MARKETING BROAD OBJECTIVES
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To sum up, objectives should be set through a series of executive meetings. The organizational head plays the role of mediator in the process of screening varying viewpoints and perceptions and developing consensus from them. Once broad objectives have been worked out, they should be translated into specific goals, an equally challenging task. Should goals be set so high that only an outstanding manager can achieve them, or should they be set so that they are attainable by the average manager? At what level does frustration inhibit a man- ager ’s best efforts? Does an attainable budget lead to complacency? Presumably a company should start with three levels of goals: (a) easily attainable, (b) most desirable, and (c) optimistic. Thereafter, the company may choose a position some- where between the most desirable goals and the optimistic goals, depending on the organization’s resources and the value orientation of management. In no case, however, should performance fall below easily attainable levels, even if everything goes wrong. Attempts should be made to make the goals realistic and achievable. Overly elusive goals can discourage and affect motivation. As a matter of fact, real- istic goals may provide higher rewards. In 1992, Eastman Kodak lowered its 6 per- cent annual revenue growth from the core film and photographic paper business to 3 percent. Subsequently, its stock price went up from $40 to $50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are no universally accepted standards, procedures, or measures for defining objectives. Each organization must work out its own definitions of objec- tives and goals—what constitutes growth, what measures to adopt for their eval- uation, and so on. For example, consider the concept of return on investment, which for decades has been considered a good measure of corporate perfor- mance. A large number of corporations consider a specified return on investment as the most sacrosanct of goals. But ponder its limitations. In a large, complex organization, ROI tends to optimize divisional performance at the cost of total corporate performance. Further, its orientation is short-term. Investment refers to assets. Different projects require a varying amount of assets before beginning to yield results, and the return may be slow or fast, depending on the nature of the project. Thus, the value of assets may lose significance as an element in perfor- mance measurement. As the president of a large company remarked, “Profits are often the result of expenses incurred several years previously.”

Whichever procedure is utilized for finally coming out with a set of objectives and goals, the following serve as basic inputs in the process. At the corporate level, objectives are influenced by corporate publics, the value system of top management, corporate resources, the performance of business units, and the external environment. SBU objectives are based on the strategic three Cs of customer, com- petition, and corporation. Product/market objectives are dictated by product/ market strengths and weaknesses and by momentum. Strengths and weaknesses are determined on the basis of current strategy, past performance, marketing excellence, and marketing environment. Momentum refers to future trends— extrapolation of past performance with the assumption that no major changes will occur either in the product/market environment or in its marketing mix. Identified above are the conceptual framework and underlying information useful in defining objectives at different levels. Unfortunately, there is no computer model to neatly relate all available information to produce a set of acceptable objectives. Thus, whichever conceptual scheme is followed and no matter how much information is available, in the final analysis objective-setting remains a creative exercise.