"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." The old maxim is true, especially when it comes to spending significant chunks of money in marketing communications. Want to spend just a little? Without proper planning, you'll most likely be throwing your money away. Ready to spend a lot? Planning is the best way to make sure it's not too much. Planning is more than creating a list of "things to do," then putting them into priority order based on fuzzy or subjective criteria. A disciplined approach that identifies Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics, something like planning a military campaign, pays huge dividends. For our clients, these benefits include: Easier budgeting, and more control on expenditures Less monitoring throughout the year Clients can change focus or run a parallel program simultaneously Fewer mistakes Measurable results; demonstrate accomplishment In the planning process, identifying and segmenting target markets is key, as well as thoroughly investigating competition and general market trends. All-important branding issues require especially close attention. Many marketing executives think they already know these things since they live with them every day. But we have found that a fresh viewpoint can bring new insights, and often leads to new avenues for successful marketing. Best advice? Work with a full-service marketing communications firm that can pull all aspects of your business together into clear focus. Because better planning always yields better results. And fewer companies are doing it.