MARKETING IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL
Strategic Issues in Marketing Implementation
Marketing Implementation is critical to the success of any firm because it’s responsible for putting marketing strategies into action. Implementation refers to the “how” part of the marketing plan. Some of this misunderstanding stems from the fact that marketing strategies almost always turn out differently than expected. In fact, all firms have two strategies: their intended strategy and a realized strategy. An intended marketing strategy is what a firm wants to happen. It’s the firm’s planned strategic choices that appear in the marketing plan itself. The realized marketing strategy, on the other hand, is the strategy that actually takes place.
The link between Planning and Implementation
Many of the problems of marketing implementation occur because of its relationship to strategic planning. The three most common issues in this relationship are interdependence, evolution, and separation.
Interdependence
The content of the marketing plan determines how it will be implemented. The inverse is also true. The marketing strategy is implemented to determine the content of the marketing plan. As a tool of implementation, employee training programs and profit-sharings can dictate the content of the firm’s strategy and stock options.
Evolution
Important environmental factors constantly change. Because planning and implementation are intertwined, each must constantly evolve to fit the other. Just as a strategy often results from trial and error, so does marketing implementation. These rapid changes require that firms be flexible in both marketing strategy and implementation.
Separation
The ineffective implementation of marketing strategy is often a self-generated problem that stems from the way the planning and implementation are carried out in most firms. Believing that frontline managers and employees will be excited about marketing strategies and motivated to implement them, they often fail to identify with their firms’ goals and objectives, and thus fail to fully understand the marketing strategy.
The Elements of Marketing Implementation and Control
Shared goals and values among all employees within the firm are the “glue” of successful implementation because they bind the entire organization together as a single, functioning unit. Firms such as FedEx, Google, and ESPN are well-known for their efforts to ensure that employees share and are committed to corporate goals and values. The primary means of creating shared goals and values is through employee training and socialization programs. Some experts have argued that creating shared goals and values is the single most important element of implementation. These factors stimulate organizational commitment so that employees become more motivated to implement the marketing strategy, achieve the firm’s goals and objectives, and serve more fully the needs of the firm’s customers.
Marketing Structure
This establishes formal lines of authority as well as the division of labor within the marketing function. One of the most important decisions that firms make is how to divide and integrate marketing responsibilities. This decision typically comes down to the question of centralization versus decentralization. In a centralized marketing structure, the top of the marketing hierarchy coordinates and manages all marketing activities and decisions. The front line of the firm coordinates and manages marketing activities and decisions. Centralized structures are very cost-efficient and effective in ensuring standardization within the marketing program. Decentralized marketing structures have the important advantage of placing marketing decisions closer to the front line, where serving customers is the number one priority. By decentralizing marketing decisions, frontline managers can be creative and flexible, allowing them to adapt to changing market conditions. Places such as Ritz-Carlton or Nordstrom employ a strategy of customer intimacy. The right marketing structure will depend on the specific firm, the nature of its internal and external environments, and its chosen marketing strategy.
Systems and Processes
Organizational systems and processes are collections of work activities that absorb a variety of inputs to create information and communication outputs that ensure the consistent day-to-day operations of the firm. Examples include information systems, strategic planning, capital budgeting, procurement, order fulfillment, manufacturing, quality control, and performance measurement.
Resources
Tangible resources include financial, manufacturing capacity, facilities, and equipment. Although not quite as obvious, intangible resources such as marketing expertise, customer loyalty, brand equity, corporate goodwill, and external relationships/strategic alliances are equally important. A critical and honest evaluation of available resources during the planning phase can help ensure that the marketing strategy and marketing implementation are within the realm of possibility. This makes the communication aspects of the actual marketing plan document critical to the success of the strategy.
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