6. Objectives & Strategies
The section of a sports marketing plan that covers objectives and strategies is a crucial part of the overall plan. In this section, the marketer sets specific goals and outlines the strategies they will use to achieve them. First, let’s draw a distention between objective and strategies.
Objectives:
Objectives are the specific, measurable, and achievable goals that a team wants to achieve through marketing efforts. Objectives should be specific and outline what the organization wants to achieve in terms of sales, customer engagement, brand recognition, or other key performance indicators. Objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to help the company track its progress and measure its success.
Strategies:
Strategies are the methods or approach an athletic department or sports property uses to achieve its marketing objectives. Strategies should be designed to align with the objectives and should take into consideration the organization’s target audience, competitors, budget, and available resources. Strategies can be broad or specific and include advertising, promotions, content marketing, social media marketing, public relations, and sales initiatives.
Setting specific, measurable goals and objectives is critical in developing a successful marketing strategy for a college football team. These goals should be aligned with the overall goals of the university and the athletic department and targeted to specific outcomes that can be tracked and measured. Here's how to set specific, measurable goals and objectives for a college football team's marketing efforts:
Identify the Overall Goals: The first step is to identify the overall goals of the university and the athletic department. This could include increasing enrollment, enhancing the university's reputation, or generating revenue through ticket sales and merchandise. By understanding these broader goals, you can align your marketing efforts with the overall objectives of the institution.
Define Specific Objectives: Once you have identified the overall goals, you can define specific objectives directly tied to the college football team's marketing efforts. These objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Examples of specific objectives could include increasing ticket sales by a certain percentage, growing the team's social media following, or boosting merchandise sales.
Establish Key Performance Indicators: Once you have defined specific objectives, you should establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress toward these goals. These KPIs should be quantifiable and directly related to the specific objectives. For example, if the objective is to increase ticket sales, the KPI could be the number of tickets sold or the revenue generated from ticket sales. (This will be covered in the next section)
Develop a Plan of Action: Finally, you should develop a plan of action to achieve these objectives. This could include specific tactics such as targeted social media campaigns, influencer partnerships, or community outreach programs. The plan should be tailored to the specific objectives and KPIs and designed to maximize the team's strengths while addressing weaknesses and leveraging opportunities. (This will be covered in the next section)
Setting specific, measurable goals and objectives is critical in developing a successful marketing strategy for a college football team. By aligning these goals with the overall objectives of the university and the athletic department and tracking progress through specific KPIs, you can develop a targeted approach that maximizes the team's strengths and generates positive outcomes.
In the following pages, there are several examples of objectives. These, however, are not written as SMART objectives. Those details would be determined based on a variety of details and circumstances. These objectives are meant as a starting point. In many cases, following the objectives are strategies that could be implemented to meet the stated objective.
