When writing his tome, On War, Clausewitz stated that the lack of good available information about his troops, the enemy, the terrain, the weather, etc. created a “fog” that made decisions difficult.  The ability to make good decisions is compounded by “friction,” when the engagement begins and nothing seems to work according to plan.

Today’s CMO needs to think about Clausewitz’s fog and friction when doing her 2010 planning.  For example, the CMO knows that the economy is poor (or terrible), and may be ready to rebound, but then again, maybe not.  She knows that she has to introduce two new products in 2010, with an understaffed department; products that management is counting on to drive incremental revenue and to gain market share.  She has to provide a greater number of high quality leads to the sales force, but her budget is flat for 2010 from 2009, which was down 40% from 2008.  What she doesn’t know is what the competition if going to do, what the economy is going to do, and whether the traditional selling cycle is going to be extended.  In other words….fog.

And, when discussing the January trade show, she just found out she has a smaller space, her on-hand exhibit won’t fit, and that a new exhibit will take 13 weeks….friction.

Listed below are some suggestions as how a CMO can overcome these hurdles in doing their 2010 planning.

• Have a goal.  Whether it is the number of new customers, percentage increase in market share, or increased profitability, have a goal, write it down and communicate it to all.  For career longevity, it should be the same goal as management’s.  Above all, agree on a singular goal.  The days of having dual goals of “increased market share and profitability” are gone.
• Have a strategic plan.  An over-arching strategic plan allows short-term tactical plans to be developed and implemented.  For example, in World War II the goal was to win the war, the over-arching strategy was to win the war in Europe first, and then the war in Asia.  This strategy drove the timing and development of everything, from landing craft and airplanes, to troop deployments.
• Develop tactical plans based on available resources and personnel.  Several elements should guide the development of these plans:
  • KISS – An Army acronym for “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”  Given the volatility of the variables, complex plans stand a higher risk of failure.
  • Communicate the plans to everyone.  The Product Managers should know all about the lead generation programs; the development engineers should know about the ad schedule; management should know about the newest social media rollouts, etc. etc.
  • Delegate decision-making responsibility to those accountable for doing the work.  In most cases, the Marketing department is spread too thin and events are moving too quickly.  The CMO who insists upon reviewing and approving all actions and changes, dooms the execution of tactical marketing plans, especially when working with social media.
  • Be flexible.  Something is not going to work, and the competition is going to do something unexpected.  Make sure that your tactical planning is flexible enough to allow for quick, last-minute changes.  This does not mean a switch of goals or strategy, but rather a move to different tactics. (One way to keep abreast of competitive activity is to monitor them via social media tools.  This is also a great way to keep current on your reputation.  Are you doing this?)
  • Measure.  For each tactical plan, set targets and measure progress against these targets.  Use the combined results from all the tactical plans to measure achievement against the goal.

Those who have read my earlier posts, here and here, will recognize that I would set down the following for Bob’s Tool and Die:

Goal – Highest customer satisfaction as possible

Strategy – Nurture the installed base of customers, and then seek new customers

Tactics – Continue to use those tools that work now, and introduce new ones as time and resources permit

2010 is going to be a very difficult year for Marketing.  CMOs are going to be asked to deliver more, with less, in a very uncertain economy.  Understanding and planning with the knowledge that “fog and friction” exist should give the CMO an edge in meeting expectations.  Echoing Clausewitz’s thoughts regarding uncertainty, General Eisenhower reported that he learned early in his Army career that “plans are useless, but planning is everything.”

Where do you stand relative to your 2010 marketing plans?  Where are you going to get help in handling the “fog and friction” that are going to occur?

RHM  10/27/2009