A marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how you will reach your target market and achieve your marketing goals. Your business is the ship and the marketing strategy is the sails. It is one of the most important components to ensure that your business stays relevant, maintains steady growth, and increases your audience. It should be SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Why You Need One
Small businesses need a marketing strategy just as much as large businesses do. In fact, a well-crafted marketing strategy can be even more important for small businesses, as they often have fewer resources to compete with larger companies.
Specifically, a solid marketing strategy helps you:
Attract new customers. A well-defined marketing strategy will help you identify your target market and develop targeted marketing campaigns to reach them.
Differentiates you from the competition. In a crowded marketplace, it's important for small businesses to stand out from the competition.
Reach your target market with the right message. A marketing strategy will help you identify the best channels to reach your target market and develop the right messages to resonate with them.
Measure your results. Measurable goals and metrics help you track your progress and make necessary adjustments to your campaigns over time.
Marketing Strategy Steps
Define your target market(s) and develop a persona for each. Who are you trying to reach with your marketing efforts? What are their needs and wants? Be specific! If you try to market to everyone, you market to no one. - Example - Persona A is between the ages of (x) - (x). They are a family person who works full-time and have (x) amount of extra income to spend on their hobbies (x,y,z). Their challenges are (x,y,x). When they want to purchase something they use (social/Google/etc) to research prior to making a final decision. Other things important things to this person is (x).
Determine what makes you unique. There are likely a lot of other companies in your industry and community just like you. You need to define what makes you different and unique. Maybe you offer something special the others don't. Maybe you have won an award or have a special expertise. This is vital in how you market yourself.
Set your marketing goals. What do you want to achieve with your marketing? Do you want to increase brand awareness, increase website views, generate leads, or increase sales? Again, be specific and realistic!
Develop your marketing mix. What products or services will you offer? What prices will you charge? Where will you sell your products or services? How will you promote your business? Will you have a customer loyalty program or discounts?
Choose your marketing channels. How will you reach your target market? Will you use online marketing, offline marketing, or a combination of both? Will you focus on Facebook, Instagram, or another social platform? Remember to refer to the personas you created in step one. You need to go where your target audience is.
Set your marketing budget. How much money do you have to spend on marketing? Even if you are being scrappy, it needs to be part of your planning. This helps you define what you can and can't do to meet the goals you set in step three.
Create a marketing timeline. When will you implement your marketing strategy? How often will you evaluate it's success and re-evaluate?
Once you have spent time creating a marketing strategy that is unique to your business and needs, you can then implement the strategies and track your results. This will help you see what is working and what is not, so that you can make necessary adjustments.
Additional Tips
Be specific. Your marketing strategy should be specific and measurable.
Be realistic. Your marketing goals should be realistic and achievable. Don't set yourself up for failure by setting unrealistic goals.
Be flexible. The market is constantly changing, so your marketing strategy should be flexible enough to adapt to changes.
Be consistent. Marketing is an ongoing process. You need to be consistent with your marketing efforts in order to see results.
Be patient. Marketing success takes time. Don't expect to see an increase in leads and sales immediately.
By following these tips, you can create a marketing strategy that will help you to achieve your business goals.
Comments