A study of almost 2,000 decision-makers at small- and medium-sized businesses has found that 67% have no marketing plan.

The concern is that many marketers are going by gut feeling and driving “random marketing acts” not tied to an overall plan. This means they’re not properly contributing to business objectives. Some numbers from the study:

• Just 28% said they generate enough leads to achieve their business growth objectives.
• Less than half (40%) have a CRM system in place that is used effectively across both the sales and marketing teams.
• Only 27% said they set clear objectives when using specialist marketing services such as agencies – a sign that the vast majority of SMEs don’t know if their marketing is working.
• A mere 25% believe they have clearly defined marketing performance measures.

Such numbers are not very promising and should serve as a reminder to all marketers of the simple adage: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.