Now you understand the environment that you are working in, you need to make sure that the 'intelligence' that you have gathered either confirms the corporate objectives or this information will help you set them or re-define them.

The corporate objectives are high level, for example:

1. to increase net profit to 17% by end of 2013,

2. to launch new product 'X' into the domestic market by April and secure xxx sales by December etc.

3. to achieve 20% market share and become market leader.

4. to secure a 12% ROI (return on investment) etc.

Now that you have your 4 or 5 corporate objectives you can start to define what you want to achieve and by when. Now you can set the marketing objectives which if delivered will contribute to achieving the corporate objectives.

1. Set out your objectives and make them SMART targets: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and targeted - Remember if the business is targeting a 17% net profit figure then you need to make sure that your marketing activity is driving in the same direction.

2. Define the timeline, resources and budget required - a Gantt chart is a good tool for this

3. Set your milestones to measure progress

4. Communicate what you are going to do and why to your internal teams - that's everyone in your business

5. Implement

6. Monitor progress and outcomes, adjusting where necessary