Make your marketing communications objectives specific 

The well-written marketing communications plan avoids vagueness and generalities.  Objectives must be stated in specific and measurable terms.  You must be able to sit down during a campaign period or at the end of the year and clearly describe your results in concrete terms.  Then you’ll know what worked and what didn’t.  And you’ll probably have a good idea of how to adjust for the next marcom campaign!   

How to set specific, measurable communications objectives for your agency? Read on. 

Use specific percentage increases for Awareness 

 Let’s say you have a done a survey and found that the best-known agency in your town has a 27% name recognition level and is viewed in a highly favorable way.  You discover that your agency is a distant number two at 14%.  

State one of your communications objectives as:  “To raise favorable awareness of our agency from 14% to 30% or more by December 31, 2009.”  

Note that a specific target date for reaching the objective is set.  Also, that there is recognition that it will take time to reach the goal of 30%.  To determine your progress, you will need to repeat your recognition survey---perhaps at the end of 2008, and certainly at the end of 2009. 

Use specific figures for Inquiry programs 

Do not simply say, “To obtain inquiries from target market.”  Set a credible, definite goal and say, “To obtain 150 inquiries from target market from January 1 through June 30, 2008.” 

Objectives are well-reasoned estimates 

Don’t be bothered by the fact that your specific objective figures and dates are reasoned estimates.  Especially if this is the first year you have established these types of goals for your agency marketing communication programs.  Your reasoned estimates will get more and more reasonable as you refine the process next year and the year after and the year after. 

Remember, sales forecasts are well-reasoned estimates too. 

Your objectives MUST be communication objectives 

A marketing communication objective must be one that can be accomplished by communications and only communications.  By direct mail. By advertising. By Web site visitations. By sales promotion. By seminar hosting.  And so on. 

A marketing communications objective is NOT a marketing or sales objective.  But it must support your marketing and sales plans. 

Measurable objectives eliminate fantasy and vagueness 

Have you ever sat down to evaluate results at the mid-point of a marketing communications campaign or at year-end and heard these types of comments swapped around the table: 

“I like the ads we are running a lot.” 

“I think the direct mail has helped us.” 

“My wife didn’t care for the flyer about identity theft.”

 “I’ve heard a couple of good comments about our ads at Rotary.” 

Wouldn’t you rather hear a comment such as: “We’ve received 97 direct inquiries from our home-auto account discount mailer---about 65% of our goal for the year.”