Oct 30
Marketing is an essential element for every business – be it a startup or a global conglomerate. It is how companies can make themselves and their products known to the world, create a presence within the market, and boost sales.
A good marketing strategy is usually the hidden factor that can make all this happen. Indeed, if you want your business to thrive, an effective marketing strategy is a surefire way to make it happen. It will allow you to define your goals, measure your performance and define future steps for growth.
Are you ready to boost your marketing? Take a look at our guide to learn everything you need to know about marketing strategy, its benefits and how to create one for your company.
Think of a marketing strategy as a roadmap that will guide your marketing efforts and help you achieve your business objectives. It is a long-term plan with key insights concerning your company’s position in the market, products and services, strategic partners, target audience, advertising types, and the channels you will utilise for outreach. It also lays out a timeline for the implementation of all planned activities. It goes without saying that all of these elements are informed by your company’s overarching mission and objectives, too.
In addition, a marketing strategy acts as a building block for your marketing plan, which will outline the specific advertising and promotion tactics that will be used in order to achieve your marketing objectives and company aims.
All in all, a marketing strategy gives a company direction for all of its marketing-related activities and contributes towards the steady growth of a business. So, the better planned your strategy is, the more optimised your performance and sales could be!
By writing down an official marketing strategy, the company is creating a clear vision and committing to a set of goals and actions that will help it achieve it. This simplifies the marketing process as your strategy acts as a reference point for product branding, advertising and promotion. As a result, your company will be able to achieve consistency and build a recognisable and trusted brand image and identity.
A direct result of this is the potential for brand recognition and repeat clientele that you will gain, which would, in turn, solidify your company’s standing in the market. So, in simpler terms, a good marketing strategy inspires consistent marketing and branding, allowing steady growth whilst familiarising your target audience with your brand.
Not only does your strategy allow your business to achieve consistency, but also clarity.
A good marketing strategy should contain key information about your target audience, your position within the market, activity plan and overall mission. Moreover, it should contain a timeline which will direct your plans and implementation strategy. All in all, this will give your team clarity on the most important marketing elements which should be taken into consideration when constructing a marketing plan.
Nonetheless, not only does this allow the marketing team to stay in-sync, but encourages coordination across other departments, too. A good marketing strategy will keep everyone on the same page by laying out the objectives that the company is striving towards.
In order to formulate your marketing strategy, you must first identify who your customers are. Once you have accomplished this, you can use your findings to optimise your product in order to meet the needs and expectations of your prospective clients.
Another important benefit of having a clear image of your target audience is that your marketing efforts will also be far more effective as you will be able to utilise the right channels of communication and create content that will catch prospective clients’ attention.
All in all, having a marketing strategy will allow you to construct a detailed customer profile that will inform all future steps, make your brand more impactful but also boost sales.
Another important benefit of having a marketing strategy is that it encourages the company to outline its competitive advantage. This means defining what the unique selling points of your products are. In turn, this allows the company to leverage its competitive edge, whether that is product quality, price range or other offerings, during the marketing process and compete with other brands.
Thanks to your brilliant marketing strategy, you will be able to have a greater impact on the market with your product. This will increase your leads whilst building a steady client base.
A marketing strategy is the centre around which all your marketing plans are designed. It informs all day-to-day decisions and keeps them aligned to the overarching goals of your company.
As a result, this eliminates distractions, helping the business to focus its efforts on the right tactics and target groups. Furthermore, a good strategy will identify the right resources and tools without wasting time and money on less effective options that are not in line with your goals. This, then, brings us to the next considerable benefit…
Knowing who your audience is and how to reach them not only makes your marketing tactics more effective but it also reduces costs.
For instance, after doing your due diligence for your marketing strategy you may discover that the best way to reach your target audience is through online ads, rather than print advertising or email marketing – this not only eliminates ineffective marketing tactics (as mentioned above) but saves your business money. As such, you will be able to direct your resources towards the right channels, without wasting your available marketing budget on ineffective initiatives.
A marketing strategy can help a company set an appropriate budget based on both the objectives and activities laid out within this plan. It also allows you to measure the performance and scope of the company’s marketing campaigns and tactics. This means that you will be able to calculate the impact of your efforts and determine what is the return of your investment. It may also allow you to identify areas that need to be revised or refined further based on the outcome.
So, now that we have laid out why having a marketing strategy is crucial for your business, it’s time to create one. Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all, when it comes to marketing strategies, but there are three important steps that will help you get started and build the best plan for your company.
Your business goals will act as the foundation for your marketing goals, and, subsequently, your marketing strategy. Afterall, a marketing strategy is a means towards achieving a company’s mission and objectives. So, before you can create a marketing strategy, you must first determine what these are for your company. For instance, you may wish to be the most cost-effective brand and sustainable brand in your industry.
This lays the groundwork for the next part of this step, which consists of identifying your marketing goals. For example, you may want to increase website traffic, improve brand awareness, or generate new leads. Remember, these are just a stepping stone for achieving your overall company mission.
From there on, you can draft a marketing strategy that corresponds to these goals and which will set out a plan on how to achieve them effectively.
Once you have your goals laid out, the next step is to research your target market. This will involve an in-depth analysis of factors such as market size, growth potential, ongoing trends, competitors, customer demographics and behaviours. The more information collected, the more detailed your strategy will be. This will also give you a better idea of who your clients are, which as mentioned above, is an important benefit during this process.
So, before you begin working on your strategy, make sure to take into account the data and information that is collected, as it will help you determine the best ways to navigate the current state of the market.
The 7Ps of marketing will be crucial when constructing a marketing strategy as they will help you define the most crucial factors of the marketing process. This marketing model will help the company further define its aims and objectives but also formulate the most suitable marketing approach based on this information.
The 7Ps consist of:
A great marketing strategy will set up your business for success. With it, you will be able to create a sustainable plan that will boost growth and help your company thrive.
So, to recap, the benefits of an effective marketing strategy are manifold, and include:
Make Convertico Media part of your marketing strategy! Do you want to create an effective marketing strategy? Convertico Media can help! Contact our expert team and receive a personalised quote here.