources most effectively to achieve its mission and goals. Businesses define and communicate their goals using objectives.\r\n\r\nObjectives specify\u00a0measurable outcomes that will be achieved within a particular time frame. Objectives\u00a0help individuals across the team to understand the goals and to determine whether the strategy is effective and the tactics are being well executed. Objectives are used\u00a0to align expectations and plans, to coordinate efforts, to measure progress, and to hold teams accountable for achieving results.\r\n\r\nCompanies often have\u00a0long-term strategies but create objectives based on\u00a0a quarterly or annual plan. Clear, measurable objectives enable\u00a0the company to track progress and adjust tactics (and, sometimes, strategies) to improve the chance of success.\r\n<h2>Creating Effective Objectives<\/h2>\r\nIn general, effective objectives meet\u00a0the following criteria:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>They\u00a0are <em>specific<\/em>. They identify\u00a0what must be accomplished in language\u00a0that is\u00a0clear and easy for the whole company to understand.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>They\u00a0are <em>measurable.<\/em>\u00a0They help managers ascertain whether the objectives have been achieved in very concrete terms.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>They\u00a0have a <em>time frame<\/em>. The objectives specify\u00a0when they are to be met\u00a0so that others can count on the results\u00a0being available at a certain time.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nBelow are some examples of good\u00a0objectives:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Implement a new customer loyalty plan in 20XX<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Increase market share for the product by 2 percent during 20XX<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Execute marketing campaigns that result in 2,000 qualified leads for a new product by June 1<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2>Using Objectives to Align Company Activities<\/h2>\r\nCompanies do not have a single strategy. At any time they are executing a range of different strategies. A company might simultaneously execute on strategies to enter a new market, grow market share in an existing market, and improve organizational efficiency. Moreover, strategy at the corporate level will guide the development of strategies for each function, including marketing. Remember, a business strategy must identify a plan that will use the company's resources most effectively to achieve its mission and goals. Likewise, the marketing strategy must identify a plan that will use the marketing function's resources and expertise most effectively to achieve <em>its<\/em> mission and goals.\r\n\r\nWe will discuss the process for developing and executing the marketing strategy further, but first let's focus on the alignment of the marketing strategy. How can the marketing function make sure that its strategy and tactics support the corporate-level objectives? How does it know if it is on track to achieve results? During the marketing planning process, the organization creates its own marketing objectives that support the company objectives. These marketing objectives must also specify\u00a0measurable outcomes that will be achieved within a particular time frame.\r\n\r\nLet's take a look at some\u00a0examples of typical\u00a0corporate and marketing objectives. At the corporate level, objectives include profitability, cost savings, growth, market-share improvement, risk containment, reputation, and so on. All of these corporate objectives can imply specific marketing objectives. Below are\u00a0two\u00a0common corporate-level objectives and the marketing objectives that would support them effectively.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Annual Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Company Objective: Increase profitability by 6% over prior year\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Increase the average selling price of the product from $186 to $198<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Complete end-of-life process for three products with profit margins below 3%<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Increase sales of start product by 30% over prior year<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Company Objective: Increase market share in one key market by 4%\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Implement a competitive-positioning campaign relative to a key competitor<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Introduce two new products to market<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Introduce major enhancements in two product lines<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Marketing Objective: Bring two new distribution partners on board to expand coverage to new major markets<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nAs you can see, if the marketing organization achieves its objective to introduce new products to market, then it will support the company objective to grow market share. If the marketing organization does not introduce new products, then the other objectives will need to be adjusted or the company is unlikely to show the market share growth that is part of its strategy.\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<h2>The Need for Objectives<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-1400\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1505\/2015\/11\/04104540\/14659581920_c60f6e54f9_k-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of a child climbing a brightly colored brick wall.\" width=\"350\" height=\"197\" \/>As we discussed before, a business strategy must take into account the changing environment and identify a plan that will use the company&#8217;s resources most effectively to achieve its mission and goals. Businesses define and communicate their goals using objectives.<\/p>\n<p>Objectives specify\u00a0measurable outcomes that will be achieved within a particular time frame. Objectives\u00a0help individuals across the team to understand the goals and to determine whether the strategy is effective and the tactics are being well executed. Objectives are used\u00a0to align expectations and plans, to coordinate efforts, to measure progress, and to hold teams accountable for achieving results.<\/p>\n<p>Companies often have\u00a0long-term strategies but create objectives based on\u00a0a quarterly or annual plan. Clear, measurable objectives enable\u00a0the company to track progress and adjust tactics (and, sometimes, strategies) to improve the chance of success.<\/p>\n<h2>Creating Effective Objectives<\/h2>\n<p>In general, effective objectives meet\u00a0the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They\u00a0are <em>specific<\/em>. They identify\u00a0what must be accomplished in language\u00a0that is\u00a0clear and easy for the whole company to understand.<\/li>\n<li>They\u00a0are <em>measurable.<\/em>\u00a0They help managers ascertain whether the objectives have been achieved in very concrete terms.<\/li>\n<li>They\u00a0have a <em>time frame<\/em>. The objectives specify\u00a0when they are to be met\u00a0so that others can count on the results\u00a0being available at a certain time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Below are some examples of good\u00a0objectives:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Implement a new customer loyalty plan in 20XX<\/li>\n<li>Increase market share for the product by 2 percent during 20XX<\/li>\n<li>Execute marketing campaigns that result in 2,000 qualified leads for a new product by June 1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Using Objectives to Align Company Activities<\/h2>\n<p>Companies do not have a single strategy. At any time they are executing a range of different strategies. A company might simultaneously execute on strategies to enter a new market, grow market share in an existing market, and improve organizational efficiency. Moreover, strategy at the corporate level will guide the development of strategies for each function, including marketing. Remember, a business strategy must identify a plan that will use the company&#8217;s resources most effectively to achieve its mission and goals. Likewise, the marketing strategy must identify a plan that will use the marketing function&#8217;s resources and expertise most effectively to achieve <em>its<\/em> mission and goals.<\/p>\n<p>We will discuss the process for developing and executing the marketing strategy further, but first let&#8217;s focus on the alignment of the marketing strategy. How can the marketing function make sure that its strategy and tactics support the corporate-level objectives? How does it know if it is on track to achieve results? During the marketing planning process, the organization creates its own marketing objectives that support the company objectives. These marketing objectives must also specify\u00a0measurable outcomes that will be achieved within a particular time frame.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at some\u00a0examples of typical\u00a0corporate and marketing objectives. At the corporate level, objectives include profitability, cost savings, growth, market-share improvement, risk containment, reputation, and so on. All of these corporate objectives can imply specific marketing objectives. Below are\u00a0two\u00a0common corporate-level objectives and the marketing objectives that would support them effectively.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Annual Objectives<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Company Objective: Increase profitability by 6% over prior year\n<ul>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Increase the average selling price of the product from $186 to $198<\/li>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Complete end-of-life process for three products with profit margins below 3%<\/li>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Increase sales of start product by 30% over prior year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Company Objective: Increase market share in one key market by 4%\n<ul>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Implement a competitive-positioning campaign relative to a key competitor<\/li>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Introduce two new products to market<\/li>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Introduce major enhancements in two product lines<\/li>\n<li>Marketing Objective: Bring two new distribution partners on board to expand coverage to new major markets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>As you can see, if the marketing organization achieves its objective to introduce new products to market, then it will support the company objective to grow market share. If the marketing organization does not introduce new products, then the other objectives will need to be adjusted or the company is unlikely to show the market share growth that is part of its strategy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-889\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Strategy and Objectives. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Climbing. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Marcus Hansson. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/marcus_hansson\/14659581920\/\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/marcus_hansson\/14659581920\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":6,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Strategy and Objectives\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Climbing\",\"author\":\"Marcus Hansson\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/marcus_hansson\/14659581920\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"6d21af5a-3b29-4e87-89fa-8807a25a6ad4","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-889","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":91,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":53,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9597,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/889\/revisions\/9597"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/91"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/889\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=889"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=889"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymakerintromarketingxmasterfall2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}