Configure the planning hierarchy tiers that your marketing teams use to organize and track work. Define the tiers that connect executive objectives to executable plans, and then assign those tiers to hierarchy groups. Create multiple groups when different teams need different hierarchy structures.
Required Editions
| View supported editions |
| User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
| To create marketing planning hierarchies: |
View Setup and Configuration AND |
Setting up planning hierarchies is a two-step process. First, you define individual hierarchy nodes, such as Business Objective, Initiative, or Plan. Each node sits at a tier, where the tier is the level in the hierarchy: Tier 1 is the broadest scope, and deeper tiers get more specific. More than one node can sit at the same tier, giving you the flexibility to build different structures for different teams.
Second, you create hierarchy groups that determine which nodes each team uses. Each group picks one node per tier to create a complete rollup structure. Skip-level relationships help marketing programs to bypass intermediate nodes and connect directly to higher-level parents. This flexibility helps when work doesn't fit a full cascade.
Here's an example showing both steps for two different team structures:
| Node | Tier | Skip-Level Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Business Objective | 1 | None |
| Marketing Directive | 2 | None |
| Initiative | 3 | None |
| Program | 4 | None |
| Plan | 5 | Marketing Directive |
| Node | Tier | Skip-Level Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Objective | 1 | None |
| Product Initiative | 2 | None |
| Go-to-Market Program | 3 | Regional Objective |
In this example, a plan in the Corporate Marketing Hierarchy can roll up to either a program or skip directly to a marketing directive. A go-to-market program in the Regional Marketing Hierarchy can roll up to either a product initiative or skip directly to a regional objective.
Create Hierarchy Nodes
- From Setup, use the Quick Find box to find and select Marketing Planning Hierarchy.
- On Hierarchy Tiers, click Add First Node.
- Enter the node name and its tier.
- Save the node.
- To add subsequent nodes, click Add Node.
Create Hierarchy Groups
- Go to Hierarchy Groups.
- Click Create First Group.
- Enter the name and description of the planning group.
- Click Add First Node.
- Select and add the first node of the hierarchy group.
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To add subsequent nodes, click Add Node.
The group orders nodes automatically by tier.
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To configure skip-level relationships for a node:
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From the Allowed Parents column, click
- Select and add the node that you want to allow as a parent of the current node.
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From the Allowed Parents column, click
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To control who can create programs at a node:
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From the Creators column, click
- Select and add a user, a public group, or a profile that you want to add as a creator of the current node.
Add up to five creators to a node. If a node has no creators, anyone with permission to create marketing programs can create them at that node. Adding an allowed creator grants permission only to create marketing programs at that node. It doesn't grant permission to view, edit, or delete the programs at that node. -
From the Creators column, click
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After the hierarchy group is ready, activate it.
Leaders and marketing teams can add work only to active hierarchy groups.