What is marketing business strategy?
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why some businesses are thousand times more successful as others? Have you ever wondered why some companies own such a large share of the market while others struggle? Have you ever wondered which one of these millennial businesses is going to be the next Apple? They all have an UNFAIR ADVANTAGE: they have one element they do extremely well, and that is, in most cases, their business strategy. So what exactly is it, and what does it entails?
Importance of Marketing Strategy
Why Marketing Strategy is Crucial in Business
Picture getting the best car money can buy: the Ferrari, Lamborghini or Range Rover. You could be so excited about owning this fabulous car and keeping it in perfect condition that you forget one thing: your destination. Yes, even the best cars need a well-crafted road map to take you where you want to go! Likewise, whatever your product, without a fantastic marketing strategy just like a car needs a fuel-injected engine and a pin-sharp transmission, you’re never going to get there. So, just like a strategy is crucial if you’re setting out on a road trip in your fabulous car, so a strategy is essential for any business. And if you’re in business, your strategy is your marketing strategy. Today’s business climate is brutal, and no longer can you claim success for having an OK strategy. To survive, forget a clear strategy and you’re history.
Components of Marketing Strategy
Elements that Form a Marketing Strategy
Building a marketing strategy is like cooking. You need the right ingredients mixed in the right proportions. What are the ingredients to the master formula? Let’s break it down. |
Market Research
Understanding Your Market and Audience
Nowhere was this truer than with Draper’s initial advertisement for Porsche, part of a picture-book campaign that added the tagline: ‘What will you gain out of Porsche?’ Draper’s trademark focus-groups could not be more plainly seen: Before you can sell, you need to know who you’re selling to. If you wanted to win a contest for endorsement of the obvious, market research would be a strong contender. Understanding who your audience is, what their needs are, what they prefer, and who else targets them: that’s the ground on which every worthwhile strategy is built.
Target Audience
Identifying and Understanding Your Target Audience
Knowing who you are speaking to is half the battle. Cultivate detailed buyer personas to see the kinds of people you want to reach. What do they like? Where do they spend time? What keeps them up at night?
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Defining What Sets You Apart
Your USP is your unique selling proposition: the thing that makes your company different from the competition. It’s the reason they’ll choose you, not the other guy. Know it, work it, sell it.
Marketing Mix (4 Ps)
Product, Price, Place, and Promotion
These four Ps should form the backbone of your marketing strategy. What are you selling, what does it cost, where can people buy it and how will you promote it? Get all that right, and you’d be a long way to success.
Developing a Marketing Strategy
Steps to Create an Effective Strategy
Now that we’ve got all the tools, we can talk about putting them together into a proper strategy.
Setting Objectives
Establishing Clear, Measurable Goals
Set your goals. What do you want to accomplish? More sales, brand recognition, customer retention? Make them SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound).
SWOT Analysis
Identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
A SWOT analysis puts you in the center of your market. It’s an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses, identifying the opportunities to be had and pinpointing the threats that loom, much like a regular health check-up of your business.
Budgeting
Allocating Resources and Budget for Marketing Activities
- You can’t keep giving away stuff for free – marketing costs money. Make sure you get maximum value from your budget and spend your resources where you’ll get the greatest return on investment. Choose activities that help you achieve your goals. 1. Many women feel overwhelmed when juggling paid work and family commitments, and stressed out about making ends meet. 2. Once my children finish homework, they usually crawl into bed for afternoon naps.
Implementing the Strategy
Turning Plans into Action
A plan is only as good as its implementation. Let’s talk about making your strategy real.
Campaign Execution
Launching and Managing Marketing Campaigns
Roll out your campaigns: a product launch, a seasonal sale, a social media blitz, an event, a broadcast, whatever – whatever yous want to launch into the future with a bang, a roar! Plan it and make it happen. How useful is that line!
Monitoring and Evaluation
Measuring Success and Making Adjustments
Just don’t set it and forget it: Regularly check in on your campaigns to see what’s working and what’s not. To this end, consider any number of analytics tools to measure performance and iterate where appropriate.
Digital Marketing Strategies
Utilizing Online Channels for Marketing
Nowadays, if you want to promote you stuff, online marketing is the way to go. Let us look at some major digital marketing tips.
Social Media Marketing
Leveraging Social Platforms
Social media is about so much more than kitten memes. It’s also about using your social media presence to reach out and connect with people. Pick the right channels; make sure people have something to read, watch or listen to; encourage feedback.
Content Marketing
Creating Valuable Content for Engagement
Content is king – make blog posts, videos, infographics – whatever it is, make sure your content is valuable for educating, entertaining and engaging your target audience so you earn their trust and become a leader in your industry.
SEO and SEM
Optimizing for Search Engines and Managing Paid Ads
Need to be found online? There’s SEO (search engine optimization) and SEM (search engine marketing) to help optimize your website for the search engines, plus SEM to enable paid ads for targeted traffic.
Case Studies
Real-World Examples of Successful Marketing Strategies
Believe it or not: here are a couple of companies that got it right and were rewarded with big numbers. Seeing is believing.
Challenges in Marketing Strategy
Common Obstacles and How to Overcome Them
Every rose has its thorn, and so does marketing. Read on to discover some of the thorns of marketing, and some ways to defeat them. 1. The first marketing mistake many make is being too broad in their message. To avoid this pitfall, create a completely different pitch for each potential field. Use your creativity to make each one unique, but study the same market. This will help you create the best pitch possible. 2. The second marketing mistake is being too specific. Humans come in various body shapes and sizes. Your event might attract elves, wizards, pirates, Woodstock hippies, cheerleaders, and others. This diversity benefits your event from a market research perspective. However, your poster design could miss out when you try to appeal to everyone and cater to their individual preferences.
Future Trends
Emerging Trends in Marketing Strategies
Marketing will continue to change. Be proactive and actively track what’s next.
Conclusion
Voila – the fundamentals of marketing business strategy. You can be a destitute artisan, an independent startup, or a large multinational corporation, but if you have a robust marketing strategy, you’re set for success. It’s not just about moving goods, it’s about creating value and building relationships. Hope I’ve inspired you. Now get on it!
FAQs
What is the main purpose of a marketing strategy?
Your goal is to sell your coffee, right? It comes down to making sure that whatever you’re trying to accomplish meshes with your marketing efforts. And the only thing that matters is whether or not you’re reaching your target market, not whose ad it is.
How often should a marketing strategy be updated?
You should review and update your strategy every year, or if there are major changes to your market or business environment.
Can small businesses benefit from a marketing strategy?
Undoubtedly! Having a clear strategy would allow small businesses to get the best out of their limited resources for greater competition.
What is the difference between marketing strategy and marketing plan?
A marketing strategy details your approach and your objectives, while a marketing plan arrives by train to fulfil those objectives with campaigns/actions.
How can I measure the success of my marketing strategy?
Use key performance indicators, typically metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement and sales growth, to assess success.
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