The Five Step Approach to Creating Strategic Planning Road Maps

for Customer Acquisition Success

Russell Kern, President & FounderKERN

Becky Graham, Marketing Group ManagerAuto Club Enterprises

Should You Do Strategic Planning?

• CMO not hearing you or uncertain where you are going and why

• Crisis of the minute management• Great plans go awry• Funding elusive• Funds squandered

Difference Between Strategy and Tactics

STRATEGY is done above the shoulders

TACTICS are done below the shoulders

Sun Tzu philosophy

Strategy: Protect Dress Shoes in the Rain

Tactic: Use mini-umbrellas on each foot

Strategy v. Tactic

Strategy• Be the market share

leader in terms of sales in the mid-market in our industry.

Tactic• Offer lower cost

solutions than enterprise competitors without sacrificing white-glove service for first three years of customer contracts

Strategy v. Strategic Planning

Strategy• A carefully devised plan

of action to achieve a goal

• The art of developing and carrying out such a plan

Strategic Planning• The planning of all

activities for the good of the business to ensure a competitive advantage and profitability

Benefits of Strategic Planning

• Better communication within organization • Improved resource allocation• Development of innovations

– programs, strategies, tactics, channels, methods• Clarity of focus of team • Reduction in redundancies• Easier to onboard new team members• Results, Revenue and Implementation

Improvements

9% to 14% improvements of go to market operations within 120 days

Competitive Advantage Assessment

1. Barriers to Entry– How easy is it for others to enter your market?

2. Threat of substitution– Are there other products and services that can easily be substituted for

yours?

3. Bargaining power of buyers– Are a small number of buyers responsible for a large portion of your

sales?

4. Bargaining power of suppliers– Do you have multiple suppliers? Are there substitutes you can use?

5. Rivalry among current competitors– How intense is the rivalry among the firms you compete with?

Five Steps To Strategic Success

Closed Loop Approach To Strategic Planning

Strategic Ideation and MappingStep 1 - preparationHistorical review, joint planning sessionsStep 2 – outputCreate strategic plan based around business objective

Implementation RoadmapStep 4 - outputSchedule implementations of each tactic and test based on priority

Strategy BriefStep 5 - outputDocument testing details: goal, target, timing, offers, creative, test plan, market selection, media allocations

ExecutionStep 6 - implementationCreate, produce, approve

Results AnalysisStep 7- measurementMeasure performance, analyze results and provide recommendations for optimization

Step 3 - OutputCreate tactics for a given strategy. prioritize tactical executions

Step 1: Effective Leadership

Who’s running the show?

The leader of the planning process must be able to share knowledge and ideas while transmitting a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others.

Team Work

Step 2: Select Implementation Approach

Two Approaches To Planning

• Top down:– Given a business goal, determine the strategies and tactics to

make it happen

• Bottom up:– Look at what is effective/efficient and build up to the goal

Top Down Model

Objective

Strategies

Tactics

Grow Revenue

Add and RetainHigh-Value Customers

Existing New

Customer Experience Proposition

Basic RequirementsMultiple Ad Format

PlacementRelevancy

DifferentiationsPersonal Experiences

Multiple ChannelsMobile Market

Ad Placement Strategy Personalization Experience

Develop and Implement Marketing Programs

Develop and Implement Personalized Marketing Programs

Deliver Personalized Experiences

Bottom Up Model

Objectives

Strategies

Channels

Tactics

Step 3: Determine Visualization Methodology

KERN’S StrategyMaster™ Visualization

Step 4: Run Ideation Session

Guidelines for Session Management

• Set objectives, then establish major strategic territories as “placeholders”

• Generate as many tactics as possible for a given strategy without evaluation

• Conduct one-on-one sessions to hone group generated tactics

• Conduct “consensus” sessions with larger group to review refined strategies and tactics, making adjustments as needed

Step 5: Prioritization and Road Mapping

Planning and Testing Roadmap

Quarter Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Campign Period M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 M13 M14 M15 M16 M17Mail Dates 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Offer Periods1.1 AUDIENCE SPECIFIC CONTACT/FREQUENCY STRATEGIES1.1.1. 1.1.1.1.   Core

1.1.1.2.  Leads

1.1.1.3.  1.1.1.4.  Cancelled & 

Pending1.1.1.5.  

1.1.2. Campaign

1.2 IDENTIFY & TEST 

1.2.1. Test New Lists

1.2.2. Launch

‐‐ Leads

‐

‐‐ Cancelled & Pending

‐‐Other

1.2.3. Explore

1.2.4. Develop Additional Models

1.3 TARGET AND INCREASE 

1.3.1. Model & Track

1.3.2. Test Creative

• All tactics evaluated on:– Biggest impact to

the business– Fastest or optimum

time to implement– Complexity to

implement– Risk to implement

TKO Action Item

OTA Action Item

APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH

1.1 Improve Targeting

Begin Prospect Database Discussions

Test alternating monthly resting approach

Focus on top 20 performing l ists  until  degradation

Determine frequency/resting strategy

List plan customized by market Competitive l ist exchange

Move l ist selection control  from franchisees  to HQ

Analyze 6 month history of each l ist

Analyze data, quality of lead source for scalabil ity

Develop contact frequency/ resting strategy

Confirm available universe of top 20 B2B Partners

Segment house fi le into 3 categories: Lead, Registered no 

Show, Attend no Sale

Build financial  proformas for DR print

Identify all  potential  low‐cost lead gen sources (DR Print, DRTV, Infomercial, Content excerpts in 

Social  Media)

Viral  Marketing CampaignLook at geo footprint of B2B generated leads & radius to 

locations

Secure 10% of fi le from each franchise

Expand testing ground to markets  beyond Irvine

Validate positive test results Test DM only vs. DM & OBTM

Increase test quantity minimum to 15K per cell

1.2 Develop Offer Strategy

Track response by segment Change CD title to be customer friendly (Secret Title)

Gas  Card Early‐bird offer ‐ flash drive Nominal  fee for PTW Charge for PTW w/special  guest speaker

Magazine Free 3‐month Trial Co‐funded gift (software on flash drive)

1 Kindle per session as door prize

One‐on‐one consultation on CD title

Limited time access  to SRC #10 Teaser OE‐LetTrader's  Library Discount, Trip Drawing, Discovery Network 

product, Money back guarantee, 

1.2.2. Tailor Offer to Lifestyle or Transitional Key Events

CD Content related to l ife transition‐‐Change Your Life CD

Aspirational  Book

1.3 Develop High‐Performance Creative Executions

Reserved exclusive spot Presenter Profile Drive online with PURLS Out of town Guest Speaker Financing AvailableForce qualification in large 

markets

Brand integrated package Survey‐2 step, email  data to EC Investor NewsletterStudent testimonials w/photos ‐ message related to l ife transition 

event

1.3.2. Test Unique "Breakthrough" Formats

Check/voucher package refresh

1.3.3. Determine Contact Strategy Determine Creative Rotation Strategy

All‐Star event build up

1.3.4. Develop Lead PackageCustomer needs‐driven vs. 

product driven message‐From The Desk Of

1.4 Improve Conversion to Show

1.4.1. Develop Conversion Strategy by Segment

Segment out & get counts by tenure  Email  Contact Strategy OBTM to PTW registrants

Automated VM Reminder (reinforce offer) Pre‐approval  offer Mobile text reminder

Send physical  gift (CD?) prior to PTW date

1.4.2. Online Integration

1.4.3. Improve EC Conversion RatesPublic stack ranking of EC 

performance (close rates, show rates)

Detailed Package (educate on products, benefits  

based)

   1.1.3. Develop List Testing Methodology

OTA 2010‐11 Direct Marketing Roadmap8/15/2010

1.3.1. Test Messaging and "Look & Feel"

Customize landing pages to match creative & offer

1.2.1. Conduct Offer Testing

1.1.1. Improve Prospect List Performance

   1.1.2. Build & Optimize House File

Rebecca Graham’s slides here

(Not available until conference)

Six Guidelines To Follow On Your Own

1. Set clear objectives2. Get management buy-in to process3. Know your results history4. Focus on strategy 5. Don't try to get it all done in one session6. Be patient

Guidelines to Making the Planning Process Work

• Planning calendar – By business unit– Schedule agency one-on-one planning sessions – Participation mandatory

• Kick off with historical performance overview

• Ground rules for “safe” conversation:

• One clear overarching measureable goal

• Confirm team’s understanding between an objective, strategy and tactic

Focus on Innovation

There’s no guarantee that innovative ideas will come from your planning. However….

without a well defined planning process, you rarely come up with new innovative ideas, programs and strategies.

Insights From 7 Years of Managing Planning Processes

• Strategic plans and road maps as living document– Repeat cycle every 90-to-120 days

• Spread out your testing– Can’t do everything at once

• Flexibility and adaptability– Changes to test and/or executional calendar

• Patience– Consensus meetings take time

Strategic Planning White Paper

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Discussion / Q&A

Thank You!If you would like us to email you a copy of the

presentation, please leave your business card up front.

Russell Kernrkern@kernagency.com

818-703-8775