Fact: Best-in-class marketers are better than their peers at aligning Marketing with business outcomes, and clearly conveying their impact and contribution (accountability) to the organization. Alignment and accountability are inextricably linked and are the cornerstones of any successful Marketing organization. Without business alignment ,it’s impossible to quantify Marketing’s value and to select the right metrics.

Your Marketing plan is one of the most powerful alignment tools available. Additionally, research has shown that companies with a Marketing plan experience a 24-30% improvement in sales over those without a plan.

Every Marketing Plan Should Meet these 5 Criteria, alignment, organizations — The Plans of BIC Marketing Orgs Meet 5 Criteria

Composition vs. Notes

As a Marketing leader, you are the conductor. You are responsible for either composing or bringing a composition to life that will be pleasing to all your stakeholders. Without the composition, you risk each performer playing their own, producing beautiful notes that are very likely not working together. Your Marketing plan is your organization’s composition. It must be far more than a list of notes that each section of your orchestra will produce.

It’s time to work on your plan if what you currently have reflects a list of actions or an itemized calendar of activities and costs – that is, instruments to be played along with a set of notes.

We know from our work that the Marketing plans of Best-in-Class organizations meet these five criteria:

Identify priorities, prioritize resource,s and enable organizations to select the best customer and market opportunities.
Serve as the foundation for the activities that create and nurture the promise of value to the customer.
Provide a direct-line-of sight between marketing activities and investments and business outcomes and results.
Are a living roadmap that is anchored to the overall business’s outcomes and focuses on customer value, growth, and profitability.
Guide the selection and creation of your marketing metrics and marketing dashboard.

Does Your Marketing Plan Meet the Criteria

Open up your current Marketing. How does your Marketing plan stack up against our criteria? It is crucial that your Marketing plan meets ALL of these criteria to ensure that you are connecting the work of Marketing to business results and ultimately driving revenue.

Could it use some improvement? Request a marketing plan assessment to find out what to address first. A good planning session can make all the difference. Consider holding a Marketing planning session.

Our proven patent-pending Accelance® methodology and application were designed specifically to support alignment efforts and ultimately produce an outcome-based Marketing plan. We welcome the opportunity to help you prove and improve the value of your Marketing. Let’s get started !

FAQ:

(written by Penn of Sintra.ai)

Q1: What distinguishes best-in-class Marketing organizations from their peers?
A: Best-in-class marketers are better at aligning Marketing with business outcomes and clearly conveying Marketing’s impact and contribution (accountability). These two disciplines are inseparable—without alignment, it is impossible to quantify Marketing’s value or select the right metrics.

Q2: Why are alignment and accountability considered the cornerstones of a successful Marketing organization?
A: Because alignment creates a direct line-of-sight from Marketing investments to enterprise outcomes, and accountability provides the metrics and measurement discipline to prove performance. Together, they enable Marketing to prioritize correctly, secure resources, and manage performance as a business function.

Q3: Why is the Marketing plan one of the most powerful alignment tools available?
A: Because the Marketing plan translates business outcomes into customer value priorities, strategies, programs, and investments—creating a shared “composition” that ensures the organization is working in concert rather than producing disconnected activities.

Q4: What is the evidence that having a Marketing plan improves performance?
A: Research indicates that companies with a Marketing plan experience a 24–30% improvement in sales compared to companies without a plan.

Q5: What is the difference between a true Marketing plan and a list of activities?
A: A true plan is a composition—a coordinated roadmap that aligns stakeholders and resources to outcomes. A list of activities is merely notes—a calendar of actions and costs that can produce isolated execution without shared direction or measurable business impact.

Q6: What five criteria do best-in-class Marketing plans meet?
A: Best-in-class Marketing plans:

Identify priorities, prioritize resources, and enable selection of the best customer and market opportunities.
Serve as the foundation for activities that create and nurture the customer value promise.
Provide direct line-of-sight between Marketing activities/investments and business outcomes/results.
Act as a living roadmap anchored to business outcomes, focused on customer value, growth, and profitability.
Guide the selection and creation of Marketing metrics and the Marketing dashboard.

Q7: How can you assess whether your current Marketing plan is strong enough?
A: Compare your plan against the five criteria. If it reads like an itemized calendar of activities and costs—rather than an outcome-anchored roadmap with clear priorities, resource logic, and measurable line-of-sight—it likely needs improvement.

Q8: What should you do if your Marketing plan does not meet all five criteria?
A: Consider a Marketing plan assessment to identify gaps and prioritize what to address first. A focused planning session can materially improve alignment, accountability, and ultimately revenue impact.

Q9: How does Accelance® support outcome-based Marketing planning?
A: Accelance® was designed to support alignment efforts and produce an outcome-based Marketing plan—helping leaders prove and improve Marketing’s value through a structured, measurable planning methodology.