SOSTAC® planning model…

1

2

3

4

5

6

situation

objectivesstrategytactics

actioncontrol

corporate

marketing

digital

resources scheduling

Smith, 1990

5S’s

marketing mix

PR Smith on SOSTAC

SMART Objectives (Goals)

Sync with Company’s goals – remember the bottom line!!

Goals with no measurements mechanisms are just wishful thinking.

Have strong relevant KPI’sYour tactics have to address the needs of your objectives

Strategic Formulation

Who are your prospect customers?

What added value do your bring to your customers?

What are your goals for acquisition?

What integrated strategies will your use to achieve these goals?

How will we get there? 3M’s

Who are my customers? Targeting the right Segmentation is not an option…

…can use ‘classic’ bases and variables for B2C and B2B

…Do you know your buying personas?

…3S’s of online segmentation – Search, Site and Social Behaviour

Find out their problem, their anxieties, the order in which they look for information, what they want to hear, keywords, their tone of voice, etc…

Targeting...

three tradition key approaches – undifferentiated, differentiated and concentrated.

Start by Listening (research your audience) – develop your personas.

Becoming visible - Search Engine Marketing

Focus on solutions not on your products!

Positioning…

products can be positioned in the market by focusing on specific factors such as…

features, benefits or advantages

solutions presented

specific usage (occasions)

positioned against other products

class disassociation

strategy… OVP

closely tied to the brand position

the reasons why the customer will click, register, buy and share

the intrinsic benefits from the site, content, service and functionality

…a further objective-linked strategic consideration

acquisition

conversion

retention

…how do we gain new customers?

…OVP and integration with other channels

…build relationships, develop advocates and engage

Brand influence

…web/online/customer persona’s

How Strategic implementation can help your business?

How to Integrate online and offline?

Staffing, budgeting, alliances and partnerships…

Innovation and creativity

Now think of your email marketing or display add campaign:

Who are your trying to reach?

What are you offering which is unique, free or rewarding?!?

Have you got a clear call-to-action strategy?

What value are you adding with your content?

Have you got clear goals, metrics, budget, timeframe, etc.?

…Diffusion of Innovation?

product

promotion

tactics…

price

place

people

process

physical evidence

implementation…

is the scheduling of digital campaign

Gantt chart or project plan

Key resources are determined

responsibilities are allocated

management processes are put in place

control and evaluation...

Link to the digital objectives set earlier

evaluate the success of…

different digital mix elements

different digital channels

different digital media

finally, feedback and learn

Using the right Metrics

From hearts to leads to sales growth rate.

Are you able to identify and reward?

Revenue growth and ROMI – how is marketing contributing to the bottom line?

Can customer satisfaction lead to new acquisition? If so, what about leads from referral metrics?

Have you built your internal capability for data collection and analysis leading to regular informed reporting (dashboard)

References and reading

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick F. (2012). Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. 5th Edition, Pearson. London.

Armstrong, G & Kotler, P. (2008) Marketing- An Introduction. 9th ed Pearson Education. London

Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W.M. & Ferrell, O.C. (2012) Marketing: Concepts and Strategies. 5th European ed. ,Houghton Mifflin. Abingdon

Ryan, D. and Jones, C. (2009) Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation. Kogan Page. London

Scott, D. M (2015). The New Rules of the Marketing and PR. 5th Edition. Wiley. New Jersey.

http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/sostac-model/