Every company must develop a marketing strategy at some point. They are just as important as a financial plan and an operational plan to any company.
The 4 Fundamental Elements of an Effective Marketing Strategy
Even if you don’t think that your company needs one, the chances are that your competitors have one. By developing a strategy, you get the jump on them
Although there are so many strategies out there, it can be very difficult to find the “Gold Standard”. However, there are the fundamental elements that every effective marketing strategy must incorporate in order to succeed.
Target Market
The first step in creating a successful marketing strategy is to define your target market. Before you can do that, you need to determine what your business is all about: who do you want to attract?
Why? What do they value? How do they like to be communicated with? This can be done for example, by checking the latest social media trends.
Once you have a clear understanding of your target market, you’ll be able to create a customized marketing strategy that speaks directly to their needs.
That’s where the seven fundamental elements of an effective marketing strategy come in.
Relevance
Relevance is the second element of a successful marketing strategy and one of the most important. If your marketing tactics aren’t relevant to your target market or don’t align with your overall business objectives, then they aren’t going to be effective.
The key to relevance is to figure out exactly what you want to accomplish with your marketing plan and how it ties into your overall business goals.
Differentiation
There is no better marketing strategy definition without the mention of the word “differentiation”.Differentiation is key to building customer loyalty.
How are you different from the competition? What makes your offer stand out from the crowd? Why should people choose you over anyone else?
To some people, this might seem like it is just a matter of semantics, but it is not. When customers are looking at you vs. someone else if your offer is exactly the same as your competitor’s then you have no reason for them to pick you.
All they need to do is head over to your competitor and get the exact same thing.
Optimization
Does your marketing strategy function at all levels? Are you monitoring your performance and optimizing your strategy for continuous improvement?
Your marketing strategy is only as good as it is practical.
If any of the following statements sound familiar, your marketing strategy needs work.
- Your strategy makes sense, but it isn’t practical for your company’s resources.
- Your strategy exists in a bubble and doesn’t consider your competitors.
- Your strategy is focused on the product, not the business you want to build.
- You’re guessing about your competitors.
- Your strategy isn’t being measured—or it’s measured wrong.
- You aren’t tied to a long-term vision.
When the best marketing strategies are put to practice in the real world, they function at multiple levels to determine their success and should be optimized in real-time.
Implementation
Is your strategy being executed? Are the tactics being carried out as designed?
Implementing your marketing strategy is what separates the winners from the losers. It is the difference between organizations that gain market share and those that lose it.
Technically, it means carrying out your tactics.
Without implementing your marketing strategy, you are just one of a gazillion other businesses that spend money on marketing without much to show for it. You’re just another company that has not executed its plans or designed its marketing efforts well.
Implementing your marketing strategy will make you win. It will differentiate you from everyone else.
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