What is a Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy is a predetermined plan for carrying out specific tasks in order to achieve the overall business goal. Each task aligns with a strategic objective that is determined through in-depth research of the industry and business with knowledge of available marketing platforms and resources. It accounts for the ideal audience, consumer behavior, team capacity, sales process, trending standards, and much more. Each task is determined and executed to reinforce another that will ultimately support the business across different initiatives. A marketing strategy accounts for the entirety of the business to offer a holistic method for addressing and achieving the goals.
Supports Sustainable Business Growth
Developing and implementing a marketing strategy is a recommended practice for a reason, one of which is it supports sustainable business growth. A business that uses a marketing strategy to meet their goals enables their team with a necessary plan to execute the actions to meet each goal and build the business. Below are specific reasons a marketing strategy supports business growth.
Elevate Your Products and Services in the Market
While you may offer the best product or services in your industry without the audience being aware of your company you will lose those potential customers. A marketing strategy uses multiple facets of marketing to promote your products or services. This allows your targeted audience to have multiple touchpoints with your company to discover your products/services, recognize your brand, explore your offerings, and ultimately purchase your product/service. With each touchpoint, it builds your brand’s reputation in the industry and elevates your products and services in the marketplace.
Automate Your Sales Funnel
With the strategic promotion of your products and services, it enables your business to streamline your sales funnel. A marketing plan that was built on industry research, ideal audiences, business goals, and more will perform better to capture leads and generate sales. This includes using the appropriate tools and technology, such as a customer relationship management (CRM) or email automation system, to streamline marketing and sales efforts. For sustained business growth, you need to be implementing informed marketing that will automate your sales funnel for long-term success.
Prepare for Quick Pivots
A business will always encounter unpredictable challenges, yet it is how well your business is prepared that predicts the outcome. Being able to allocate enough time, energy, and resources to respond to a change allows your business to pivot quick enough without facing extra burdens. Having a marketing strategy in place provides an important business area you can rely on to either continue carrying out the predetermined plan or adjust for the new developments. Rather than building a strategy from scratch to compensate for the unforeseen pivots, you have an identified and reliable plan in place. To maintain business growth you need to use proactive strategies, rather than relying on reactive methods, as these will support a growing business model even in times of unpredictability.
Establishes Dependable Business Value
To uphold your business value that supports a system of growth, you need to have a proven strategy that anticipates each step and outcome. A marketing strategy advances your business through an actionable plan that delivers real-life value. Below are a few reasons a marketing strategy supports dependable business value.
Focused Intent
A marketing strategy is planned and incorporates unique considerations of each business. Therefore each marketing item is catered to the ultimate and determined intent. The intent varies from business to business, such as a startup will want to build brand awareness while a larger company will want to expand their global reach. Yet with each unique intent, the marketing strategy is built specifically to support it, which fosters business value on a distinct scale.
Predictable Cash Flow for Future Planning
Similar to the automated sales funnel, the ability to predict cash flow allows your business to accurately plan for the future. If your business is able to forecast sales, then you have the capacity to plan and carry out improvements that will enhance your business. Having the capability to purchase better equipment or technology, grow your team, expand your services, introduce new products, etc. enables your business to progress and multiply your value.
Boost and Reinforce Industry Leadership
Ultimately, a business that is able to continually improve their value will endorse and maintain their industry leadership. While the marketing strategy goal will ultimately advance the business’ position, each step along the way sponsors their leadership. You cannot simply declare leadership, your business must prove their expertise and experience in the industry in order to be recognized. Therefore every effort that goes into the marketing strategy will heighten your industry status.
A marketing strategy provides endless opportunities to support your business from elevating your products and services to improving your sales funnel to boosting your industry leadership. Using a deliberate and dependable action plan, a marketing strategy will grow your business by developing its value.
The process of constructing a marketing strategy requires a deep understanding of how each component affects and builds off one another. In addition, you need to ensure you are accounting for the numerous facets of a marketing strategy, including messaging, platforms, budgets, etc., for them to align properly. A successful strategy takes dedicated time and expertise to create, yet once established, it provides your business with a catered plan for growth and value.
