rewrite this to be more academical and precise
On the basis of the preceding steps, the company can now determine specific objectives and goals that it wishes to achieve. These objectives, in turn, form the basis for the selection of marketing strategies and tactics.
A company may have several objectives. Although marketing objectives usually tend to support business objectives, business and marketing objectives may also be one and the same. It should be pointed out that there are several types of objectives, such as financial and corporate objectives. Additionally, objectives may be departmental or divisional. However, regardless of the type or format, each objective requires its own strategy.
Objectives are needed in a number of areas – production objectives, financial objectives, etc. In a market-driven company, marketing objectives are the most important as they reflect customer needs and how the company can satisfy these. In a market-driven company, marketing plans come first in the overall corporate planning process. The objectives of other areas must then be consistent with marketing objectives. In addition to this element of consistency, objectives should be expressed unambiguously, preferably quantitatively, and with an indication of the time span within which the objectives are planned to be achieved. The acronym SMART describes the requirement for such objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related.
This time span of planned activities often gives rise to some confusion in planning literature. Marketing plans are often categorised as being short range, intermediate range and long range. The confusion arises from the fact that there is no accepted definition of what constitutes the appropriate time horizon for each of these categories. What is felt to comprise long-term planning in one company (say five to ten years) may be considered intermediate in another. It is suggested that the different planning categories are identical in concept, although clearly different in detail. Furthermore, the different planning categories are ultimately related to each other – achieving long-term objectives requires first that intermediate and short-term objectives be met. The following criteria are necessary for setting objectives:
Ensure objectives focus on results
Because the effects of marketing activity are essentially measurable, sales and marketing strategies should enable the quantification of marketing achievement.
Establish measures against objectives • Return on investment.


Where possible have a single theme for each objective


Imprecise objectives such as ‘reduce customer defections by 20% through best-in-class service’ are not acceptable. There are at least two objectives here and each should be quantified.
Ensure resources are realistic
Best practice: attempt to answer common marketing problems through the use of test and roll-out plans.
Because testing enables roll-out costs to be estimated reasonably accurately, this should ensure that campaign running costs are realistic. (Although overheads or labour cost may not be.)
Ensure marketing objectives are integral to corporate objectives
This is indisputable, because there will be a serious mismatch if corporate objectives differ from marketing objectives, e.g. general corporate objectives suggest expansion into new member countries of the European Union, and specific marketing objectives only include current member countries.