Using PESTLE in your marketing plan

A new dawn for British politics, or the start of a period of increasing instability ending in another election. The commentators are divided on the likely success of our shiny new coalition government. Either way the coalition will begin to implement their agreed policy in the coming weeks and months. In business we can’t directly influence policy but we certainly have to live with it. That absolutely doesn’t mean we have to be passive though – quite the reverse. There is always opportunity in change and as in nature the most successful businesses will be those that best adapt to the changing circumstances.

So how do you ensure that your business is one of the success stories, a business that grows and thrives rather than a victim who declines and perhaps fades to extinction? Well, the good news is that it is within your control. Adaption in business doesn’t usually happen by accident but as a result of clear thinking, analysis and planning. Yes I’m talking about your Marketing Plan people! If you have a marketing plan, fantastic, but now is the time to review it in light of the changing political and economic environment. If you don’t have a marketing plan then shame on you! If you only have time to do one thing for your business this month make it writing your marketing plan.

Your marketing plan is essentially in three parts:

1. Analysis - What environment are you operating in, what markets do you have, what is your portfolio and how is it performing etc. The important thing about this section is it should be forward looking, identifying trends and likely outcomes.
2. Objective setting – Based on your analysis what are your marketing objectives e.g. grow sales by 10% in 2010 by launching a new product, grow profit by 5% in 6 months by launching into a new geography etc.
3. Planning – What specific programmes, projects or actions are you going to undertake to achieve the objectives, in what timescale and how will you measure success.

A key tool you can use in the analysis section of the plan is a PESTLE analysis which aims to provide a structured approach to identifying the key trends affecting the environment in which you do business. The acronym stands for:

• Political – taxation policy, government spending priorities, European, UK and local government objectives, grants, etc.
• Economic – interest rates, GDP growth rates, inflation, disposable income, unemployment levels etc.
• Social – life style trends, demographics, media etc
• Technological – innovations, research funding, communications, internet/ecommerce /social media developments etc.
• Legal – employment law, competition law, health and safety, etc.
• Environmental – green policy, recycling, alternative energy etc.

Don’t get too hung up on which category a specific factor fits into. The impact is the important insight not which box it goes in. It is not important whether you consider a change in income tax rates to be a political or economic factor. The important thing is that it might mean a change in consumer disposable income. Also don’t worry if you don’t find factors in a section which are important to your business. All categories are not equally important to all businesses.

The key reason for undertaking the PESTLE analysis is to help identify opportunities for your business to grow and threats to your existing business or growth. It is important when reviewing the analysis that you try to keep an open mind about your business, and a positive outlook. Things which initially look like threats can in fact be converted into opportunities. For example if you provide services to the public sector a reduction in government spending could be considered a significant threat to your revenues. It could also be considered a significant opportunity if you can provide services which allow the budget holder to cut costs. It may help to share your findings with a trusted outsider who may be more objective about your business than you!

Once you have identified the opportunities and threats that the change in government will create you can then develop plans to exploit the opportunities and minimise the threats. Remember there is always opportunity in change.