What Is A Marketing Strategy?
The word strategy is often misused and overused.
We are going to talk about how marketing strategy creates revenues in this article.
However, I wanted to start this discussion with some simple definitions of strategy so everyone would be on the same page.
A strategy is a tool or method used to identify and solve a problem or exploit an opportunity
and devise a way to achieve the desired goal, often on a longer-term basis.
A business strategy is using this tool to identify a problem that is preventing the company from reaching a specific goal (i.e.product, revenues)
or preventing the company from moving forward on an opportunity it believes may be available.
The method for doing this is to turn the “goal” into a reachable, measurable objective.
Then diagnose the problem or opportunity to create an insightful solution.
The solution, based on the company’s resources (time, money. talents), dictates what the company will do and will not do to achieve the objective.
Then you translate your general policy into a coherent execution plan. This business strategy is the company’s story.
A Marketing Strategy Is How You Tell Your Story.
A business strategy is from the company’s point of view; a marketing strategy is from the customer’s point of view.
So, marketing strategy uses the business strategy to guide the marketing strategy.
Still, it uses the same process of defining an achievable and measurable objective, a diagnosis of how to reach that objective.
Then it creates coherent programs and tactics to achieve that objective.
But, marketing strategy is more than just advertising – it’s about connecting with the customer.
Marketing strategy comprises three major components; targeted marketing, the business offering, and achieving a competitive advantage.
Then you design a cohesive execution plan. Once implementation starts, you need to measure and consistently improve your results.
A marketing strategy enables the company to communicate with prospects and turn them into customers.
It’s about connecting with the customer.
Marketing strategy contains the company’s value proposition, brand, and positioning, product differentiation,
and other information designed to implant the brand’s offering into the mind of the targeted consumer.
Today, social media marketing is becoming a significant part of marketing strategy.
It’s a hugely compelling way to drive traffic, build brand awareness, and take advantage of the many digital opportunities available.
According to sixads.com, about 54% of social media users use social platforms to research products and brands,
and 89% of consumers who follow a particular brand will purchase from that brand.
Marketing Problems and Challenges
While marketers face many problems, Investopedia identifies the following four challenges as the most common.
Fierce competition from competitors and no clear product differentiation
Not reaching the right prospects in your targeted market (traffic but few conversions)
Inconsistent messages preventing you from building a brand that lives in the prospect’s mind
Potentially poor use of resources because of hit-and-miss programs instead of a well-thought-out marketing strategy.
A strategy forces you to define a clear, reachable, and achievable objective and pathway to achieve that objective.
Too often, marketing companies focus on what they do — warning:
Prospects don’t care what you do; they care about what you do for them.
A marketing strategy focuses on what you do for targeted customers.
A strategy will also keep you from trying “this and that,” which is often a waste of time and resources.
A marketing strategy aims to achieve a sustainable, competitive advantage over the competition.
You accomplish this by deeply understanding the target customers’ real needs and wants.
Regardless of the communication tool used, marketing is judged by how effectively it communicates the company’s core value proposition.
How To Create A Marketing Strategy
A marketing strategy is a detailed plan of a company’s promotional efforts across various platforms and channels.
It includes objectives, target audience profiles, content creation steps, key performance indicators, and other components.
Hubspot.com identifies the following components as part of a marketing strategy.
In addition, I cover many other components and objectives like positioning, creating differentiation, value propositions, brand creation, etc., in other articles.
Marketing Objectives
Start with the marketing program’s overall objective to determine how the marketing strategy creates revenues.
Then the objectives for each strategy element and the objectives of each communications program or tactic you plan to use.
All of these must be in sync with the business and marketing strategy.
Again, make them achievable and measurable. With every objective, be as specific as possible.
Marketing Budget
Your budget depends on the programs you want to implement, but it also depends on the targeted market or niche selected.
You can start with a definite value proposition to a targeted small niche market and expand the target market as profits increase.
You can develop your marketing programs more quickly if you have the resources (time, talent, and money)
and an agreed-upon strategy. Also, the marketing budget must sync with your plan’s objectives and tactics.
Competitive Analysis
Knowing your competition is critical when creating your marketing strategy.
For example, compare your business model against your competitors.
This analysis will give you information and a visual perspective and make sharing this information with all your employees easy.
Analyzing each business model element will enable you to look for weaknesses and opportunities to exploit.
Client/Prospect Analysis
Marketing is about knowing your prospects and clients. Not just geographic, psychographic, and location, but what’s in their mind.
Clients and prospects may already have perceptions and opinions about your products and services
and those of your competitors. You want to find out if they do and what they are.
This information is what your marketing will be about – creating a preferred space in their mind for your product.
In today’s competitive world, you need to own a piece of real estate in your prospect’s mind.
Once you understand your position and your competitors’ positions, you can begin to create your marketing programs, including:
developing and maintaining your band,
differentiating your product from the competition
positioning your product well in the prospect’s mind.
You are ready to begin designing and creating the message you want to send your prospects,
including advertisements, brochures, websites, white papers, video messages, content marketing, blogs, podcasts, publicity, and more.
Monitor Your Marketing Programs
Marketing performance measures marketing campaigns’ success and shows
how well campaigns are tracking toward key performance indicators. They are also essential elements of any campaign,
and marketing teams need them to understand whether their marketing strategy is successful.
Following are some metrics Amazon suggests for different channels that you should consider:
They will help you make better decisions about optimizing your programs and budgets.
Email marketing: as email opens, email forwards, and unsubscribes
Digital marketing: click-through rate, cost-per-action (CPA), and impressions
Social media: follower count, impressions or reach, and engagement rate.
Website: total traffic, bounce rate, new customers, returning customers, time spent on site and traffic sources, as well as conversions.
Content marketing: blog traffic, amount of content shared, content downloads, qualified leads
through lead generation form and the progress of prospects throughout the sales funnel.
Video: impressions and total viewing time, followers, comments. etc
Sales: with direct sales, sales team response time, sales call volume, and sales call reviews
Revenue: how much revenue each channel generates the cost of that revenue, repeat sales, client turnover, and profits.
SEO: organic traffic, average keyword rankings, keyword search volume, and
Quality: Quality Score, reviews, and monthly recurring revenue.
Conclusion
Marketing strategy enables you to communicate your core value proposition effectively
and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
You can only sell your products or services by appealing to those most likely to buy those products and services.
Marketing strategy is a powerful way to target prospects in your niche or globally.
The research required to create your marketing strategy helps you understand your prospects and customers
and enables you to deliver products and services people want.
However, you need to keep up with the many changes constantly occurring in the marketplace.
With today’s digital information sources and availability, small businesses can
access hyper-detailed information about prospective customers.
You will be able to get other behavior like online activity, buying activity, video activity,
and if they get their information from phone apps or a laptop computer.
Marketing strategy helps you create, differentiate, position your brand,
and convert those leads into customers. It also helps maximize your return on investment and also helps minimize the sales cycle.
If you are iterated in growing your business and market share, a marketing strategy is a must-do and worth more than the time it takes.
You might want to check out these two articles for more information. What is a Business Strategy?
And How your Value Proposition defines your website’s success.
