ABSTRACT
To be effective, a strategic planning system must be goal-driven. The setting of goals or
objectives is therefore a key step in the marketing planning process, since, unless it is carried
out effectively, everything that follows will lack focus and cohesion. In terms of its position
within the overall planning process that forms the basis of this book, objectives setting can be
seen to follow on from the initial stage of analysis and, in particular, the marketing audit that
provided the focus of Chapter 3 (see Figure 7.1).
