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p r smith's sostac® planning model

pr smith's marketing planning system - SOSTAC® - situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics, action, control

While many people seem to use the SOSTAC® acronym as a generic term, it derives from the SOSTAC® Planning System created by writer and speaker PR Smith in the 1990s, and is actually a protected registered trademark (registration number 2219677 to be precise).
The SOSTAC® model and associated methodology are now used by blue chip corporations around the world and also by many smaller businesses and organisations. In some ways SOSTAC® has been a victim of its own success - rather like hoover means vacuum and xerox means photocopy - such is the price of inventing a good concept and name to go with it...
As stated in the heading the SOSTAC® acronym stands for:

Situation analysis
Objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Action
Control

The success of the SOSTAC® concept owes much to its simplicity. And isn't it about time that business planning was made a bit simpler.
Traditionally the task of putting together a decent business or marketing plan has been enough to strike fear into many an aspiring junior manager or budding entrepreneur:
"You want a marketing plan? Including financials? By the end of next week? Of course, no problem... (Oooer.. how on earth am I supposed to do this?..)"
The young planner then cocoons himself or herself away for a week after asking friends and relatives for examples of good planning documents, none of which is any use whatsoever, and trying to guess what exactly the boss (or bank manager) actually needs. Of course most of the time the boss hasn't got the first clue about how to write a decent plan either - it's all a big game - moreover most of the bosses who do know what they want don't have the sense to coach the terrified underling as to what the plan should look like. So the inevitable reams and reams of pointless calculations and hypotheses ensue, much midnight oil is burned, and a needlessly complex business planning document is produced.
Happily not so with PR Smith's SOSTAC® tool. Common sense prevails, and we can safely get on with producing a proper useful working planning tool, instead of something that will attract a jolly good bollocking for the unwitting planner, and then be tucked away into a deep drawer never to see the light of day again.
Incidentally when accrediting the SOSTAC® model the official attribution is PR Smith (there are thousands of Paul Smiths..), and it is certainly appropriate to use the ® symbol, which I do here on this page rather more freely than normally because so many people have come to think that SOSTAC® just sort of grew on a wall or something, or was devised by someone else who thought they'd fancy taking the credit for it. So, credit where it's due...
Here's what PR Smith says himself about the SOSTAC® planning structure, taken from his book, Great Answers to Tough Marketing Questions (Kogan Page 2003) and reprinted here with Paul's blessing.

what is SOSTAC®?

What should be in the perfect marketing plan? There are many different approaches to building a marketing plan. There is no single common approach. But there are essential elements which every marketing plan must have.
The SOSTAC® planning system covers them all. It took me (PR Smith) five years to devise SOSTAC® but you can learn it in five minutes. Use it and you are well on your way to building a well structured and comprehensive plan. You can also use this approach to check other plans to see if they are comprehensive and cover the key items which every plan needs.
S stands for Situation Analysis - which means where are we now?
O stands for Objectives which means where do we want to go?
S stands for Strategy which summarises how we are going to get there.
T stands for Tactics which are the details of strategy.
A is for Action or implementation - putting the plan to work.
C is for Control which means measurement, monitoring, reviewing, updating and modifying.

add the 3m's

Now add in the 3M's - the three key resources, Men, Money and Minutes.
Men meaning men and women, expertise and abilities to do different jobs.
Money means budgets - have we the money?
Minutes mean time - what are the time scales, schedules or deadlines? Is there enough time?
Each of the six elements of SOSTAC® are considered in much greater detail elsewhere in PR Smith's book, Great Answers to Tough Marketing Questions.
If you can remember SOSTAC® + 3M's and build them into your marketing plan, you have the platform for writing a good marketing plan. In fact, you have an outline marketing plan.
Here is what some experts feel about SOSTAC®:
Professor Philip Kotler: "SOSTAC® is a system for going through the steps and building a marketing plan".
Sam Howe, Director of CATV Marketing Southwestern Bell: "SOSTAC® is a great approach for anyone going ahead and building a marketing plan".
David Solomon, Marketing Director, TVX: "It appears that we are following the principles of SOSTAC®."
John Leftwick, Marketing Director, Microsoft UK: "We use SOSTAC® within our own marketing planning".
Peter Liney, Concorde Marketing Manager: "I think SOSTAC® is very good in terms of identifying, if you like, major component parts of what you're doing in marketing."
Finally, one question that commonly arises: Where would you put Target Markets, Marketing Mix and Positioning in SOSTAC®?
The answer is that Target Markets pop up almost everywhere. Target Markets are so important that once you have identified them in the objectives, they pop up all over a marketing plan - in the situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics and so on.
A summary of the current marketing mix and positioning will appear in the Situation Analysis under a 'review' section.
The future mix and positioning and target markets are often summarised under Strategy and explained in detail under Tactics.

The above is an excerpt from PR Smith's book, Great Answers to Tough Marketing Questions 2nd ed. (2003) Kogan Page, London. Reproduced by kind permission of PR Smith. SOSTAC® is a registered trade mark of PR Smith. More information at www.prsmith.org.

pr smith biography

PR Smith is a best selling author and international speaker on marketing. He wrote the eLearning courses for the Chartered Institute of Marketing's (CIM) new Online Certificate in Marketing and the Professional Award in eMarketing, and his eLearning programmes are used by global organisations including IBM and the British Council. PR Smith's first book, Marketing Communications (4th edition written with Jonathan Taylor, Kogan Page, 2004) is a long-time best seller, recommended by the CIM alongside Kotler, Peppers et al. He co-wrote the ground-breaking Strategic Marketing Communications (Kogan Page 1999) and Great Answers to Tough Marketing Questions (Kogan Page, 2nd ed. 2003), now translated into four languages, and also co-wrote eMarketing eXcellence (Butterworth Heinemann 2002) with Dave Chaffey. PR Smith is the originator of SOSTAC® Planning System and trains professionals internationally including IBM (USA), BT (UK) and top communications agencies such as HHCL and BBH. He is a member of the CIM, The Marketing Institute of Ireland, the Institute of Public Relations and the International Visual Communications Association. He is also the Senior Examiner in eMarketing for the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a member of CIM's Review Panel for its leading edge articles. More information about the SOSTAC® Planning System is at PR Smith's SOSTAC® webpage.

Another advantage of container gardening is the ability to control your plants’ moisture. If you’re experiencing a summer that’s particularly rainy, your plants won’t get waterlogged if you just move them under cover. If your summer is unusually dry, you can keep your containers in a location that’s convenient for reaching with a garden hose or pitchers of water.

Many vegetable plants will grow with 3-6 hours of sun per day. If you’re trying to make the most of your space and your light isn’t ideal, try growing salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beets, brussels sprouts, radishes, beets, Swiss chard, and leafy greens like collards and spinach. Make sure your container and soil are deep enough to provide the recommended space for the roots to grow.

If you grow plants in containers, like pots, growing bags, windowsill boxes or even decorative pails, make sure you have adequate drainage. The best way to ensure your roots don’t get waterlogged is to drill holes in the bottoms of the containers to allow excess water to drain out. Rocks placed in the bottom, before you fill with soil, will help the water drain without the soil washing out. It’s also important to use a potting mix that drains well.

Plants in pots tend to dry out more quickly than those in the ground, so keep a close watch on the soil’s water content and if the plant starts to wilt, it’s probably time to water. Many edible plants now come in bush varieties, for smaller, more compact plants. These are ideal for porch or patio garden spaces.

Since potted vegetable plants will not have the benefit of all the nutrients in the ground, if their roots were free to grow in a garden plot, you’ll also want to start with rich, composted soil and then regularly feed a high quality vegetable plant food, according to package directions.

A big advantage of container gardens is that pots can be placed where burrowing pests and other wildlife can’t get to them.

Herbs do especially well in containers. In fact, some growers will only grow mint varieties in pots, since they are aggressive spreaders and will take over whatever space they can. Potted herbs can be grown in full sun outdoors, then at the end of the warm weather season can be brought inside and kept in a sunny windowsill to be fresh snipped for meal preparation for months past summer’s end.

If you mix herbs in a container, plant the tallest ones in the back with shorter ones in front, so they’re not hidden from sunlight. Container herb gardens are attractive and easy to grow, and they are a fun way to get children interested in gardening.

There are many reasons to grow garden vegetables in containers, such as limited space in the yard, too many wild critters roaming unrestricted, and lack of sun where you need it.

Containers allow the gardener to put plants where the light, moisture, and protection from damage are optimum. The question is, how do you begin container gardening?

Pepper and tomato plants are excellent choices for growing on patios and decks and in other unconventional places. For these plants, there are some basic rules of thumb…to show off your greenest thumb.

Vegetable plants are tiny when they’re young, but they’ll grow large as they produce fruit, so the container has to support the weight of the mature plant. If planted directly in the ground, those plants would receive plenty of nutrients from the soil, and the roots would have ample room to spread. So, more soil in the pot means more freedom for the roots to develop into healthy feeding systems for their above-soil plants.

It’s best to plant one plant per pot, for tomatoes and peppers. A 12- to 18-inch pot is optimum for tomatoes, and you can go a little smaller for peppers. If you try to grow multiple plants in one pot, it stresses the roots as they fight for limited moisture and nutrients. Square pots allow you to line several of them in a row, for space efficiency.

In pots, it’s best to feed at the start with a slow-release fertilizer, like Neptune’s Harvest. Young plants require a little more nitrogen to get a healthy start, but then as they set buds, they need a more phosphorous-based food. Those are labeled as “bloom builder” fertilizers, which help those buds become blooms, and then fruit.

During peak blooming periods this might need to be applied once a week, for three or four weeks, depending on the growing period of the plant. Once there are significant blooms, cut back to fertilizing about every other week for a couple of applications, then suspend fertilizing. By this time the plant should be in full production of fruit, and producing more blooms or leaves would be counterproductive. Also, it’s imperative to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for feeding plants, as too much fertilizer can burn up plants, and not enough can cause weak plants and non-yielding harvests.

Last, the most important ingredient of all: water. Young plants in pots require consistent moisture, meaning possibly daily watering. Potted plants can dry up outdoors much faster than those in the ground, so you’ll need to maintain an even moisture level in the soil. Be vigilant in extreme heat conditions, to make sure your plants don’t wilt from being too dry.

Container gardening can offer the opportunity to garden on a balcony or patio, or the ability to place plants in optimum sunlight where a garden plot might not be feasible, or the mobility to relocate the garden as needed, so insects and vermin can’t get to prized young vegetables.

The greatest plus to growing produce in containers is the option of planting earlier in the season than the ground might allow. Any durable container can be used, such as grow bags, buckets, trash cans, feeding troughs, plastic pails, or standard large flowerpots.

Containers need drainage holes in the bottom so the soil won’t become waterlogged and prone to diseases. For potatoes especially, an even soil moisture level is a critical component to the success of the crop.

Potatoes are one of the easiest container veggies to grow, and they need very little attention. Select a container large enough to support a healthy root system. Cover drainage holes by layering newspaper, gravel, or even junk mail in the very bottom of the container, making sure water will drain out but the soil will not. Then, pour in several inches of soil. Potatoes aren’t particular and will grow in just about any medium.

Choose the varieties you prefer of certified organic seed potato from a reputable garden supply vendor. The quality of the starter is what will determine the quality and quantity of the harvest. If certified seed potatoes aren’t available, it’s possible to plant the well-sprouted eyes of store-bought spuds, but the results will be less dependable. Leave a one-inch cube of potato attached to the eye.

After spreading a few inches of soil into the container, place the seed potatoes, with the eyes facing up, on top of the soil. Cover completely with another layer of soil, water, set in full sun, and the plant should sprout through the soil surface relatively quickly.

As your plant continues to grow taller, add soil to the base of the plant to always maintain coverage over the tubers. Potato plants do well with full sun to partial sun, and they like even moisture. In general, potatoes are drought-resistant, so erring on the side of too little, rather than too much water, is preferred. Support the tops of the plants, if necessary, so they don’t break off from their own weight.

A lush green plant will grow tall and full of foliage as the hidden tubers develop. When the plant’s small flowers are in bloom, the new or small potatoes are ready to be carefully dug up out of the soil. Potatoes are full size and ready for final harvest any time after the top of the plant yellows and begins to die off.

Potatoes need to be stored, unwashed, in a cool, dark place for a few days, without any exposure to sunlight. This allows the skins to toughen and mature. Then, they can be moved to a cool cellar as they continue to provide 3 to 6 months of great meals.

Every tomato lover knows homegrown are in a class of their own. Luckily, tomato plants are vigorous growers that require very little effort on the gardener’s part.

Tomato plants prefer full sunlight and a warm environment, but extreme heat can alter their ability to be pollinated and produce fruit. During periods of high temperatures, garden vegetables need more attention than usual.

High heat quickly evaporates the soil’s moisture, so vigilant daily watering is mandatory. Plants will droop and wilt to let you know they’re thirsty and stressed from the dry, hot climate. Swan’s Soaker Hoses are available in different lengths and are made of environmentally friendly recycled rubber. These hoses lie flat on the ground and maximize watering efficiency by minimizing evaporation. They deliver a steady and consistent flow of water where you want it, directly to the soil.

Maintaining soil health throughout the growing season is also necessary to fortify plants against harsh conditions. Tomatoes need a fertile growing medium and they respond with noticeable results to products like Espoma’s Tomato Tone or Hi-Yield Garden Fertilizer. Follow manufacturers’ instructions about feeding or fertilizing plants during drought periods.

Better Reds is a red plastic mulch that is touted to promote better growth and production in tomatoes by reflecting far-red light frequencies (like the sun’s) to the undersides of the plant’s leaves and fruits. It helps to hold moisture in the soil and keeps weeds at bay, as well.

Extreme conditions can also include unexpected frosts in late spring or early fall. Protect your plants and extend their lives by covering them at night when temperatures are expected to dip to 40 degrees or less. The Season Starter Plant Protector is a plastic, water-filled ring that surrounds the plant. It absorbs heat during the day and holds it in at night to guard against cooler ambient temps.

Plant and seed blankets, garden row covers, sheets of cotton or natural burlap, and even tall piles of extra mulch can help protect plants from extreme hot or cold. Greenhouses aren’t an option for every grower, but they also provide a more controlled climate for young plants that are awaiting optimum spring planting in the ground.

One other option for protecting tomatoes from harsh temperatures or erratic rainfall is to plant in containers. That allows the grower to move the plants to areas where they’ll have temporary shelter from extreme hot or cold, or be closer to a source of water, or even be more easily found by the insects that pollinate them.

Blossom-End Rot, a.k.a. BER, is not a disease, but the result of a calcium deficiency that is usually caused by inconsistent watering. Both drought conditions and over-watering from irrigation, heavy rains or even high humidity levels can cause your tomato plants to suffer from a calcium deficiency and BER. It is also thought that highly acidic soils contribute to this condition and any damage to the roots caused by severe root pruning or improper transplanting can also have the same results, so handle those roots carefully.

Blossom-End Rot can be recognized by a leathery, brown rot developing on or near the blossom end of the tomato. Normally starting with a brown lesion about the size of a dime, it will increase in size as the condition gets worse. Over time those lesions may become covered with a black mold. BER not only affects the quality of the fruit, but can affect the quantity as well.

There are some fairly simple steps that you can take to reduce the possibility of Blossom-End Rot:

Make sure to provide adequate water. While putting on fruit, tomatoes need about 1.5 inches of water a week. You may need to increase this during very hot times, watering in the early morning to prevent leaf burn. You may also have to decrease water during periods of heavy rain. If you are not sure how much water your tomatoes are getting, place a coffee can or other similar sized container near your tomato plants but unobstructed. You can then measure the amount of water mid-week and adjust accordingly. A more precise means of measurement is a strategically-placed rain gauge.
Using mulch will conserve moisture. You can use newspapers, straw or rubber mulches.
Tomatoes grow best and the incidents of BER are reduced when you keep the soil pH between 6.0 and 6.5. A soil tester is one of the best tools a gardener can have in his or her arsenal. The lower end of the pH scale represents more acidic soil while the higher end of the scale is indicative of more alkaline soil. 7.0 is the neutral point. You can decrease the pH by adding sulfur, which is approved for organic gardening, or by adding compost or other organic matter, which takes longer but builds soil quality as well as reducing the need for additional fertilizers. Soil, over time, will revert back to its natural state, so periodic soil testing is a good idea. Organic limestone is the most common additive to raise the pH in your soil. Some lime may require adding prior to planting, so read those package directions carefully. Wood ash is also effective, but it breaks down quickly which can result in over-application, which can be devastating to your soil.
Apply fertilizers or essential nutrients properly and with care. Over fertilizing can bring on BER. Soil testing is the only fool-proof way to insure proper fertilization.

If your tomato plants develop Blossom-End Rot, you can treat them by spraying them with a calcium solution at the rate of 4 level tablespoons per 1 gallon of water. You can use either calcium chloride or calcium nitrate, but be aware that when temperatures are higher than 85°F calcium chloride can burn your plants. You should spray 2-3 times per week, starting as the second fruit clusters are blooming.

It is also true that some varieties of tomatoes are more susceptible than others. It might be to your benefit to grow a number of varieties, making notes on which tomato plants perform best and have the fewest incidents of BER and other issues. When making notes, also note the weather conditions, as these can also affect how your garden grows. Taking this simple step will insure that you grow the best varieties for your soil and for your climate, insuring a most bountiful harvest.

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planning model

p r smith's sostac® planning model

pr smith's marketing planning system - SOSTAC® - situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics, action, control

what is SOSTAC®?

add the 3m's

pr smith biography

see also

Container Gardening, With a Twist

Container Gardening for Tomatoes and Peppers

Growing Taters in Containers

Protecting Tomatoes from Extreme Conditions

Tomato Blossom End Rot—The Cause, The Prevention & The Treatment

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