Marketing communication: principles and practice

Figure 16.3
The valuable plan

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Participative planning through internal marketing allows all to learn by doing.
A ‘corporate memory’ should be created to record successes, mistakes, and
omissions, in the evaluation of the effectiveness of plans, of the marketing
communication system as a whole, and of the planning process. The
corporation can then use this knowledge base to modify and improve
procedure and knowledge as required.
At Parcelforce, for example, a live corporate memory was created using
simple PC database software. In order to create a record of learning
opportunities and results, and to facilitate the spread of best practices
throughout the business unit, a database of issues, assignment for action, and
outcomes was created. Assignment for action, progress chasing, and
identification of past solutions was coordinated by the communications
manager.
General Electric facilitated their cross-functional process management of
their relationship with key customer Southern California Electric with a
database management system that provides universal customer information
and a corporate memory (Duncan and Moriarty, 1998).
The concept of a system of planned, measured communication efforts is
akin to the creation of a ‘corporate intelligence’. Kelley (1968) proposed the
introduction of a marketing intelligence system, with major benefits, which
include:
• help in expanding time horizons in decision-making and planning
• recognizes and responds to increasing complexity in decision-making as
known and unknown factors and their interdependent relationships
multiply
• handles the proliferation of data in the information age
• protects management from specialists’ distortions, filtering, etc.
• offsets the tendency for top management to become divorced from reality
• opens up new and better sources of information
• allows creative intelligence functions
• provides responsibility for communication and aids the corporation in its
communication
See Box 16.1.
Suitability of the marketing communication plan, as it is implemented in
a campaign or communication system, can be determined by examining the
following factors: 
• customer and market data – response
• marketing goals – relevance
• product data – market performance
• tactics – efficiency and effectiveness
• measurement – sensitivity and relevance of data
• communications objectives – contribution of communication outcomes
to marketing and wider business goals