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Craig A. Steffen

If you ask any 10 people what their definitions of marketing and sales are, you’re likely to get a diverse group of answers. Though the two disciplines are quite different, they are frequently grouped together as if they are one and the same thing. As an Independent Marketing Professional, I often look through the Classified Ads in my Sunday newspaper to see what opportunities may be developing in my own community. More often than not, jobs posted as “marketing” are really sales jobs. With all this confusion out there, what is the difference?

Quite simply, Marketing is primarily strategic and Sales is primarily tactical. Strategy is a military concept that Webster defines as “the science of planning and directing large scale military operations, specifically of maneuvering forces into the most advantageous position prior to actual engagement with the enemy.” Webster defines tactics as “the science and art of disposing military forces in action or in the presence of the enemy.”

Of course these words have come to have many non-military applications. In business, the “war” is the quest to sell as much product as possible and, in the process, to maximize profit. The “enemy” is any alternative to our product. No country would go to war without spending much time in the war-room with their most experienced leaders to create a plan to defeat their enemy. So too, no company should go to market without a plan to defeat their competitors. The creation of the strategic marketing plan takes place prior to the product release – this is the primary work of marketing professionals. The tactical execution of the strategic plan takes place in the trenches in the presence of customers and competitors and is the primary work of sales professionals.

So what does a good strategic marketing plan include? Every product is unique from every other product, so one cannot create a one-plan-fits-all strategic marketing plan. However, speaking generally, a good strategic marketing plan should address the following questions:

• What is the problem or opportunity our target customers wish to solve or address?
• How is this problem or opportunity being solved or addressed by the customers now?
• Does my company have the expertise and desire to solve this problem or take advantage of this opportunity?
• How does the product we contemplate fit within my company’s current product offering and our current corporate culture?
• How much are my customers willing to pay for the product solution we create?
• How many of these product solutions will my customers likely purchase?
• How will we position this product solution vs. the alternatives that are already available to our customers?
• How will we protect our creation from competitors (patent, copyright, trademark, servicemark, trade-secret)?
• What will be the likely responses from our competitors if we launch this new product solution?
• How do our customers prefer to purchase this product solution (direct sales, distribution, salespeople, independent reps)?
• Do these channels change from one country to the next?
• What are the features of the product solution that are essential for its success?
• What are the specific benefits for the customer if we include these features?
• Will the features and benefits differ from one country to another?
• How will we communicate the availability, features and benefits of this product solution to the customers (literature, e-commerce, print advertising, education, TV, radio, video, CD)?
• What will be the launch strategy that gains the fastest and most enduring entry into the market?
• What are the risks of pursuing the development of this product solution?
• What are the benefits?
• What are the things that must go right in order for this product solution to succeed?
• Are their legal or regulatory issues that must be addressed before going to market?
• Do we need partners or alliances to maximize the success of this product solution?
• What are the anticipated financial results? What if we sell half as much? What if we sell twice as much?
• What is the shape and length of the product life-cycle curve?
• How will we measure our success?
• What will be our strategy for continuous improvement?

If your company’s written product planning fails to address these critical issues, perhaps it doesn’t meet the definition of Strategic Marketing. Paraclete Consulting can work with your staff to create and execute an effective Strategic Marketing Plan.