Commandments 1 Through 4: Have Clear Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

• Marketing is both art and science. The science requires clear alignment between goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. These marketing elements provide direction and a foundation for marketers. Goals are broad ("increase market share"). Objectives provide more detail ("raise marketing share in the primary service area by 10 percent by year end"). Strategies indicate how objectives will be met ("leverage social media to raise awareness among the primary market"). Tactics are the "whats" of the plan -- they are specific actions that will be taken to achieve the strategies that have been established.
  
  

Commandments 5 and 6: Define and Profile Your Target Audience

• Marketers must thoroughly understand their target audience. The more specifically and clearly marketers know their intended market, the better able they will be to choose the appropriate communication tools and create compelling messages. Audiences are defined through demographics (age, sex, income, geography) and psychographics (lifestyle preferences and attitudes). Some marketers develop actual personality profiles of their intended audience to provide everyone involved in a marketing efforts with a very clear picture of the individuals they are attempting to influence.
  
  

Commandments 7 Through 9: Segment, Target and Position

• Businesses do not operate in a vacuum and they know that their target audiences are faced with many choices. Successful marketers are able to segment, target and position their products or services relative to competitive products and services to stand out and achieve results. Segmenting involves dividing the larger audience into smaller subcomponents that represent different traits and characteristics. Targeting involves devising ways to reach those audience segments. Positioning involves understanding the competition and what it has to offer so that competitive messages can be positioned effectively.
  
  

Commandment 10: Measure

• The science of marketing is in its measurement. Today's Internet-based marketing methods are well-suited to measurement and provide marketers with opportunities to clearly understand how the audience is reacting to their messages. Even traditional tools can be measured, however. It is important for marketers to establish plans of measurement at the outset of their marketing efforts and to monitor performance on an ongoing basis. Efforts that are performing as well or better than expected can be continued or strengthened. Efforts that are not performing well can be modified or eliminated.