Often small to mid-sized businesses have either no dedicated marketing staff or a revolving door of talented volunteers / students and that can create gaps in knowledge transfer and pauses in implementing marketing plans. Marketing strategies are designed to focus on acquiring, delighting and retaining customers, members and/or donors. While marketing strategies and ideas can help create a path to brand purpose and clarity – if the team isn’t clear on how to implement the plans intentionally, and in a consistent manner, or how to hand off those tasks to orientate new staff and volunteers, things can go awry.
Actionable implementation plans and steps are essential to clearly map out the path to a worthwhile result. Let’s start with assessing what might be causing issues with implementation. If I were to join your team next week, would your current marketing plan include the following?
- the goals and objectives the plan has prioritized?
- the campaigns or tactics the team will be responsible for to reach these goals / how the work will be measured?
- a summary of the system that the organization uses to bring these ideas / campaigns to reality? This could be for example a high-level org. chart and system chart (how we do it here) and any operations and policy manuals/checklists.
- an example of the reports the team uses to measure and report on their efforts?
Mapping the “How we do it here” (or People + Process + Tech.) essential to implementation
We speak with many small teams that indicate they need to flesh out a bit more consistency around the 3rd and 4th points above – but are happy to hear it’s not complicated or cumbersome. Managers can consider these essential tips to create a marketing system essential to consistently implement marketing plans.
- Ensure roles and responsibilities are clear by creating one-page job descriptions for staff roles AND marketing student interns / volunteers. Often teams have org. charts so these can also be adapted by adding bullet points for key responsibilities for each role to illustrate how they work towards your goals.
- Create a simple checklist for the tasks listed in the job descriptions. For example, if a volunteer is coordinating a monthly newsletter, make a list of all the steps they would follow. This is helpful to both current and future volunteers making any transitions easier to manage.
- Consider whether these tasks can be automated or made easier with technology. Are you making the most of your volunteer and staff talent? Can you speed up or simplify your system with branded design templates, pre-scripted or automated welcome emails or PowerPoint pitches, key messaging or automated measurement reporting?
- If technology platforms are involved, you can also take a moment to link to the appropriate policies (e.g. social media policy) and operational resources (e.g. the tech platforms all have free YouTube tutorials) that people can refer to if they will use those tools.
Why Communicating Purpose + Order + Meaning = Success
Support this system clarity by ensuring Purpose, Order and Meaning are clearly communicated to the team. Never assume these tasks will be self-sustaining without someone checking in, answering questions and thanking staff and volunteers.
Commitment will wane if the tasks aren’t clearly communicated, the desired goals (this is important work because….) aren’t measured and shared (this worked and this didn’t so…) and the team’s efforts are appreciated. It also provides great opportunities to discuss potential improvements and changes. We encourage teams to do an annual reflection on what they improved over the last 12 months and then update the checklists / tasks to ensure new technology or learnings are incorporated.
Without clear, actionable implementation plans to map out the path to a worthwhile result, teams can struggle with meeting timelines, figuring out the steps required, or even how they complement each other / work effectively. Don’t hesitate to connect with us for a free consultation on what help could improve your current planning process or for help filling in some implementation gaps.
