Social Media Escalation Plan

Description

The purpose of a Social Media Escalation Plan is to determine when an issue has reached a point where it needs to be addressed with more gravity. It is an important decision-making mechanism to document so that everyone has a shared understanding of how to respond quickly when different issues arise. While issue management is not new, marketers often need to create escalation plans for social media given how influential comments and posts can be on brand reputation. Escalation plans align teams on the conditions that need to be met to involve more senior stakeholders for greater authority and support. Social Media Escalation plans can be created using different formats, including decision trees. Use the format this is most clear and relevant for you.

Question

How do we address this issue in social media?

Steps

1. Meet with senior stakeholders to identify the types of issues that represent the highest levels of risk for your organization. What may cause long-term harm? These issues will be unique to your organization.

2. Explore how these ‘hot button’ issues may manifest themselves in social media. What might be posted or shared? Assign a level of severity to each of these issues and group together. These represent ‘Levels’.

3. Review the issues for each Level and discuss the response(s) that you should take. Determine the threshold for when you need to involve more senior stakeholders for even greater authority or support.

4. Capture the Stakeholders, Conditions, and Response for each Level in your Plan. Consider how any of the issue Accelerators listed below may change how you respond or escalate the specific issue.

5. Review the final Social Media Escalation Plan with all stakeholders for final feedback and alignment. Consider ‘stress testing’ your plan by running a few practice drills to see if escalation can be properly supported.

Considerations

• Ensure that social media monitoring is in place to be able to detect all the issues identified in the plan

• Identify the members of your cross-functional ‘Crisis Team’ that will manage the issues of the highest severity

• Use pre-approved responses to help social media teams respond quickly and compliantly to issues

Retrospective Meeting Template

Description

The purpose of a Retrospective Meeting is look back at a project or iteration as a team to identify opportunities for improvement. Retrospective Meetings differ from Post-Mortems in that they are scheduled throughout the life of a project or workstream, rather than only when a project is complete or when something has gone wrong. Retrospective Meetings are critical to help teams reflect on what they have learned, and identify actions that they will take to improve future outcomes. These meetings also help teams to better understand each other and to build morale for the next project or iteration. The Retrospective Meeting Template is a tool to help facilitate discussion and capture key points.

Question

What did we learn from this experience that we can use in the future?

Steps

1. Prepare for your meeting by clarifying the scope of the project or iteration you will be reviewing, and create a list of the milestones or phases. Invite all team members involved in the work.

2. Start the meeting by reviewing the scope and the milestones. Have team members reflect on what went well during each phase. Capture all feedback to ensure that everyone feels heard.

3. Go through the same set of milestones and have team members now reflect on what did not go well. Make sure to capture these reflections as objectively as possible and avoid assigning blame.

4. Based on these reflections, have team members identify potential opportunities for improvement. These may be process changes or other supporting initiatives. Capture these ideas in a way that they are actionable.

5. Finally, have the team identify any questions they have relating to potential improvements. These may be hypotheses that people have but cannot yet prove. Capture these as questions that the team would like answered.

Considerations

• Ensure that the facilitator sets up and maintains a safe space for participants to share honest feedback.

• Consider reviewing your completed Template as the starting point for your next Retrospective Meeting.

• Consider polling participants on their reflections prior to your meeting, and using the results to spur dialogue.

References

Derby, E., Larsen, D. “Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great”, The Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2006

RACI Matrix Chart

Description

The purpose of a RACI Matrix is to determine the level of responsibility of individuals or teams in completing the tasks involved in a project. RACI is an acronym for the four levels of responsibility used in the matrix: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. This chart is a long-standing project management tool that helps to define tasks, clarify roles, manage workload, and improve decision-making. The process of creating a RACI Matrix collaboratively as a team can help align everyone on expectations and mitigate potential areas of conflict. These tools are becoming more popular within marketing teams as work has become more distributed and cross-functional, and agile processes are being more widely adopted.

Question

What is everyone’s level of responsibility for each part of this project?

Steps

1. Identify all of the tasks involved in your project, and list them in sequential order. Make sure each task relates to a meaningful milestone, not every meeting. Capture tasks using an action verb (e.g., ‘create’).

2. Identify all of the roles involved in your project. Capture these as roles rather than the specific names of people, agencies, or departments so that the RACI Matrix can be used across teams over time.

3. Create a matrix with your project tasks listed vertically and roles horizontally. Working down your project tasks, assign the appropriate level of responsibility for each role involved. This is your first draft.

4. Review vertically. Consider if the level of responsibility assigned for each role is appropriate and manageable. Too many entries may indicate an unrealistic workload. Too few may indicate an unnecessary role.

5. Review horizontally. Consider how your assigned responsibilities will impact the process. The more people involved at each stage may help with communication and alignment, but may slow things down.

Considerations

• Make sure that there is only one ‘A’ per task so that there is a clear owner at each stage of your project.

• If you have too many ‘R’s for a task, consider dividing the task even further to clarify who is doing what.

• A RACI Matrix should never be created in isolation; ensure you have input and alignment before putting into action.

References

Andersen, E., Grude, K., Haug, T. “Goal Directed Project Management: Effective Techniques and Strategies”, Kogan Page, 1984

Competitive Audit

Description

The purpose of a Competitive Audit is to better understand how your offering compares against available alternatives. Marketers regularly conduct audits to get a better handle on what competitors are doing and offering in order to inform their own marketing plans. There are many different types of audits. Feature-based audits are binary and help marketers understand if a competitor offers something. Approach-based audits are descriptive and help marketers understand how a competitor offers something. Performance-based audits are evaluative and help marketers to understand how effective a competitor is at something. It is important to first identify how your competitive audit will be used before selecting the appropriate type and beginning your work.

Question

What do competitors offer and how do I compare?

Steps

1. Start by determining what exactly you will be using the completed audit for. What questions do you have, or what decisions do you need help in making? Select the type and format of your audit accordingly.

2. Identify the relevant competitors to include in your audit. While most audits are focused on direct competitors, consider including emerging or adjacent competitors for a different, wider perspective.

3. Identify the attributes for your audit. These attributes need to cover the scope and purpose of your audit, and be mutually exclusive from each other. Make sure you are actually able to track or measure each one.

4. Conduct your research for one of your competitors. What did you learn as a result of the process? Review your attributes to see if you need to make any changes before you complete the rest of your audit.

5. Once completed, review the results of your audit. Identify the key findings and implications from your research. Capture if there any changes you would make to the audit or process the next time it is conducted.

Considerations

• Data collection is time-consuming; make sure your team is aligned on your approach before starting

• Consider if you will be updating your audit over time, and if you are capturing everything now that you will need

• If you are conducting a performance-based audit, make scoring criteria as clear and objective as possible

References

Porter, M. “Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors”, Free Press, 1980

Service Blueprint

Description

The purpose of a service blueprint is to visualize the relationships between customer service interactions and the internal resources and processes that support them. Service blueprints separate those activities that are visible to the customer (frontstage) from those that are not (backstage). Relationships are illustrated using lines that communicate operations and flow. Service blueprints expose the innerworkings of specific scenarios that are typically a part of a larger customer journey. A large end-to-end customer journey may require multiple service blueprints. Service blueprints are most relevant to marketers when exploring how to introduce or change a customer-facing service. Multiple departments are typically required to create a service blueprint, particularly when the customer scenario involves different touchpoints and cross-functional coordination.

Question

What happens behind the scenes to support this customer service scenario?

Steps

1. Determine the start and end point of the customer scenario you are focusing on, including the ultimate goal of the customer. Capture the flow of the relevant actions taken by the customer to achieve this goal.

2. Identify the relevant frontstage actions taken by your organization (including people or technology) to support each customer action. The internal actions are visible to the customer, and meet at the Line of Interaction.

3. Identify the backstage actions that support your frontstage activities. These activities are not visible to the customer, but may be completed by frontstage personnel. Capture these below the Line of Visibility.

4. Identify the relevant support processes that are required for your backstage actions. These may involve underlying technical operations or partners that support your personnel. Capture these below the Line of Internal Interaction.

5. Finally, capture the physical evidence that the customer comes into contact with at each step of the scenario. This may include communication and touchpoints used to serve and influence the customer.

Considerations

• Service blueprints are designed to expose the current state; resist the urge to jump ahead to future solutions.

• Consider adding timing to your blueprint to illustrate how long certain actions should take to complete.

• Service blueprints can be used to diagnose existing services and explore how to provide new offerings.

References

Shostack, G. Lynn. "Designing Services that Deliver", Harvard Business Review, vol. 62, no. 1

Creative Brief

Description

The purpose of a Creative Brief is to describe the problem to be solved through a new marketing initiative. It is a critical document used in briefing meetings and throughout creative development to ensure everyone is clear on the objective and nature of the initiative itself. Some creative brief formats are designed to be quite prescriptive while others are much more open. While the format of briefs vary, they all represent the bridge between strategic thinking and marketing execution. The creative brief should be used as a tool to inspire and guide creative development, as well as provide teams with a lens to provide feedback and evaluate performance.

Question

What is the problem to be solved and the expectations of how we solve it?

Steps

1. The first step in writing a creative brief is speaking directly with the stakeholder that is requesting the work. It is important to understand the ‘big picture’ and the reason why marketing is required in the first place.

2. Review your creative brief template and identify the gaps in your current knowledge. What further answers or insight do you need to effectively complete each section of the brief?

3. Conduct the necessary research to close these gaps. This may include reviewing existing brand, business, or segmentation documentation. New research into competitors or consumers may also be required.

4. Take your first pass at writing the creative brief based the information available. Make sure that your brief is actually brief by including the most salient details with the least amount of words.

5. Review your brief with your original stakeholder for their feedback and approval. Make any additional revisions, then schedule your meeting to ‘brief-in’ your new marketing initiative.

Considerations

• Ensure that briefs are single-minded to focus attention, without any contradictions or ambiguity

• Make sure that briefs are clear in terms of what success looks like and how work will be evaluated

• Write your briefs in a way to inspire teams by providing an opportunity for creative problem solving

References

Steel, J. “Truth, Lies & Advertising: The Art of Account Planning”, John Wiley & Sons, 1998

Content Mindmap

Description

The purpose of a Content Mindmap is to identify potential content opportunities based on the editorial strategy for your brand. As marketers continue to embrace content marketing, there is a growing need to publish even more posts, articles, and podcasts. It is easy to find yourself creating content that feels stale or unfocused. The Content Mindmap help marketers to stay focused on the core topics, while also exploring new tangents and adjacencies. The Mindmap is commonly used as a facilitation tool with a group to brainstorm new ideas within a construct that reflects the brand strategy. The radial nature of the framework visualizes how close or far away a new idea may be to a core topic of your editorial strategy.

Question

What topics make up our content marketing strategy and what might we publish?

Steps

1. To start, make sure that you have a clear focus of the editorial strategy for your brand. This is best captured as a concise ‘North Star’ statement describing why someone will engage with your content.

2. After capturing this statement in the centre of the map, capture the related sub-topics. These sub-topics represent the different subjects or themes that you cover through your content. Capture these as keywords.

3. Now that you have the structure for your Mindmap, start to explore new content ideas. Spend time on each of the sub-topics and brainstorm different ways they can come to life through content from your brand.

4. Capture each new content idea on the Mindmap and illustrate the connection it has to a sub-topic. If a new content idea has a connection to more than one topic, illustrate multiple connections.

5. Once completed, review the Mindmap with your team to vet and prioritize new content ideas. If new sub-topics emerged as a result of the activity, make sure that they are captured for future plans.

Considerations

• Recognize that your ideas may become less relevant the further you move away from your core topics

• Remember to explore and vet new ideas through the lens of the customer you are intending to engage

• Determine when a new idea may actually be a potential new sub-topic, and capture it accordingly on the Mindmap

References

The Mindmap concept is credited to Tony Buzan

Value Exchange

Description

The purpose of the Value Exchange is to articulate how a brand will deliver value to a customer that is commensurate with their level of commitment. The concept is most relevant to platforms and programs that are designed to engage customers over time; examples include loyalty programs, newsletter subscriptions, and customer self-service capabilities delivered via digital channels. Establishing an effective value exchange can be challenging, as it must be attractive to the customer (or they won’t join), simple for the customer (or they can’t join), and achievable for the company (or they can’t afford it). This framework helps teams explore different dimensions of value in a reciprocal way.

Question

Why would a customer join and remain engaged with our program?

Steps

1. Clearly define the scope of your program to provide focus and useful constraints. Then identify potential ways that the business and customer can provide value, considering a broad set of value dimensions.

2. Starting with your business and fully explore different ways to provide value using the dimensions as a guide. Make sure to not only focus on traditional promotional incentives, and explore more extrinsic benefits.

3. Shift your attention to how customers can provide value to your business. Make sure that you do not focus purely on customer transactions, but consider the value of assets like first-party customer data.

4. Prioritize the potential benefits on both sides of the value exchange. For each benefit, analyze its perceived value and the feasibility to provide. Include those that are most attractive and easy to execute.

5. The final step is to establish balance, pairing the right set of benefits provided by the business to the related contributions required by the customer. The relationship must be clear and the value must be mutual.

Considerations

• Make sure that your benefits align with the overall positioning of your program (and vice-versa).

• Resist the urge to ask for unnecessary customer data during the enrollment or onboarding process.

• Remember that program experiences can be tailored over time to the preferences and value of customers.

References

Peppers, D., Rogers, M. “Managing Customer Experience and Relationships”, Wiley, 2017

Campaign Ecosystem Map

Description

The purpose of the Campaign Ecosystem Map is to visualize the connections among different elements of a marketing campaign. Ecosystem Maps are increasingly useful as media continues to fragment and the number of channels used by marketers continues to grow. This model organizes different channels and touchpoints based on the role they play and their relationship with each other. Visualizing all campaign elements together allows you to see if there are any missing pieces or dead ends for consumers. The Ecosystem Map is a useful tool for clarifying complicated, integrated campaigns that involve large teams with interdependencies. The top-down visualization helps everyone get on the same page.

Question

What touchpoints are we using for this campaign and how do they all fit together?

Steps

1. Identify the goal of your campaign and the potential phases that your target customer will proceed through towards the conversion action or campaign outcome. Describe these phases from the customer’s POV.

2. If you have not developed a plan for your campaign, use the framework to identify potential tactics. If you have developed your plan, validate it using the phases. Do all of your touchpoints play a clear role?

3. Place all of the campaign tactics and touchpoints in their appropriate phase in the framework. Consider if there are any other touchpoints that may be available that you have not considered but might add value.

4. Visualize the connections that exist between each touchpoint. Indicate where there is a primary call-to-action (CTA) and where there is not. We are highlighting the next action that we want customers to take.

5. Review the first draft of the Ecosystem map with your team to ensure the right touchpoints are included, the role of each touchpoint is clear, and that all important connections are clearly illustrated.

Considerations

• Organize the touchpoints in whatever way makes the visualization most useful to your planning

• Keep an up-to-date inventory of owned or previously used touchpoints for reference when planning

• Scrutinize your Map to create stronger connections between touchpoints, like targeted landing pages

References

Kalbach, J. “Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Creating Value Through Journeys, Blueprints & Diagrams”, O’Reilly, 2016

Phased Campaign Timeline

Description

The purpose of a Phased Campaign Timeline is to describe how a single campaign will change at different points throughout its lifecycle. This type of framework is most often used by marketers planning a new campaign rather than updating an existing one. The Phased Campaign Timeline is particularly helpful when a campaign is designed around a specific date, such as the release of a product or the start of an event. Dividing the timeline into phases before and after this date helps marketers plan and communicate how activities need to start, stop, or change. This ‘big picture’ timeline is a useful tool to help large integrated teams get on the same page.

Question

How will this campaign be launched and evolve over time?

Steps

1. Clearly define the scope of your campaign. When will it start and when will it end, if it ends? Make sure that you are focusing on a single campaign, as different campaigns require a different timeline.

2. Consider the phases of your campaign. These are marked by a specific date or condition that triggers a change in your marketing activities. For example, when your new promotion starts and stops.

3. Describe the marketing activities and tactics that are planned for each phase. For campaigns that will be sustained without a fixed end date, describe how your campaign will transition to an always-on program.

4. Review your plan in the context of your timeline and identify where you may need to make an adjustment. For example, if your product sells out. Capture these potential scenarios including the corresponding actions.

5. Review the first draft of the Phased Campaign Roadmap with your team. If validated, use this general timeline as your input for a more detailed project plan for execution of the campaign.

Considerations

• Creating a Phased Campaign Timeline does not replace the need for a detailed executional plan

• Consider factors beyond time that may trigger the new phase, such as products selling out (or not selling at all)

• Ensure there is connectivity between messaging in different phases to build recognition and momentum

References

Julian Cole, Planning Dirty Academy

Hypothesis Statement

Description

The purpose of a Hypothesis Statement is to articulate a prediction that your research will test. A hypothesis is the basis for designing an experiment. In marketing, we often use experiments to optimize elements of campaigns and validate different concepts. The volume and sophistication of experimentation and testing continues to grow as data, testing tools, and agile principles are more widely used by marketing teams. Without an effective hypothesis, it impossible to design a test that produces valid results or learning (i.e., garbage in, garbage out). Establishing a template that is consistently used by your team can help you capture your hypothesis in a way that is clear, specific, measurable, and relevant to your organization.

Question

What is the underlying assumption that we are testing to see if it might be true?

Steps

1. Start by writing down your research question. This question represents the underlying reason why you think you should design a test in the first place. Remember to be as focused and specific as possible.

2. In the ‘IF’ field, capture the context of the potential test that relates to your research question. This represents the area that you are interested in testing. For example, updating the cover of your new book.

3. In the ‘BY’ field, capture the independent variable that you intend to change that relates to the context of your test in the ‘IF’ field. For example, including positive testimonials on the cover.

4. In the ‘WILL’ field, capture the dependent variable and result that you believe will be impacted by the independent variable captured in the ‘BY’ field. For example, increase book sales by 20%.

5. In the ‘BECAUSE’ field, capture your rationale that describes why you expect the result captured in the ‘WILL’ field. For example, people are more motivated to purchase books with positive reviews.

Considerations

• Make sure that your hypothesis is actually testable given the resources and capabilities of your team.

• Check with your team to make sure that you have the same shared understanding of the terms used.

• Keep in mind that you may need several hypotheses and tests to fully explore a research question.

References

Luca, M., Bazerman, M., “The Power of Experiments: Decision-Making in a Data-Driven World”, The MIT Press, 2020

Social Media Content Calendar

Description

The purpose of the Social Media Content Calendar is to manage the content that you will be posting through your social media channels. While Calendars exist in different formats and software tools, all help marketers figure out what, where, and when content needs to be posted. The Calendar is an important workflow tool, and should capture all of the detail your team needs to manage social media in one place. The content and activities within your Calendar should always align with your broader marketing and social media strategy, and be updated as they change. A Social Media Content Calendar should also align teams, and be used regularly and collaboratively throughout the year. 

Question

What content are we posting across all of our social media channels throughout the year? 

Steps

1. Begin with the vertical column and indicate the specific week along with any milestones that are relevant to your social media activities. These milestones should be a mix of business priorities and cultural moments.

2. Each row represents a separate social media post. For each post, indicate the following:

   • Owner: Who is ultimately responsible for the delivery of this post?

   • Time: What date and time should this post be published?

   • Topic: What topic or content pillar does this post relate to?

   • Platform: What social media platform will this post be published to?

   • Type: What is the specific format of this post?

3. Finally, include references to any copy or creative assets that are available and will be used for your post. For example, link to a specific image in a central brand asset repository that will be used in your post.

Considerations

• Reflect the information your team needs to manage social media within the structure and contents of your Calendar

• Create your Calendar in a format that is easily shared and can be updated in real-time with and by your team

• Consider cultural events when your brand intersects with what your community is caring and sharing about.

Marketing & Sales Funnel

Description

The purpose of the Marketing & Sales Funnel is to plan and manage marketing initiatives focused on sales conversion. The funnel is a classic framework used to visualize how effective teams are attracting (the upper, wider part) and converting (the lower, narrower part) prospective consumers. While customers do not follow a predictable linear journey, the funnel continues to be a useful model to plan different elements of a campaign focused on where customer segments are on their path to conversion. Each phase of the Funnel represents where customers have a different need and level of intent. Marketers engage with customers at each phase in a different and relevant way to increase conversion rates over time.

Question

What percentage of the prospects we are we reaching are we converting to customers?

Steps

1. Clearly identify the single goal for your marketing and sales program. If you have more than one conversion action or business outcome that you are driving towards, you will need a separate funnel.

2. Consider the phases. These are marked by a significant change in the level of interest or intent of a customer, and the corresponding change in qualification or value that customer to you as a brand.

3. Describe the characteristics of customers within each phase. How will you identify them and what do they need to proceed? Review the descriptions to ensure they are different enough to warrant a specific phase.

4. Describe how you will generally engage with customers at each phase. What types of tactics will you use and what will you offer to motivate customers to proceed? Again, make sure that each phase is different.

5. Review the first draft of the Marketing & Sales Framework with your team. Validate that each phase is mutually exclusive, measurable, and covers all facets of the path to conversion for your single goal.

Considerations

• Teams can use the funnel to identify which phase a prospect becomes a ‘Sales Qualified Lead’ for outreach

• Don’t go overboard with the number of phases - you need to be able to measure all actions and segments

• Remember to use multiple funnels to measure different marketing campaigns and conversion actions

References

The Purchase Funnel concept is credited to E. St. Elmo Lewis

Brand Strategy Framework

Description

The purpose of the Brand Strategy Framework is to clearly and concisely articulate what your brand stands for. A strong brand strategy is critical for making focused, consistent, and effective marketing decisions for your product, service, or organization. There are several different frameworks used by marketers to capture brand strategy. Most have some version of the elements listed in this framework: Essence, Values, Character, Benefits, and Attributes. I am a fan of this pyramid-style framework because it reinforces the overarching importance of a brief articulation of Brand Essence (you can’t fit too many words in the top of a pyramid). It also helps you to ensure that all elements are aligned – from top to bottom.

Questions

The Brand Strategy Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:

• What does my brand ultimately stand for?

• How does my brand differ from my competitors?

• What does my brand provide that benefits people?

Steps

1. Start at the top, and work down. Your Essence is the DNA of your brand. Ask questions like ‘Why does our brand exist?’ and ‘What do we promise?’ Be single-minded and brief with your answer– 5 words or less.

2. Your Values are your compass. They represent the principles that will guide your decisions and actions. Ask questions like ‘What do we believe in?’ and ‘What do we stand for’? Capture up to 5.

3. Your Character is your personality; traits that personify your brand and create mental associations with consumers. Ask yourself, ‘How would my target consumer describe my brand if it were a person?’ Capture up to 5.

4. Your Benefits are what you provide to your consumers, functionally and emotionally. Ask questions like ‘What positive feelings do consumers receive?’ and ‘What utility do we provide?’ Capture up to 7 in total.

5. Your Attributes are how you provide your Benefits. They are the features of your offering – the more valuable, distinctive, and provable the better. Ask yourself, ‘What makes our offering better than our competitors?’

Considerations

• Do not confuse your Brand Essence with your tagline; your tagline is an expression of your brand.

• Ensure your brand strategy is aligned and defensible – do your Attributes support your Benefits?

• Be as specific and concise as possible, so your framework can be used to guide challenging marketing decisions
  
  

References

Ries, A., Trout, J. “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind”, McGraw-Hill, 2001

Search Moment Framework

Description

The purpose of the Search Moment Framework is to identify opportunities to engage and serve customers in moments of need through search marketing. This Framework is based on the Micro-Moments concept developed by Google. This concept identified four emerging moments of need that customers were turning to search – and more specifically mobile search – to address. The opportunity for marketers is to explore how these moments relate to their own customers and businesses as the basis for new search marketing campaigns. These search marketing campaigns can include both executing paid search advertising and creating search engine optimization (SEO)-friendly content to target relevant search queries. The goal is to increase the share of search intent that your brand captures within search engine results pages (SERPs).

Questions

The Search Moment Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:

• What new types of search queries should we consider targeting with search marketing?

• What areas of search intent should we be focusing on most?

• How has mobile impacted what our customers might be searching for?

Steps

1. To start, make sure that you are clear on the nature of the target customer and the journey they are on, or the goal that your customer is trying to ultimately achieve. This will form the basis for your exploration.

2. Explore Know moments by considering any informational barriers that may prevent a customer from choosing you. What are they unclear about? What topics might they want to research or dig deeper on?

3. Explore Go moments by considering location-based way-finding questions that your customer may have on their journey. Do you have a location near me? What are your hours of operation?

4. Explore Do moments by considering relevant and common tasks that your customer may be trying to complete. What might they need help with? What ‘how-to’ content might our customer find valuable?

5. Explore Buy moments by considering the steps that a customer might take along their path to purchase-online and offline. Where can I buy this online or near me? Who is selling this at the best price?

Considerations

• Once completed, research the relative volume of each search query to determine the size of audience

• Research the relative level of competition for each search query to determine the cost for paid search

• Conduct this exercise as part of major changes in the marketplace that may impact search behaviour

References

Think with Google: Micro-Moments

Measurement & Reporting Pyramid

Description

The purpose of the Measurement & Reporting Pyramid is to determine the nature of the reporting that is required for different stakeholders relating to an initiative. Often, marketing reporting teams end up sharing the same ‘one size fits all’ reports with everyone that are not relevant or actionable. These reports are often ignored, as they do not provide a basis for decision-making. The Measurement & Reporting Pyramid helps you determine what different teams or levels need to know early in the process so the proper tracking, dashboards, and communication pieces can be put in place. Completing the Pyramid also allows reporting teams to focus their valuable time and energy on the metrics that matter most.

Questions

The Measurement & Reporting Pyramid helps to answer marketing questions like:

• What metrics do we need to track and report on for this initiative?

• What are the reporting needs of different teams and stakeholders?

• In what format and frequency do reports need to be shared?

Steps

1. Review the goals, scope, and KPIs for the initiative that you are planning. If completing the framework as a team, ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of the initiative.

2. Identify the different people that need to be informed of the performance of the initiative. Large or complex initiatives will have many stakeholders, small and simple initiatives will have fewer.

3. For each stakeholder or team, identify the smallest number of metrics that they need to know to make decisions regarding the initiative. Include the stakeholders in the process for input and alignment.

4. For each stakeholder or team, determine the ideal format and frequency of reporting. For example, the business sponsor may need to present the resulting sales numbers for a weekly management meeting.

5. Once drafted, review the completed Pyramid with the marketing reporting team. Validate that the people, processes, and tools are available to deliver on the reporting plan. Revisit if plan is not feasible.

Considerations

• Remember why the framework is triangular, and share a roll-up of business metrics with senior teams

• Do not use this framework for identifying KPIs, use it for identifying how KPIs will be captured and shared

• Ensure you are reporting on metrics that guide decisions. Avoid interesting, but unactionable reports

References

Occam’s Razor Blog by Avinash Kaushik

Prioritization Mapping Framework

Description

The purpose of the Prioritization Mapping Framework is to organize and visualize the relative priority of different marketing initiatives for your organization. To use the Prioritization Mapping Framework, you need to have a clear idea of how value and complexity will be determined; the Prioritization Criteria Framework can be used here. This framework is commonly used in workshop settings, as teams evaluate different initiatives and plot them on the corresponding quadrant. The process of completing the framework together helps teams to appreciate that all initiatives cannot be scored High Value, and that choices need to be made. The output of this framework then becomes the input for a project plan or phased roadmap.

Questions

The Prioritization Criteria Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:

• What initiatives make sense to execute first, and what can come later?

• What initiatives are ‘low hanging fruit’ that we should execute now?

• What initiatives should we park and not spend further resources on?

Steps

1. To start, capture all of the potential initiatives in enough detail that all team members understand what is being proposed. Use a standard template, and make sure to prepare ahead of any prioritization session.

2. Align teams on the criteria that will be used to prioritize each initiative. Have this documented and visible for each member of the team so it can be easily referenced throughout the prioritization activity.

3. Evaluate each activity individually as a team. Plot each activity on the corresponding position within the framework. It is important that everyone can see the working framework as it is populated together.

4. Make sure to capture any additional notes or clarifications for the initiatives as you review them. Also, expect that additional initiatives will be identified, so be prepared with blank templates to fill out during the activity.

5. After the first pass of the prioritization activity, review the results as a team. You will likely have a number of initiatives crowded in the High Value quadrants. Take a second pass to see if you can create more separation.

Considerations

• Have business stakeholders involved to evaluate value and project managers to evaluate complexity.

• Do not skip any of the prep work, like documenting the initiatives and creating the prioritization criteria.

• Avoid getting into discussions regarding the timing of implementation, that comes next.

References

Lombardo, C., McCarthy, B., Ryan, E., Connors, M. “Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty”, O’Reilly, 2018

Prioritization Criteria Framework

Description

The purpose of the Prioritization Criteria Framework is to determine the relative priority of different initiatives based on the goals and capabilities of your organization. The framework is typically used when you have identified several potential initiatives and need to choose what to tackle first. While there are many iterations of this framework, most are based on the concepts of value and complexity. Value refers to what is important to you and your customers. Complexity refers to the level of difficulty or resources required for implementation. This framework forces you and your team to align on what represents value and complexity for your organization. Once the criteria has been finalized, you can begin evaluating different initiatives to determine relative priority.

Questions

The Prioritization Criteria Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:

• How can we prioritize the different marketing initiatives that we have identified?

• What exactly do we mean when we say that this initiative is valuable or complex?

• How do we distinguish between something being low, medium, or high value or complexity?

Steps

1. To start, make sure you are clear on the scope of what you are planning to prioritize. The criteria that you develop needs to be relevant to the potential initiatives that you have identified.

2. Determine what value means to your organization. This should be based on the degree to which an initiative contributes to a business goal, and the value or interest that a consumer will place on the initiative.

3. Assess how you will distinguish between low, medium, and high value. Be quantitative and specific. For example, if a new feature is expected to produce a <1% lift in sales it is low, 1-2% is medium, >2% is high.

4. Determine what complexity means to your organization. This should be based on the amount of time, resources, dependences, and risk that executing the initiative represents to your organization.

5. Assess how you will distinguish between low, medium, and high complexity. Again, try and be as specific as possible. Consider all of the relevant people, processes, systems, and resources required to execute.

6. Finally, stress test your Prioritization Criteria Framework by using it to prioritize a cross-section sample of your initiatives. Does the criteria apply? Are the results useful? If not, return to Step 1.

Considerations

• Ensure that you are not creating the criteria to lead to the results you want. No agendas.

• The more objectivity and specificity you can apply to the criteria, the more useful it will be.

• If Low, Medium, and High is too broad and blunt, try using a scoring system instead (e.g., 1-5).

References

Lombardo, C., McCarthy, B., Ryan, E., Connors, M. “Product Roadmaps Relaunched: How to Set Direction while Embracing Uncertainty”, O’Reilly, 2018

Brand Architecture Models

Description

The purpose of a Brand Architecture Model is to help a company organize its portfolio of brands, products, and services to support a business strategy.  These models help illustrate the hierarchy, linkages, and roles for each brand.  Brand architecture is fundamental to marketing decision-making, from setting budgets to designing websites. There are four main models: Branded House, House of Brands, Endorsed Brand, and Sub-Brand.  Each model has its own set of potential advantages and disadvantages.  Companies need to determine the right model based on their own unique situation and strategy.  Establishing a coherent brand architecture makes marketing more efficient and effective by providing greater focus and clarity for internal stakeholders and consumers.

Questions

Brand Architecture Models help to answer marketing questions like:

• Is this brand separate or connected to another brand?

• What is the hierarchy of these brands that are connected?

• What specific role does this brand play in our portfolio?

Steps

1. To start, ensure you have a clear understanding of your business strategy and factors that may impact your brands.  Consider future mergers/acquisitions, line extensions/ consolidations, or changes in markets/positioning.

2. Audit your current portfolio of brands, products, and services.  If you have an existing brand architecture, audit that as well.  Analyze how your ‘current state’ may need to change to support your business strategy.

3. Evaluate how different models may address your needs.  For example, a Branded House may limit extensions but consolidate investment.  A House of Brands may enable diversification but require more resources.

4. Map your individual brands, products, and services to your chosen model.  Many organizations use a hybrid approach, so highlight important nuances or exceptions.  Stress-test against your business strategy and future plans.

5. Finally, ensure that your revisit your brand architecture over time to ensure that it is in tune with your business strategy and portfolio.  As your business evolves, your brand architecture should evolve with it.

Considerations

• Ensure that your approach provides sufficient clarity and separation between brands where required.

• Consider how to reach your target market with fewer brands, as each brand requires additional budget.

• Make sure that you do not map your brand architecture to your internal organizational structure.

References

Aaker, David. “Brand Portfolio Strategy: Creating Relevance, Differentiation, Energy, Leverage, and Clarity”, Free Press, 2004

Before-the-Brief Framework

Description

The purpose of the Before-the-Brief Framework is to help organize your early conversations and thoughts regarding a potential marketing initiative. The framework includes a set of fundamental questions that need to be answered before you can responsibly start a project.  For this reason, I often refer to this framework with clients and stakeholders ‘before the brief’, to ensure that we have a shared understanding of the big picture before getting into the weeds.  I mentally visualize this framework during these initial conversations, rather than printing or sharing the document.  Establishing clear answers to these questions early – filling the frame – can help you move into the subsequent briefing phase with greater clarity and confidence. 

Questions

The Before-the-Brief Framework helps to answer marketing questions like:

• Why is an investment in marketing required in the first place?

• What does success look like for this potential marketing initiative?

• What factors do we need to keep in mind when developing a solution?

Steps

1. Start by trying to understand the underlying Mission, and the reason why marketing may be required.  Do not assume that marketing is the best or only way to achieve this Mission and make change happen.

2. Try to get a clear sense of the gap that needs to be closed, between Start and Finish.  Discuss the scope of what needs to happen to achieve the Mission, and what success ultimately looks like.

3. Explore the main factors that will act as Barriers or Boosters for your marketing initiative.  These may be internal or external factors, some of which you may not be able to control.  Best to know them now.

4. Discuss other Constraints that need to be considered when developing the marketing plan.  For example, are there high-level budgets, dates, milestones, dependencies, or risks to consider?

5. Finally, allow space to discuss any other items that a team creating a plan should know about.  For example, ask the client or stakeholder ‘what have we not talked about, but should?’  Empty the tank. 

Considerations

• The goal is to facilitate a conversation, don’t expect clients or stakeholders to have all of the answers now

• This framework can be used for intake discussions, to triage marketing requests before work is started

• Do not confuse this framework for a proper marketing brief, more details are required to start work.

References

PDF version of the First Discussion Framework