Alan defined how CSR would communicate to the world from the beginning. If you want your start-up to be heard all over the world, Alan's your man.

Glenn Collinson
co-founder & former director of CSR Plc

Marketing Communications Strategy

That’s all very well in practice, what about the theory?

We employ a straightforward approach that goes systematically through the necessary steps required to build a Marketing Communications plan so that all relevant factors are considered, without going into excessive and expensive detail. You’re interested in performance, not a PhD in theory, so it’s a practical approach - not academic mumbo-jumbo. It is defined in very broad terms below. We are happy to talk in more detail about any aspect of this process.

The approach has six stages. Stages 1 & 2 are about understanding Marketing Objectives and Competitive Position. Stage 3 is about understanding the Marketing Strategy from which the Communications Objectives are derived. Stage 4 & 5 are about the specifics of the Communications Plan. And Stage 6 is about making sure, as the plan is executed, that Communications Objectives are being met.

Stages

Select a stage for more information

Situation analysisWhere are we now?

  • SWOT analysis
  • PEST analysis
  • Marketing Mix
  • Five Competitive Forces
  • Competitive Advantage
  • Benchmarking
  • How is the company performing?
  • What are the distinctive competitive advantages?
  • How effective is the Marketing Mix?
  • Are we focusing on the best segments with the right type of customer?
  • Which are the most appropriate channels for communication and distribution?
  • What uncontrollable events or trends impact on the business?

Set objectivesWhere do we want to go?

  • Business Mission
  • Business Objectives
  • Marketing Objectives
  • Marketing Communication Objectives

StrategyHow do we get there?

  • Segmentation - How is the market divided?
  • Targeting - Which segments of the market is the focus on?
  • Positioning – What is the desired perception in each different target segment?

Tactical planHow do we implement the strategy?

  • Which Communication Tools are appropriate?
  • How is each to be used?
  • What messages are to be communicated?
  • Is there consistency across different tools and messages?
  • What is the required resource/budget?

Action planWho, what when?

  • Who is going to do what?
  • When are they going to do it?
  • What is the resource allocation for the action?
  • What are the key performance measurements?
  • How is performance going to be recorded?

ControlKeeping track of progress

  • Do action performance measurements relate to objectives?
  • Review of measurements?
  • Actions on variance?