What is a Marketing Strategy & Why Do You Need One? — Yasmin Parsloe Digital Marketing

“Marketing success is not something that falls into your lap.”

— Yasmin parsloe

Every company needs to have a good marketing strategy in place. From a Fortune 500 company to a startup, a marketing strategy is necessary in today's world to create brand awareness and attract new customers. When you start the process of creating a marketing strategy, it is important to remember that marketing is not just about advertising and promotion. The foundation of any good marketing strategy should be about building a connection with your customer.

In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about marketing strategies, and how to create one for your own business. Here’s what we will cover:

What is a Marketing Strategy?
Why Do You Need a Marketing Strategy?
How to Create an Effective Marketing Strategy
Types of Marketing Strategies in 2022
Building an Effective Strategy
How Much Does a Professional Marketing Strategy Cost?

What is a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a long-term plan that a company puts in place to help it achieve its goals. This is done by understanding the needs of customers and creating a unique and sustainable competitive advantage with a plan. Marketing strategies are an all-inclusive guide to initiatives that companies should put into place to target, attract and convert the ideal client base. An effective marketing strategy covers everything from finding out who your customers are to deciding what channels of promotion and what messaging you should use to reach your customers.

Marketing strategies are fundamental tools that marketers use to outline the various marketing models and campaigns specific to a unique business. A marketing strategy will show you what you should focus on and how you are going to get customers interested in your products and services.

With a solid marketing strategy in place, you will be able to determine how your company will position itself in the marketplace, the types of partners you should seek, the types of products you should sell, and even the type of promotion and advertising activities you should implement. Having a marketing strategy is absolutely essential to the success of any business.

Why Do You Need a Marketing Strategy?

Marketing success is not something that falls into your lap. You have to work for it, plan ahead, and monitor successes and improvement over time. A strong marketing strategy will invite your team and key decision makers to look at your business goals abstractly, identify opportunities, and assess growth.

A marketing strategy is a useful tool for all facets of your business, at any stage. If you are a start-up seeking funding, a marketing strategy can help you score more investors or even extra funding based on a clear and well-illustrated plan for monetization. For businesses that are hiring or growing, a marketing strategy is the holy grail for onboarding and corporate goal setting.

No matter what phase your business is in, a marketing strategy is an excellent place to start if your main goal is growth and success.

How to Create an Effective Marketing Strategy

To develop an effective marketing strategy, there are certain basic things you should already know about your business. They include:

Who your customers are
What services or products you offer, including a pricing structure
Your business goals (long-term and short-term)
How to motivate these people to buy your products/services
How to attract new customers
How to judge the success of your marketing campaigns and efforts

To create your marketing strategy, you need to ensure that it covers the five ‘P’s’ of marketing. These include:

Product: This is what you are trying to sell.
Price: This is all about your profit margins, marketing budget, etc.
Place: This looks at what platforms or channels you will be using. For example, will you use email marketing, social media advertising, or physical advertising? To decide this, you need to take into account where your customers are already spending most of their time.
Promotion: This looks at what you want to achieve with your marketing. For example, are you wanting to build your presence on social media, promote a new product, boost your brand perception, or achieve something else altogether?
People: The last ‘P’ looks at who is your target audience and what drives them.

Once you have the answers to these questions, you will be in a much better position to start planning your marketing strategy.

Types of Marketing Strategies in 2022

There are many different types of marketing strategies, and how this work depends on many factors, especially your business requirements. Some of the major types of marketing strategies include:

1. Social Media Marketing Strategy

In a world where nothing seems to move without the internet, social media marketing is a major part of any marketing strategy. Having the right social media marketing strategy effectively drives traffic to your website, builds brand awareness, and takes advantage of the trend of “social selling” that has become the focal point of online marketing.

It is estimated that nearly 54% of all social media users use social platforms to find out about various brands and products, and 89% of consumers who follow a brand like to purchase from that brand itself. As you can see from these figures, not having an effective social media marketing strategy means you are missing out on a huge chunk of target customers.

2. Content Marketing Strategy

Another very popular marketing strategy is a content marketing strategy. While this strategy can overlap with others, it is more specific and focuses on creating content that will attract people to your products and services, and also build interest.

This strategy covers blog posts and white papers and also overlaps with your social media marketing efforts. A content marketing strategy is a guide to any messaging and message placement around your brand. It includes keyword research, content creation, advertising, and copywriting - but it also plays a role in your social media, email marketing, website design, PR, and more.

3. Email Marketing Strategy

All those who think the era of email is long gone are totally wrong. Email is a powerful tool that should be included in your marketing strategy. Capturing the emails and browsers of customers should be an integral part of your marketing strategy. This is an excellent way to start or continue a conversation with potential customers who have shown an interest in your product/service.

4. Inbound Marketing Strategy

An inbound marketing strategy focuses on attracting customers and driving traffic to your website. Instead of marketing techniques like TV advertising, inbound marketing is all about lead generation using customers who have expressed interest in your brand, products, or services.

Email marketing and blog posts are good examples of inbound marketing strategies. Inbound marketing often leads to a more intent-driven audience. They are already interested in similar concepts, products, or services, and are, therefore, more likely to convert.

5. Public Relations Strategy

Public relations done right can ensure that your customers are happy. PR is essential for keeping your brand image safe and positive in the eyes of your customers, media, and all other stakeholders. Any large business should ideally have a dedicated PR team in charge of the brand's public image. PR is great for word-of-mouth advertising, as well as grand-scale exposure.

Building an Effective Marketing Strategy

The fundamental question that you need to answer when creating a marketing strategy is: “How will you convince or inspire your customers to purchase your products/services?” With so many marketing strategies available, you can choose one or even a mix of several strategies to promote your brand. From offering discount coupons to referral programs or summer sales programs, there are many techniques and strategies you can try.

While there is no objective way of measuring the success of your marketing campaign, and you have no way of determining whether or not your campaigns are working, having clear and precise targets and measurable goals can help you assess how effective your marketing strategy is. Set specific goals, identify your target audience, identify your competition, and choose the most effective marketing platform for your company.

How Much Does a Marketing Strategy Cost?

The industry average for a marketing strategy is anywhere from $10,000-$40,000. Depending on the depth and stage of the business, my strategies typically start at $8,500. It is important to note the intensive nature of successful marketing strategies, and the results they yield.

A typical marketing strategy will include: