Marketing Strategy, Anyone..

Marketing Strategy is probably the most used term in any marketing/business text book, conversation or a business meeting. Any business plan wouldn’t be complete without clearly defining a marketing strategy. So what is it, and how can businesses develop effective marketing strategies? The goal of this post is to address this critical question for any business. One important thing to note here is that a strategy is not just for large corporations and multi-million dollar businesses. Every business entity, of any size, type must have a strategy to market. Even not-for-profit or public organizations need to go through strategy exercise to develop a common directive and higher team engagement.

What is a Marketing Strategy?

Simply defined, a Marketing Strategy is a plan of action to achieve the business goals of your organization. Everything must start from clearly stating your annual (broken out by month or quarter if required) goals. There are 5 key ingredients that make up a sound and comprehensive strategy:

Define Your Business Objectives

The objectives laid out as part of your strategic process should outline your qualitative and quantitative goals. These goals should also support the mission of the organization. E.g -one of our client company has a Vision to grow faster than the market they are operating in. They are operating in health food industry where the market growth is about 7-8% per year. Based on this, their goal is to grow at 10% or higher. This is an excellent approach to share and drive your most important goals across the organization. There is no limit on how many goals you want to set, but we recommend to keep it under 5. Anything more than that will spread the resources, focus, and effort too thin.

Know your Market & Target Segments

It can be pretty daunting to gather and analyze your industry and market. Many large industries are organized and have independent bodies (like IDC, Nelsen, Forrester etc.) collecting market data regularly with a goal to sell it to companies who produce, distribute, and sell the products & services. Market analysis is a key piece of your strategy creation because it helps you understand your competition, positioning, and opportunities. It will also determine your strengths and weaknesses so that you can focus accordingly. Take the time to find out total market size, segments, key players etc. to figure out where the growth will come from.

Know Your Target Customers

Once you have the market data, you can choose which segments and customers to focus on. Segments may determine the demographics, psychographics and geography of your target customers. E.g. for example if you are a craft beer producer, you may choose 18-34, male, young professionals in Ontario, Canada, as your target customers and distribute your products through local bars and restaurants.

Make a Plan

Your plan should include:

1. Marketing Mix – product, promotional, distribution, and pricing plan
2. Messaging & Creative – Define your marketing message, tagline, leading product/brand, and your content like ads and other brand assets
3. Tactical Plan – what marketing activities & media channels will be used? What digital and off-line channels will be utilized? What will the customer experience look like?
4. Budget – Determine and allocate funds to various costs including creative, media, and asset development

Execution & Evaluation

Ok, it’s time to execute the plan. This last step is the most crucial one. Sloppy execution can turn a good plan into a lousy one. Good execution demands that all things are tested and ready to fire as you go-live. Here are a few tips to ensure good execution:

1. All call-to-actions are clearly established and ready to convert as defined
2. All customer facing messaging is consistent and integrated at all touch points
3. Deliver top-notch customer experience and interaction as described in step 4
4. Closely monitor the progress. If something is not working or outside forces demand you change the approach, modify the plan.

Development of a sound marketing strategy involves working on multiple fronts with contribution and input from multiple stakeholders. It provides the direction and the action plan to guide the entire organization towards the achievements of common goals. So, don’t make a move without your marketing strategy in place!