Introduction

SOSTAC focuses on the six most important elements of any business SOSTAC is an acronym for these six elements: That may look intimidating at first glance. But, each element asks a simple question and provides an easy starting point. Situation analysis, asks what the current state of the business is. Objectives, helps list an overview of goals for the business. Strategy helps provide a big picture plan to achieve the goals Tactics breaks down the big picture strategy into smaller details Action helps assign responsibility and deadlines for certain tasks Control offers an easy way to track the progress of the plan Each of these six elements contributes an essential piece of the overall marketing plan. We can also look at it in another manner: SOSTAC is an Acronym for the 6 basic elements of the Marketing Plan: Situation Where are we now? Objectives Where do we want to get to? Strategy How are we going to get there? The Big Picture Tactics How are we going to get there? The Detail Actions Who is going to do what and when? Control How can we control, measure and develop the process? Each element relates to a key step in the process. Simply work through the Pro-Forma on the following pages step by step and fill in the gaps to suit your business and your goals. One thing you need to be aware of: Often people deal with the SOS as a wish-list of achievements and then fail to develop and implement a detailed, controllable & measurable action plan (the TAC). This leads to a statement of great goals with no clear idea of how or even if you can achieve them. We will be looking specifically at Action Planning in a future issue of News & Views If however you would like some help in developing and, more importantly IMPLEMENTING, a marketing plan, we would be delighted to talk to you. Lets see them now one by one and try to cover what exactly we need to do:

STAGE 1 SITUATION ANALYSIS WHERE ARE WE NOW? How are we performing? What are our distinctive competitive (marketing) advantages? How effective is our Marketing Mix? Are we focusing on the best segments with the right type of customer? Are we using the most appropriate channels for communication and distribution? What uncontrollable event(s) or trend(s) can impact my business? STAGE 2 SET OBJECTIVES WHERE DO WE WANT TO GO? Business Mission? Business Objectives? Marketing Objectives Business Development? Marketing Communication Objectives? The SMART Test for Objectives Make sure your objectives are practical and measurable. Do they fit the following criteria? Specific (with numbers) Measurable (to monitor progress and confirm achievement) Actionable (can we do it?) Reasonable (realistically attainable) Timed (incorporate deadlines)

STAGE 3 STRATEGY HOW DO WE GET THERE? Segmentation How do we want to divide up the market(s)? Targeting Which segments of the market do we wish to focus upon? Positioning How do we want to be perceived in each different target segment? STAGE 4 TACTICAL PLAN HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY? Which Communication Tools are we going to use? How are we going to use them? What message(s) do we wish to communicate? Are we being consistent across different tools and messages? Do we have the necessary resources/budgets? STAGE 5 ACTION PLAN WHO, WHAT, WHEN? Who is going to do what? When are they going to do it? What is the resource allocation for the action?

What are the key performance measurements? How is performance going to be recorded? STAGE 6 CONTROL KEEPING TRACK OF PROGRESS Do action performance measurements relate to objectives? Responsibility for measurement? Frequency of measurement? Resources for measurement? Review of measurements? Actions on variance?

Situation Analysis
A situational analysis often is called the foundation of a marketing plan. A situational analysis includes a thorough examination of internal and external factors affecting a business. It creates an overview of the organization that will lead to a better understanding of the factors that will influence its future. The Facts Utilizing market research, a situational analysis will define potential customers, projected growth, competitors and a realistic assessment of your business. It involves targeting the specific objectives in the business and identifying the factors that will support or hinder those objectives. This assessment often is called a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Strengths and weaknesses involve an internal analysis of the company, while opportunities and threats are derived from an external analysis. A SWOT analysis usually is presented as a list of information but also can fit into a matrix model. Internal Analysis The internal analysis is a thorough knowledge and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses within an organization. These factors are seen in company culture and image, organizational structure, staff, operational efficiency and capacity, brand awareness, financial resources, etc. Strengths are positive attributes, which can be tangible or intangible, and are within the control of the organization. Weaknesses are factors that may hinder the achievement of the desired goal. External Analysis Opportunities and threats are measured as part of an external analysis. Both can occur when things happen in the external environment that may require a change within the business. These external changes can be attributed but not limited to market trends, suppliers, partners, customers, competitors, new technology and economic environment. Opportunities present

themselves as attractive factors that can propel or positively influence the organization in some way. Threats are external factors that could place the organizations goal at risk. These often are classified by their level of severity and probability of occurrence. Function A SWOT profile is used to create goals, strategies and implementation practices. It aids in decision-making across the organizational board and creates an understanding of the organization. The four categories are used in relation to one another. For example, a business may decide to build up a weak area to pursue an upcoming opportunity. A SWOT can be used in problem solving, future planning, product evaluation, brainstorm meetings, workshop sessions, etc. Considerations Multiple perspectives are required to thoroughly investigate the internal and external influences on a business. A SWOT can oversimplify a situation when factors are forced into categories in which they may not apply. Also, the classification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be somewhat subjective; certain factors could qualify as an opportunity and a threat.

Objective
For a work at home mom, it can be hard to fit in marketing objectives and all of the other top priorities for growing and expanding a fledgling enterprise. But, it's important not to lose sight of some of the most powerful strategies for keeping your small work at home business afloat. Marketing objectives are critical within a greater marketing strategy that will attract clients and help you reach the public to keep a business thriving. Importance of Marketing Objectives Within a greater marketing plan, marketing objectives provide a way to measure progress for a small business. How can a business find the best ways to expand or grow without a clear goal or plan? Marketing objectives represent concrete goals for improving business outreach, so that business leaders, such as moms working out of their own homes (sometimes with limited visibility), can rest assured that new clients will be within reach when the operational capacity of the business grows to accommodate them. Business leaders can use a marketing plan including specific marketing objectives to look at what's happening, put a gold star next to what works, and change what doesn't. Without constant change and proactive leadership, lots of small businesses run the risk of withering away over time. The general failure rate for smaller businesses is high, but for savvy entrepreneurs who take care to provide backup plans and assertive marketing efforts, the extra work is like a kind of extra insurance for the future of the business.

Strategy
Your marketing strategy is part of your overall business strategy, but it focuses specifically on understanding who your target customers are and how you can market your company to them. Your business strategy is broader and encompasses many other aspects of your business such as quality control, manufacturing and distribution, finances and technology used by the company. An objective of your business strategy may be to increase sales while an objective of your marketing strategy would by ways in which you can achieve your business objective such as ways to reach new customers, launch a new product, start a sales campaign or promote repeat buying from your existing customers. Just as a marketing strategy is a more focused directive of an overall business plan, so is marketing mix to your marketing strategy. It is an important element of an effective marketing strategy and includes the tools you will use for your marketing. However, there is much more to a marketing strategy than just the marketing mix. It is just one component that works with the rest to create an overall marketing strategy. Any marketing strategy is only as good as the market research you do. Many companies fail to see the importance of learning all they can about their niche market, so they tend to do blanket marketing and try to make it appeal to anyone and everyone. An effective marketing strategy will target the focus on the customers who have a need for your product or service and will find the best ways in which to reach them. Just remember, no matter how great your strategy is, it will not help your business if you cannot implement it. There is no doubt that an effective business plan is the building block of any successful venture, and within that business a plan a clear cut marketing strategy is imperative. Defining your marketing strategy, planning a means to reach customers, defining who you are as a company, and discovering your niche is a key point in finding success.

Tactics
Tactical plans are sometimes called short-term action plans because they breakdown bigger-picture goals and strategies into narrower, actionable tasks. The key to a welldeveloped tactical plan is having specifically stated actions assigned to particular employees with specific deadlines. Bold objectives and thoughtful strategies produce nothing if no steps are taken to put them into action. The goals and strategies give vision and the actions make the company plans real. The main tools of tactics are described below:

Product The importance of a high-quality product that delivers value to the intended end user is critical. Product is one of the four components of the marketing mix. In developing marketing strategies and tactics, marketers will consider product information that includes sales data as well as market research information about customer satisfaction with the product and feedback attained through a variety of channels, including social media and other online interactions. As marketers respond to this feedback they will make changes to their products and services, and sometimes develop new products or line extensions to meet changing market demand. Price Even a great product at the wrong price-point will have a tough time achieving market success. Pricing is an important consideration in the marketing planning process. Pricing decisions are based on the costs of producing and delivering the products and services, but also on considerations related to desired brand image and how a specific target audience might respond to various price points. For example, hamburgers sold at McDonald's are priced lower than hamburgers sold at Wolfgang Puck's. Place The place component of the marketing mix refers not only to location, but also to access to the product or service; in other words, availability. A highly desired product, at a price that appeals to a wide range of consumers will struggle to achieve success if the product is hard to find or sold out whenever consumers attempt to make a purchase. Place considerations now also include issues related to ordering online and how easy (or difficult) it is to navigate the purchase process. Promotion While it can be easy to think of marketing as being all about promotion, the truth is that promotion is only one of the four elements that go into achieving marketing success. Businesses with high-quality products, desired by consumers, priced appropriately and readily and conveniently available, need to consider how they will communicate about the product to target consumers. That's where promotion comes in and may include such tactics as advertising, public relations or special events.

Action
An action plan integrates all of the strategies you have developed throughout your business plan into a highly organized and prioritized plan of action designed to achieve your stated business mission and goals. This is achieved by breaking down the strategies you developed into small, achievable steps and then identifying the actions you need to take for each step. It can be used as a short term (6-12 months) action plan to achieve short term business goals, a medium term action plan (2-3 years) or a long term action plan (3-5 years).

An action plan identifies the business goal (what you would like to achieve) and the strategies that can be implemented to reach that goal. It also explains the specific actions that need to take place in order to achieve the business strategy. This will include the timeframe, roles and responsibilities, performance indicators and alternative methods that can be implemented to reach the business objectives.

Control

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