As seasoned professionals, we've seen organizations with ample resources and the best of intentions fail to effect change. Why? Because they lacked marketing discipline. We're here to help fix that. We take our clients through a systematic approach that breaks the process of planning, creative ideation and execution into definable steps.
Most marketing companies employ a model that follows four basic process phases: Assessment, Planning, Execution and Measurement. Of course, we do these too, but in our experience, these have their own natural biases, and can limit thinking. At Milestone Partners, we have a slightly different twist on each:
Most marketing companies employ a model that follows four basic process phases: Assessment, Planning, Execution and Measurement. Of course, we do these too, but in our experience, these have their own natural biases, and can limit thinking. At Milestone Partners, we have a slightly different twist on each:
- Learn Forward: In our experience, most people get caught-up in data about past market conditions and product performance. They don't spend enough time looking at what's changing and where things are going. We think past data is only a starting point for assessment--we believe that combining knowledge of the past with an understanding of future direction allows us to plan for what's likely to happen, and to take advantage of change. We call this "Learning forward."
- Plan Backwards: Planning suffers the opposite curse--most people start with today, and try to plan towards the future. As they get even a few steps into tomorrow, their vision blurs, and with it their intended actions. Steps get smaller and smaller. Long range plans end up long on the short-term, with little or nothing beyond the first 12-18 months. We believe the best plans start with the end-state vision and work backwards. Determine what's needed in terms of capacity, share, renown, and what the logical order is to acquire these. Working back from future vision to today--"Planning backwards"--we're able to identify the big hurdles we'll need to cross to get to the finish line. We think of these hurdles as Milestones.
- Act with Purpose: While most tactical programs start with good intentions, they often take on lives of their own. Ask most marketers what they're doing, and they'll tell you something like "launching an ad campaign" or "running a loyalty program" when the correct answers should be more like "building a pool of interested prospects" and "optimizing the value of current customers." We think it's essential that the primary purpose of our actions be front and center at all times. When we "act with purpose," we make better decisions, and use precious resources wisely.
- Measure Progress to Vision: We're all for
results--too much in marketing goes
unmeasured--but measurement, if not tied to the ultimate goal--the organization's business vision--can be useless. We think the most important measurement must be achievement of the milestones set out on our strategic path. If the first milestone is something like "build a core of at least 1,000 early adopter users who can act as referrals and evangelists" then we need to measure the number of users, their buying style and the actions they've taken to help us.