In order to develop a non-profit organization to its full potential, planning and development activities should be undertaken in a collaborative manner between senior management and the board. A strategic plan, which many organisations routinely create, sets goals and objective measures for the coming 3, 5 or 10 year periods; commonly in relation to service delivery, development of new business and fundraising. As well as this document, developing a strategic marketing plan to sit alongside the strategic plan enables the non-profit organisation to consider branding, environmental factors including threats and opportunities, political and legal factors and target market for services and donors.
Components of the Strategic Marketing Plan
A strategic marketing plan is comprised of:
- an executive summary;
- analyses of the external macro and micro environments
- analysis of the internal environment
- marketing strategies; and
- budget and control information.
PEST Issues - Analysis of the External Macro Environment
This section of the strategic marketing plan reviews the bigger picture outside issues that may affect the organisation’s ability to operate, develop or contract over the period of the strategic marketing plan. PEST or political, environmental, socio-cultural and technological issues that may have an impact on the organisation should be considered in this section of the strategic marketing plan. For instance, a foodbank may need to consider the likelihood of adverse growing conditions having an effect on the ability to obtain fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price. The PEST issues will have been considered in the preparation of the strategic plan and may be transposed into the strategic marketing plan.
Industry Growth Trends and Consumers - Analysis of the External Micro Environment
The external micro environment is represented by industry trends and consumer focused issues. Topics to consider when analysing the external micro environment include:
- industry growth trends;
- competitor analysis;
- consumer analysis;
- member/donor analysis;
- distribution methods (if applicable);
- supplier/funder analysis;
- Porter’s 5 Forces summary;
- critical success factors; and
- opportunities and threats summary.
As with the analysis of the external macro environment, many of these issues will have been considered when preparing the strategic plan and the commentary can be transposed from that document into the strategic marketing plan.
Marketing and Management Capabilities - Analysis of the Internal Environment
A non-profit organisation has more control over the internal environment as opposed to the occasionally reactive position that may need to be taken when there are changes in the external environments. The analysis of the internal environment aims to review and audit the strengths, abilities and weaknesses of the organisation in relation to marketing and the management of marketing activities.
Marketing Strategy
A strategic marketing plan is not an operational plan; it delineates the overarching strategy and goals to be achieved through marketing. The marketing operational plan will set out specific details such as when mailouts are to be undertaken, fundraising events to held, etc. The marketing strategy component of the strategic marketing plan contains:
- marketing and financial objectives;
- product market strategies;
- rationale;
- targeted markets;
- positioning/brand position;
- strategy statement; and
- details of the marketing mix to be used.
How Much to Spend and How to Tell if it’s Working - Budget and Control
The final components of the strategic marketing plan comprise the budget and control sections. The budget details the marketing expense costs (such as printed material, website hosting costs, function related costs and cost of producing merchandise such as t-shirts) and sales/donation forecasts for the period of the strategic marketing plan.
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” stated the late Peter Drucker, management consultant extraordinaire and this statement is true for all organisations whether they are profit or socially focused. The control section of the strategic marketing plan sets out the ways in which the marketing strategy will be measured for effectiveness; for example: reviewing Twitter traffic on a monthly basis to look for trends in followers or tracking the response rates on mail outs for membership or donation. Regular reviews of the marketing strategy enable the organisation to meet the critical success factors highlighted in the external micro environment analysis.
A strategic marketing plan sits alongside the organisation’s strategic plan and enables a non-profit organisation to set goals relating to donations, funding and brand awareness and a strategy for achieving those goals. It is not an operational document but rather sets an overarching philosophy for the organisation’s marketing activities.
Tracey Lloyd - Based in Australia, Tracey Lloyd is experienced in management & strategic development of community projects and non-profit ...
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