Behind the corporate objectives, which in themselves offer the main context for the marketing plan, will lay the ‘corporate mission’; which in turn provides the context for these corporate objectives. This `corporate mission’ can be thought of as a definition of what the organization is; of what it does: ‘Our business is …’.
This definition should not be too narrow, or it will constrict the development of the organization; a too rigorous concentration on the view that `We are in the business of making meat-scales’, as IBM was during the early 1900s, might have limited its subsequent development into other areas. On the other hand, it should not be too wide or it will become meaningless; `We want to make a profit’ is not too helpful in developing specific plans.
Abell suggested that the definition should cover three dimensions: ‘customer groups’ to be served, ‘customer needs’ to be served, and ‘technologies’ to be utilized [1]. Thus, the definition of IBM’s `corporate mission’ in the 1940s might well have been: `We are in the business of handling accounting information [customer need] for the larger US organizations [customer group] by means of punched cards [technology].’ Perhaps the most important factor in successful marketing is the `corporate vision’. Surprisingly, it is largely neglected by marketing textbooks; although not by the popular exponents of corporate strategy – indeed, it was perhaps the main theme of the book by Peters and Waterman, in the form of their `Superordinate Goals’. ‘In Search of Excellence’ said: “Nothing drives progress like the imagination. The idea precedes the deed.” [2] If the organization in general, and its chief executive in particular, has a strong vision of where its future lies, then there is a good chance that the organization will achieve a strong position in its markets (and attain that future). This will be not least because its strategies will be consistent; and will be supported by its staff at all levels. In this context, all of IBM’s marketing activities were underpinned by its philosophy of `customer service’; a vision originally promoted by the charismatic Watson dynasty.
The emphasis at this stage is on obtaining a complete and accurate picture. In a single organization, however, it is likely that only a few aspects will be sufficiently important to have any significant impact on the marketing plan; but all may need to be reviewed to determine just which ‘are’ the few.
In this context some factors related to the customer, which should be included in the material collected for the audit, may be:
* Who are the customers?
* What are their key characteristics?
* What differentiates them from other members of the population?
* What are their needs and wants?
* What do they expect the `product’ to do?
* What are their special requirements and perceptions?
* What do they think of the organization and its products or services?
* What are their attitudes?
* What are their buying intentions?
