If Strategic Planning Were Like Our Annual Exercise Regimens

By no means am I a gym rat. I exercise somewhat regularly, but I would never be considered a “regular” at my nearby YMCA.  However, I have noticed an influx of “visitors” on the treadmills and in the weight room equipped with bright white shoes and the latest clip-on ipods – as can be expected given seasonality.  I’m just wondering how long all these NYRers will last.  One of my colleagues, Associate Creative Director Julie Ott, recently told me that she feels like wearing a t-shirt while working out at her gym that reads, “I Was Here in October While You Were Eating Candy.” ...which gets me thinking, what would strategic marketing planning, a practice exercised often with the new year, look like if it were similar to some of our annual physical fitness routines? Strategic planning in the marketing discipline involves identification of audience segments, determination of quantifiable objectives, serious consideration of strategies to meet those objectives, and finalization of tactics, measurement processes and budgets.  But let’s be clear – since marketing does not only happen in January neither should our planning process.  Strategic planning should be an ongoing development with many repetitions throughout the year.  Plans must be revisited on a consistent basis to take advantage of new opportunities, to review analytics for the purpose of understanding customer behavior and to make course corrections along the way. Failure to instill strategic planning as a habitual procedure can lead to weak results, a flabby sense of future tactics and potentially bloated budgets.  Thus, just as a commitment to ripped abs, toned calves and a diet that doesn’t routinely consist of Funyuns and Hawaiian Punch should carry on throughout the year, marketing professionals must make strategic planning a routine exercise.  Best of luck to everyone in 2009.

About the Author: Chris Sietsema

As Director of Interactive Marketing, Chris oversees day-to-day digital marketing responsibilities including search engine optimization, paid search advertising, social media, email marketing and media buying.

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