How To craft a marketing and communications strategy Plan

'Waste-free' strategic planning for crystal clear communication 

With 2021 coming to an end, all the marketing teams are gearing up for 2022 and are busy planning the next year's strategic moves, execution plans, marketing and advertising budgets to make marketing a revenue centre to the company.

Organisations have already been adjusting to the new norm of working remotely and collaborating virtually. But when it comes to making a strategy work across cross functional teams, it is very important that the plan is crystal clear and communicated in the right language to every stake holder for it to succeed.

As Gartner termed it, lets focus on “waste-free” strategic planning. 

I have been doing some research on how to create an effective and actionable marketing strategy that can be easy to understand and implement. One of the main concerns, when it comes to such marketing and sales strategic documents or meetings is that they are lengthy, filled with insights and numbers. While some documents make sense and some do not or do not have a direct impact on the company’s growth. After reading a lot into it and looking at sample strategy documents. I understood that the entire strategy can be made to fit in a one-page document! Yes, you read it right.

Before I dive into the one pager, let us look at a few aspects that we need to focus on to make our strategies actionable.

1. Identify & shortlist metrics that are ONLY relevant to your business

I understand that we live in a data-driven world, but it doesn't mean that we take up every data point that is available to us and try to put a goal to it. We should only pick up metrics that are business critical and also metrics that can be converted into actionable plans. 

Brainstorm among the marketing and sales teams first, before jotting down these metrics that you would like to measure for the next year.

Gartner research shows that a core strategic plan should not have more than 7 metrics.

2. Make note of the assumptions that you are considering

Not every strategy in the world works. It may be because of some internal reasons that we can control and external reasons that are not in our control. While crafting the marketing strategy, ensure to list down the assumptions and make sure they are concrete and quantifiable and frequently monitor the assumptions threshold. If the assumptions are breached, ensure to take corrective actions immediately.

3. Break it down 

Break the plan into individual components and create milestones. Break the entire strategy down into smaller segments or initiatives and pen down the  goals around each of them. Every initiative that we propose must:

• Represent your idea to change the way business functions, rather than just minor modifications

• Create value to the business growth

• Can be demonstrated into smaller projects that can be accomplished by the resources at hand

After specifying the same, set criteria and dates for key milestones and projects completion.

4. Craft a one-page document that focuses on the essence of the strategy

Create a document that focuses on the core areas and is clear to every stakeholder in the company. Focus on getting the essential elements right and keep it simple.

Here is a sample of how you can incorporate the above pointers into a one-page strategic document.

Source: Gartner Insights 2021

In Closing

When we narrow down our focus and create an actionable strategy document, it will:

• Enable faster collaboration between the teams for quick results

• Effective communication to those who implement the strategy

• Focused and objective based measurement of performance and helps identify the gaps

Need assistance on how to create a marketing strategy or roadmap for your business? Talk to us today.