The OGSM framework is a means of creating a well-structured and actionable marketing strategy. Fundamentally, the OGSM framework allows businesses first to define what they want to achieve and then determine how they will get there. To provide direction for marketing teams, the acronym of OGSM (objectives, goals, strategies, measures) should be followed in sequential order. Here is a look at each in more detail.
Objectives
In the first step, the overall objective should be defined.
The objective should be related to the purpose of the business, or its company mission and brand values.
For example, a business that offers corporate wellness training might have the objective of creating content around a healthy work/life balance.
The marketingstrategy may then seek to educate senior management on designing and implementing a wellness program across the entire organization.
Goals
To have a realistic chance of achieving the objective, it should be broken down into smaller goals.
Importantly, the goals must be clear and concise and easily trackable.
The corporate wellness company might aim for 2,000 website visitors a month, with 15% of those purchasing the program through an email marketing campaign.
Alternatively, the business may have a goal of directly contacting 300 other businesses per month and converting 5% of them to the wellness product.
Strategies
Strategies explain how the goals might be achieved.
To convert the 15% of website users into paying customers, the corporate wellness company needs to think about developing a buyer persona, hiring a copywriter, and creating targeted landing pages – among other things.
Measures
Measures help ensure that a business is moving toward its goals in a timely fashion.
In other words, measures are numerical benchmarks that use key performance indicators to provide guidance on strategy effectiveness.
The corporate wellness company might need six months of email marketing to convert enough clients to be profitable.
If that number of clients is 600, then the business can set a measure of at least 100 new clients per month.
Advantages of the OGSM framework
Short and simple
The OGSM framework is a short, simple, and concise one-page plan that is visible in the sense that it is easy to understand across all levels of an organization.
Goals linked to specific actions
Goals are explicitly linked to specific actions, which increases the chances that performance standards are met.
Adapted to context change
If conditions in the market or within an organization change, the OGSM framework can be adapted to suit.
Disadvantages of the OGSM framework
Negotiate competing goals
In some cases, the framework requires a degree of upfront cooperation as stakeholders negotiate competing goals and interests.
Large commitment
The OGSM framework also requires a large commitment of approximately 5 years, which may be unsuitable for businesses needing to react quickly to fluctuating internal or external factors.
Strong leadership
The framework is reliant on strong leadership to ensure buy-in from all relevant stakeholders.
OGSM framework case study
Take the case of a company that is trying to increase revenue by 10%, which will be supported by the launch of a new product.
The strategy to archive that will be to launch a new marketing campaign which will be measured by tracking the sales of the new product lines.
Thus, this is how the OGSM framework will be structured:
Objective: launch a new product line.
Goal: target a 10% revenue increase next year.
Strategy: develop a marketing campaign for the new product.
Measure: enable a tracking systemto check the sales coming in from the new product line.
Key takeaways
The OGSM framework defines actionable marketing strategies with quantifiable success metrics.
The OGSM framework is an acronym for objective, goals, strategies, and measures. As the business works through each step to create a strategy, the level of detail and specificity increases.
The OGSM framework is effective and simple to understand. But it does require strong leadership over the log-term to keep stakeholders engaged and working toward a common goal.
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Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
