BY TIM HYDEN
A scene from the 1939 movie classic The Wizard of Oz has Dorothy making her way along the Yellow Brick Road when she comes to a crossroad. Being unsure of which direction to take, she is offered assistance from the Scarecrow, who, of course, provides little in the way of useful information. Fortunately, they choose the correct path and make it to their destination. The journey, however, is filled with twists, turns, and a few characters intent on impeding their progress. When compared with today’s fire service, this scene seems almost reminiscent of the types of decision-making challenges we encounter in our day-to-day operations. The big difference is that we are obviously dealing with the real thing, not fantasy.
The journey for some emergency services organizations is as unclear as Dorothy’s, leading to uncertainty and confusion when attempting to make informed decisions regarding organizational direction and need. When it comes to the decision-making process, there often seems to be a fear of setting the organization in a chosen direction and then finding that the incorrect course had been chosen. Even though these occurrences may not be totally preventable, they can have detrimental effects on the confidence levels of subordinates. It may take substantial time for an administration to repair the resultant damage to its perceived ability to lead the organization.
When we find ourselves at the inevitable crossroad, perhaps unsure of the appropriate action to take, we should consider the potential benefit of putting a more thorough effort into plotting a clear organizational direction, a strategic plan. This plan may help us to avoid difficulties equivalent to those encountered by Dorothy and her friends during their journey to the Land of Oz.
THE STRATEGIC PLAN
Strategic planning is a continuous, organized practice that assists an organization in foreseeing and charting its annual and multiyear goals and activities by analyzing its system-specific strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, as well as those of their community. Although fire service strategic planning may be an often-discussed subject, it seems that it is not given the attention and support needed for verifiable success. Private companies have long valued the use of strategic planning to achieve a better position in the competitive business world. This history provides an excellent source for research involving the method—successful and otherwise—used in pursuit of that goal. In the profit-and-loss world of private enterprise, the process of long-term planning and, therefore, staying ahead of the competition is considered necessary for survival. Perhaps it is time for us to take a closer look at this very effective method of self-preservation and make it more the rule instead of the exception when it comes to fire service management.
Numerous articles have been written on strategic planning; the concept certainly isn’t new. Dr. William Jenaway, CFO and executive vice-president of education and training at VFIS, says: “No business is successful without some type of strategic planning—making sure that the business will survive. The emergency service organization is no different. Strategic plans lay the groundwork for effective organizational management and performance.” Dr. Jenaway’s words are obviously based on observations of various successes and failures in the business world and how the fire service can enjoy or suffer similar outcomes, depending on the direction taken.
Obviously, not all planning is long term. Operational planning—that developed by first-line supervisors or, in our case, company officer-level personnel—is the determination of how to accomplish specific tasks with available resources from today through the next one-year period. Tactical planning, developed by middle managers or battalion chief/deputy chief-level personnel, is the determination of what contributions their shift or division can make with their given resources during the next six-month to two-year period.
This leaves strategic planning—that is, long-term planning from one to 10 years. Chief officers and other administrative personnel engage in this type of planning to determine the organization’s long-term goals.
STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT
The strategic planning process begins with a clear and concise definition of an organization’s mission and vision statements. The mission statement is the answer to the question, What is our reason for being? Although the exact wording may vary by department, this can be a relatively broad, consistent statement, given that the fire service exists primarily to protect the lives and property of those we are paid to serve. References to public safety through education and prevention are also common focuses of a mission statement. Consider it the foundation on which all other organizational decisions are based.
The content of a vision statement, on the other hand, is more obscure and has much to do with the individual organization’s intentions. It generally answers the question, What do we want to become? With so many variable answers, it is easy to see how many organizations stall at this point, never fully providing the direction members need to pursue the goals that a well-thought-out vision statement can provide.
Once the mission and vision statements have been established, the strategic planning process can proceed, often by committee. Much will depend on the nature of the organization’s leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization’s climate, size of the organization, and proficiency of the planners. The plan can be based on goals, issues, or values.
The first step is to identify and analyze key issues within the department. Begin by defining areas including standard of response; roles and responsibilities of all members; existing and potential strategic alliances with other agencies (private and public); organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis); and goal- and objective-setting process.
Obtain direction from organizational members, beginning with those in positions best suited to offer input. Community leaders, the business community, and mutual-aid agencies can provide additional, very valuable input as well. A plan for implementation can then be put together, including immediate action steps toward achieving stated goals and objectives, along with a long-term plan for implementation.
The implementation steps of the plan are then laid out, including time frames and responsibilities of organizational divisions such as finance, personnel, apparatus, equipment, facilities, and processes and procedures. Once everything is in place and implemented, establish and maintain a system for monitoring and receiving feedback to ensure the strategic plan’s long-term success.
With a strategic plan in place, you can begin the marketing phase of organizational development. The absence of a solid vision and direction of where the organization is heading makes any attempt at marketing difficult, if not impossible. A clear definition of what to market and how to market it comes through the strategic plan and is needed before any real and lasting progress can be made.
STRATEGIC PLANNING DOWNFALLS
Although strategic planning has many positive attributes, there are a few potential negatives to contend with as well. Too often, communication is done halfway. We discuss, suggest, and advise but fail to test for understanding. To close the loop, we must build in ways to test the plan at every level and area within an organization and to ensure that members understand the vision. Formal or informal internal surveys, for example, conducted at specific points along the implementation timeline can help to ensure a progressive understanding of an upcoming organizational change of direction.
The discussions that occur in support of the strategic objectives may be held long before the action is implemented. This excessive lag time can cause good ideas—those created within the positive atmosphere of the strategic planning committee—to lose momentum. Discussions should result in action plans that are realistic and fully understood by all participating members while taking into account the timing of the agreed-on goals. Parts of the process may be drawn out, which some members—particularly those who “want it now”—may not understand or fully accept. Using the S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) method of goal-setting will help to alleviate the problem. In other words, do not let a good idea sit too long just because it does not align with the existing plan structure and timelines.
Additionally, strategic planning begins, and continues, with strategic thinking. Planning is the analytical phase; thinking is the synthetic or creative phase. Make sure that one does not overshadow or suppress the other. The strategic plan is not intended to serve as a limiting device but as a statement of desired minimums. Encourage creative thinking throughout the implementation of a strategic plan. It is important to keep aware of what is happening within the entire organization and its jurisdiction and to be able to make course changes, if needed, as the plan objectives are implemented.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING
Once the strategic plan has clarified your vision of where you want to take your organization, you can begin to formulate the marketing process. Before doing so, however, make sure that you fully understand the marketing concept and learn from others’ successes and failures, especially in the private sector.
What is marketing? Why is it important to the fire service? Marketing is the process of letting the customers know who you are, where you are, and what you have to offer and that you can do it better and more attractively than your competition. This definition may sound strange, as we have traditionally not been accustomed to thinking of the fire service as a competitive business, but that it is. We must never take the trust and support of our communities for granted, always keeping in mind the possibility that someone may be looking to do it better.
Staying in touch with our public, along with realizing that consistent positive awareness equals community support, could positively influence the future of your organization. Take, for example, the current tendency for municipalities to consider bringing in or having already brought in privately held companies or other governmental agencies to provide their fire, EMS, and police protection. In June 2010, for example, Maywood, California, disbanded its police department as a result of the negative economic impact on public safety. The county sheriff’s office now provides the police protection. I do not know if Maywood had a marketing plan in place or if having one would have helped avert the police situation, but the event does indicate that it is important to do all we can to garner public support for our organizations.
Ben May, the EPCOT business development director at Walt Disney World and a respected author and speaker on fire service marketing, states: “Everything the fire department does has some aspect of marketing related to it. How we perform our job, our uniforms, our apparatus, our public appearance, and nonemergency public exposure all market us to the community. This must be a positive effort not only to provide the service, but to gain community and financial support.” May’s words sum up the need for fire service marketing very well and provide an excellent foundation from which to work in developing a marketing plan.
Consider strategic planning as a navigational tool, not as a substitute for the administration’s exercising informed judgment and decision making. It is an ongoing, creative process; the fresh insight arrived at today may very well alter previous decisions. The process often does not flow smoothly from one step to the next, making flexibility an essential attribute.
MARKETING vs. SELLING
I sometimes hear the terms marketing and selling used interchangeably. However, there is a significant difference between the two. Selling has been around for centuries; marketing, or at least the current-day definition of the concept, is relatively new. Before the development of the automobile, radio, and television, retail marketing existed as more of a local, small-scale effort. When it came to fulfilling our needs, we simply went to the local grocery, hardware, or clothing store to make our purchase. The closest resemblance to modern-day marketing was the door-to-door salesman, who came knocking in a usually unsolicited attempt to convince you to purchase his product.
Once our capability to shop around developed through audiovisual advertising and the ability to travel farther for a better deal, marketing became a method of proving why a customer should purchase a product or service from a particular retailer. Customer service at times became as much as a selling (marketing) point, or even more so, than price—sometimes even overshadowing product quality. Today, the Internet has broadened and varied that scope even further, largely bringing cost back as an often-used decision maker for the consumer. This is the imbalanced cost-over-value mentality that should be a concern for the fire service.
MARKETING METHODS
Marketing methods have changed drastically over the past 50 years, primarily in response to consumer demands. The ease, speed, and volume of information retrieval today have caused many private firms to resort largely to visual recognition to attract customers. Consider the ease with which we recognize a can of Coca-Cola, the Ford emblem, or a Century 21 real estate sign. Much of what these companies count on is a reputation that has been built up over many decades—a reputation symbolized and distinguished by their easily recognized logos. As long as that reputation remains intact and prices remain competitive, marketing may continue to be their primary method of generating sales.
Let’s consider for a moment the marketing effect of a television ad for a well-known auto parts retailer. The ad shows a man working beneath a vehicle, trying to get a nut threaded onto a bolt. He is having a very difficult time as a voice comes on telling how this retailer offers the right parts, the right tools, and the right advice to help this man complete the job. The ad ends with the heading, “The Best Part Is Our People.” The slogan is simple and to the point: We’re here when you need us. After seeing this commercial, we pick up the newspaper the following day to find a large ad from this same retailer showing products for sale, along with their prices. In this case, the television commercial is marketing; the newspaper ad is selling. Name and reputation recognition through the visual stimulus of television is meant to encourage sales through the print ad.
The fire service is similar. Our reputation precedes us simply because we are the fire service. People see us, and they know who we are. Our reputation has evolved and been nurtured over the past 250-plus years. We need to always remember that these people also have certain expectations that must be met—expectations that include the service and compassion that the fire service has become known for.
Unfortunately and as previously mentioned, the positive recognition we work so hard for has not prevented current economic conditions from threatening the very tradition that defines our fire service. When funding is reduced, even the best intentions are sometimes lost in red ink. How we continue to maintain our reputation through continued and creative marketing techniques becomes a determining factor of our “sales” volume, as realized through customer (public) support. Allowing funding cuts to negatively affect the outlook of our staff can be devastating for an organization in terms of lost morale and motivation. The good news is that there is still plenty we can do.
COMMUNITY EQUITY
Although our professionalism and competence are two of the most obvious means of gaining customer loyalty, there is another, less conspicuous (to us anyway) method our customers use to determine the value of their emergency services—our public image. We must never forget that we are being observed both on and off the emergency scene and that every action we take in public is being watched, evaluated, and scrutinized. We obviously cannot choose our audience and must always be prepared to answer for our actions, whether in uniform or not. And, we must insist on this strict adherence to a positive image when members of our organization may begin to veer off course.
A positive public image when looked at as a component of a marketing plan helps to ensure satisfactory service delivery while placing the community at the heart of the design and delivery process. Marketing helps us to gain community loyalty through building and maintaining public awareness in who we are and what we do, thereby demonstrating a return on the community’s investment. It can also serve as a suitable platform from which to better educate our political advocates of our needs in providing the best protection possible. Ultimately, it is a jurisdiction’s ongoing responsibility to maintain awareness within its own market with regard to its public image.
PUBLIC vs. PRIVATE MARKETING APPROACH
Anyone who has ever worked in the private sector has likely been exposed to the organizational structure and the five basic components that allow a business to function: Administration, Manufacturing, Product Research and Development, Sales, and Marketing. Comparing each of these components to the fire service makes it possible to envision the positive influence a marketing plan can have:
• Administration. It consists of upper-level management personnel tasked with overseeing the long-term health of the organization. The strategic plan discussed earlier is a key document used by administration to make the guiding decisions that will steer the organization in the direction defined by the vision statement.
• Manufacturing.Obviously, the fire service does not manufacture a tangible product. We provide a service to our public or, more accurately, our customers. Chief (Ret.) Alan Brunacini of the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department has long been known for his work in the field of customer service, which serves as an excellent example of how providing a quality service is so vitally important to the image the public has not only of our own organization but also of the fire service as a whole. It truly is the little things that count when it comes to customer service.
• Product research.Fire service product research is generally considered an activity of the various vendors who supply the tools and other products we use in our jobs. When considered as part of a marketing plan, this area is easily defined as the ongoing methods of finding new and better ways to serve our public. Public education efforts are only one of the numerous ways we can maintain contact with our customers, benefiting from the positive impression this leaves with them as well as the increased morale it gives to our personnel.
• Sales.Our personnel have a unique role in that they are both a product we can promote and the method by which we can promote it. Consider those individuals with the highest level of enthusiasm and interactive ability as your ambassadors, those who can take your message “on the road” and share it with (sell it to) your customers. Use this process to build your “community equity” account.
• Marketing. This is where it all comes together. A proactive marketing plan, taking into account all of the areas discussed above, is an excellent tool for maintaining good contact with those individuals who may hold the key to our financial future. Make sure that your public is fully aware of who you are and what you have to offer, thus helping them to equate the spending of their tax dollars with the acquisition of services you provide.
In other words, consider manufacturing as the service you provide, product research as the finding of ways to provide better customer service, sales as your personnel delivering top-quality customer service, and marketing as the organizational effort and cooperation to keep the customer satisfied.
WHERE TO BEGIN
Before developing and implementing your marketing plan, consider that timing is critical. Marketing must commence when the customer is reasonably receptive to the message. In other words, if the need to hard-sell your department is evident (a reactive approach), it is generally too late to begin a marketing program.
Consider the challenges you face when it comes to gaining the attention of the public. The economy, the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the numerous humanitarian situations going on around the world—all of these increase distraction and skepticism, leaving the task of getting a message across that much more difficult. These challenges aside, the marketing of our fire service must be accomplished to whatever degree is possible, which requires a coordinated plan. Begin by asking the following questions of your organization:
- 1 What benefits are we likely to receive from a marketing plan?
- 2 What barriers are going to impede the progress and success of our marketing plan?
- 3 Based on current organizational needs, what marketing strategies are likely to produce the best results?
PLAN CREATION AND SUPPORT FROM THE TOP
Chief officers must fully support a marketing plan if it is to be successful. A demonstrated commitment in making the plan integral to the organization’s day-to-day operations is vital. The marketing plan will often parallel the strategic plan in helping to move the organization toward the organizational vision and to answer that question, What do we want to become? As such, it will need active participation from the conceptual stage to make sure things start off in the right direction.
Marketing plan development is generally considered a five-step process, beginning with analysis. A SWOT analysis (if not already done) should be completed with an emphasis on marketing. Considerations such as media relations, ISO ratings, and local business relations are good starting points to determine how your organization is perceived in the community. Keep a record of citizens’ phone calls and letters; what are their questions and concerns? Conduct a customer satisfaction survey or an internal survey of your personnel. Overall, get a good feel of what everyone thinks of your organization in its current state. From that determination, you can get a preliminary idea of what the highest priority areas should be.
Next, create a set of objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, and consistent. Your strategies will help define how the objectives will be accomplished. Finally, your action plan will provide specific details of how the entire process will be accomplished. A follow-up monitoring system will determine the program’s success.
Suppose that your analysis indicates the need to address the high number of missing or inoperable residential smoke detectors in homes within your jurisdiction. A plan objective could be to decrease the number of missing or inoperable smoke detectors; your action plan could be to perform a certain number of home safety inspections over a certain period of time, replacing missing or inoperable smoke detectors at no charge to the public. Follow-up could be accomplished in a variety of ways and would likely include opportunities for an ongoing public safety awareness campaign.
Consistent product research, sales, and marketing efforts can easily be applied to the fire service. They all help to generate positive returns through new or renewed public awareness and support of our mission, accomplished through employing our personnel to represent their organization with the pride and history that define who we are and what we do.
Bibliography
Henby, Barry; Kiurski, Tom. Improving Customer Service.(Saddle Brook, NJ: Fire Engineering magazine/Pennwell Publishing, 2007).
Hyden, Tim. Marketing Our Fire Service: Creating a Community Equity Account (Ormond Beach, FL: Florida Fire Service Magazine, Florida Fire Chiefs Association, 2009).
Jenaway, William. Managing Volunteer and Combination Emergency Service Organizations: Strategic Planning – Chapter 17 (York, PA: VFIS, Glatfelter Insurance Group, 2006).
Kinicki, Angelo; Williams, Brian. Management: A Practical Application (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003).
May, Ben. Managing Volunteer and Combination Emergency Service Organizations: Marketing Management – Chapter 6 (York, PA: VFIS, Glatfelter Insurance Group, 2006).
Palmer, David; Kritsonis, William. Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning, www.articlesbase.com/print/1395139 (2009).
Vives, Ruben; Gottlieb, Jeff. In Maywood, a quiet changing of the guard (Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Times, 2010).
The Year of Group Intelligence, http://www.groupsystems.com/ documents/ Strategic_Planning–A_White_Paper.pdf (2006).
TIM HYDEN is the training/safety officer for East Manatee (FL) Fire Rescue.
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