Marketing Implementation

Organization is one factor contributing to effective marketing implementation, the process that turns marketing plans into action assignments and ensures that such assignments are executed in a manner that accomplishes the plan's stated objectives.26 This part of the marketing process is critical, because a brilliant strategic marketing plan counts for little if it is not implemented properly. Whereas strategy addresses the what and why of marketing activities, implementation addresses the who, where, when, and how. Strategy and implementation are closely related in that one layer of strategy implies certain tactical implementation assignments at a lower level. For example, top management's strategic decision to "harvest" a product must be translated into specific actions and assignments.

Bonoma identified four sets of skills for implementing marketing programs: (1) diagnostic skills (the ability to determine what went wrong); (2) identification of company level (the ability to discern whether problems occurred in the marketing function, the marketing program, or the marketing policy); (3) implementation skills (the ability to budget resources, organize effectively, motivate others); and (4) evaluation skills (the ability to evaluate results).27 These skills are as vital for nonprofits as they are for businesses, as the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater has discovered.

Like many nonprofit cultural organizations, the company founded by Alvin Ailey in 1958 always seemed to be operating in the red—despite its ability to attract full houses—because of the high costs of mounting a production. But Judith Jameson, the principal dancer who succeeded Ailey as director after his death, has been able to keep the company in the black, thanks largely to her skill at motivating others to carry out marketing efforts. The nonprofit implements its marketing plan through a high-powered board of directors and a group of businesses that want to associate with the Ailey company for their own marketing purposes. For example, Healthsouth Corporation provides free physical therapy to the dancers and benefits from the association when marketing its sports medicine clinics. With an audience that is almost half African American and 43 percent of which is between the ages of 19 and 39, Ailey provides access to an important market for its corporate partners, earning their enthusiastic support.28

Continue reading here: Composite of Sales Force Opinions

Was this article helpful?