Chapter 2- 10-Step Strategic Planning Model – Comprehensive Study Notes

10–Step Strategic Planning Model

• A sequential framework for designing, executing, and evaluating social-marketing campaigns aimed at voluntary behavior change for the social good.
• Steps are interdependent; insights or constraints discovered in any step may require iterative back-tracking and refinement of earlier decisions.

Step 1 – Describe Social Issue, Background, Purpose & Focus

• Begin by naming the social issue (e.g., carbon emissions, water conservation, roadway litter).
• Craft a concise background/problem statement:
– Integrate epidemiological, scientific, or market data.
– Reference scope, trends, urgency and “what happened.”
– Typical triggers:
• Public-health crises (e.g., rising obesity).
• Safety concerns (e.g., cell-phone use while driving).
• Environmental threats (e.g., climate change).
• Community-involvement needs (e.g., blood shortages).
• Purpose statement: clarifies the benefit achieved when objectives are met (e.g., “improved water quality,” “ $4$ million pounds less litter”).
• Focus: single actionable domain from among the factors that influence the purpose (e.g., “reduce pesticide use,” “reduce intentional littering on roadways”).
• Example (Washington State, early 2000s):
– Issue = roadway litter ( $>16$ million lb on roads + $6$ million lb in parks yearly).
– Annual cleanup spending $\approx\$4$ million; only $25\%-35\%$ recovered.
– Purpose = decrease littering; Focus = intentional roadside litter.
– Consequences cited: eyesore, wildlife harm, safety hazards (e.g., lit cigarettes).

Step 2 – Conduct Situation (SWOT) Analysis

• Internal assessment – Strengths & Weaknesses: resources, expertise, leadership support, alliances, delivery systems, reputation, issue priority.
• External assessment – Opportunities & Threats: cultural, technological, natural, demographic, economic, political, legal environments; largely uncontrollable yet critical.
• Methods: staff interviews, colleague consultation, literature scans, review of prior campaigns (“lessons learned”).
• Example (Litter campaign):
– Strengths: steep fines already legislated; seasoned social-marketing team; multi-agency support (State Patrol, Licensing).
– Weaknesses: limited funds; law-enforcement competing priorities; shortage of public litter containers.
– Opportunities: low public awareness of fines; strong environmental ethic; businesses both contributors & potential sponsors.
– Threats: perception that litter ≠ priority; many litterers not motivated by ecology.

Step 3 – Select Priority Audiences

• Define primary audience with granular detail:
– Stage of change, demographics, geography, related behaviors, psychographics, social networks, community assets, segment size.
• Three-part selection process:

Segment entire population into homogeneous clusters.
Evaluate segments with criteria: prevalence, readiness, impact potential, feasibility, cost-effectiveness, equity.
Choose focal segment(s); identify secondary markets (e.g., partners, opinion leaders) if relevant.
• Example (Litter campaign):
– Surveys: $25\%$ never litter, $25\%$ habitual, $50\%$ occasional.
– Priority segments = motorists/passengers who toss:
• (1) cigarette butts, (2) alcohol containers, (3) food wrappers/other containers.
• Pickup-truck drivers who: (4) fail to cover/secure loads, (5) don’t clear truck beds.
– Non-litterers identified as a secondary audience to reinforce norms/report violators.

Step 4 – Set Behavior Objectives & SMART Goals

• Behavior objective: what the audience will Accept, Reject, Modify, Abandon, Switch, or Continue.
• Knowledge objectives: critical facts/information required to enable action.
• Belief objectives: attitudes/feelings that must shift.
• Establish SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) for each objective – explicit numeric targets & deadlines.
• Keep budgetary & evaluation implications in view; chosen metrics later guide Steps 8–10.
• Example (Litter campaign):
– Short-term: raise awareness of fines & promote new toll-free reporting line.
– Mid-term: build belief that littering will be noticed & punished.
– Long-term: change behaviors – proper disposal, secure loads, clean truck beds.
– Baseline data: telephone surveys (awareness/beliefs), field litter composition counts.

Step 5 – Identify Priority-Audience Insights (Barriers, Benefits, Motivators, Competition)

• “Voice of the customer” research (focus groups, ethnography, surveys).
• Key constructs:
– Barriers (real & perceived): time, cost, convenience, psychological discomfort, social norms.
– Benefits sought: tangible & intangible gains audience values.
– Competition: preferred current behaviors or commercial offers satisfying the same need.
– Motivators: ideas, incentives, or facilitators audience states would prompt adoption.
• Treat insights as “gold” – central to positioning & 4P mix.
• Example quotes (Motorist focus groups):
– Barriers: smell of cigarette butts, fear of open-container fine, ignorance of trash in truck bed, ineffective tie-downs, perception litter pickup provides inmate work.
– Motivators: belief of being observed & fined (“close to $\$1000$ for a lit cigarette butt”), certainty of enforcement.
– Note: ecological stewardship was largely irrelevant to habitual litterers.

Step 6 – Develop Positioning Statement

• Articulates desired perception of the behavior relative to alternatives; drives tone & content of 4Ps.
• Formula (implicit): “We want [audience] to see [desired behavior] as [key benefit] relative to [competition].”
• Litter example:
– “Motorists will believe they’ll be noticed & caught when littering; fines are steeper than expected; proper disposal is the cheaper, smarter option.”
• Additional illustrations:
– Media reporters & non-stigmatizing language (mental-health campaign).
– Puppy shoppers & Humane-Society website.
– Gardeners & composting as easy/environmentally superior.

Step 7 – Develop Strategic Marketing-Intervention Mix (4Ps)

1 Product

• Three levels:
– Core = bundle of benefits audience values (e.g., “early detection,” “prevent injuries,” “save money,” “avoid $\$1000$ litter fine”).
– Actual = tangible behavior/performance & supporting goods/services (e.g., rapid HIV test; thumb-socks to curb texting; secured truck-load guidelines).
– Augmented = additional extras that facilitate adoption (e.g., counseling, laminated shower cards, anonymous litter-reporting system).

2 Price

• Identify and manage:
– Monetary costs (fees, equipment).
– Non-monetary costs:
• Time/effort (driving to car wash, cooking nutritious meals).
• Psychological (fear, embarrassment, loss of pleasure).
• Physical discomfort (exercise, blood tests).
• Adjust price via incentives/disincentives: discounts, rebates, fines, public recognition, shame.
• Litter example: emphasize large existing fines ( $>\$1000$ ) as monetary disincentive; free litter-bags as incentive.

3 Place

• Where/when audience performs behavior or accesses services/goods.
• Creative place tactics: drive-through flu shots, department-store mammograms, mobile hazardous-waste units, remote-control-attached dental floss, beach life-vest loans.
• Litter campaign: roadside receptacles accessible from vehicles; retail outlets distributing litter-bags; hotline available $24/7$ .

4 Promotion

• Key messages: salient benefits, barrier-reduction tips, action instructions.
• Messengers: credible spokespersons (law enforcement, peers, celebrities, businesses).
• Creative elements: logos, taglines (“Litter and It Will Cost You”), graphics (fine amount super-imposed over roadway).
• Channels: TV, radio, billboards, social media, point-of-sale signage, earned media.

Step 8 – Develop Evaluation Plan

• Purpose & audience for evaluation established first.
• Align metrics with Step 4 goals.
• Budget for evaluation embedded before Step 9.
• Four measurement tiers:
– Inputs: $\$\text{ spent},$ staff hours, partner resources.
– Outputs: materials distributed, impressions, events, frequency, implementation fidelity.
– Outcomes: behavior change, intentions, knowledge, beliefs, campaign awareness, satisfaction, policy shifts, partnerships.
– Impact: longitudinal effects on core issue (e.g., tonnage of litter reduced, water quality indices, lives saved).
• Return on Investment (ROI): $\text{ROI}=\frac{\text{Value of behavior change} - \text{Cost}}{\text{Cost}}$ .
• Example (Litter campaign): baseline & follow-up state-resident surveys (awareness, belief), hotline call counts, periodic litter-composition studies.

Step 9 – Establish Budgets & Funding

• Summarize total resource requirement: media buys, production, staffing, incentives, evaluation.
• Identify funding sources: governmental allocations, grants, corporate sponsorships, in-kind donations, media partnerships.
• Litter example: major costs = TV/radio/billboards, road signs, hotline operations; sponsors covered litter-bag production & retail signage.

Step 10 – Complete Implementation Plan

• Translate strategy into an action grid detailing:
– Activities, responsible parties, deadlines, required resources, performance indicators, budget line-items.
• Often phased (pilot, scale-up, sustain).
• Litter example:
– Three-year timeline: Year 1 awareness, Years 2–3 belief & behavior reinforcement.
– Result (May 2005): $24\%$ reduction (from $8{,}322$ to $6{,}315$ tons) – $\approx 4$ million lb less litter; hotline averaged $15{,}000$ calls/yr.
• Document serves as roadmap and accountability tool for managers & partners.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Considerations

• Respect for autonomy: ensure behaviors are voluntary; avoid manipulation; provide accurate risk/benefit data.
• Equity: segmenting must not neglect marginalized groups; budget allocation should reflect potential disproportionate impacts.
• Sustainability: consider long-term capacity building and policy reinforcement so behavior persists post-campaign.
• Transparency: openly report evaluation methods & findings; adapt if negative outcomes arise.

Key Takeaways / Memory Aids

• Think “ISSUES → AUDIENCE → INSIGHTS → INTERVENTION → IMPACT.”
• SWOT anchors realism; SMART anchors measurability.
• Audience barriers outweigh marketer assumptions – mine for gold via research.
• 4Ps are levers; adjust each to lower barriers & heighten benefits.
• Evaluation is not an afterthought; design it before budgeting.
• Implementation = strategy made visible; monitor & iterate.

Reference

Lee, N. R., & Kotler, P. (2023). “Social Marketing: Behavior Change for Social Good” (6th ed.). SAGE Publishing.