{"id":2732,"date":"2013-09-27T09:26:30","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T15:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.webii.net\/blog\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2022-02-14T10:17:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T16:17:37","slug":"what-in-the-world-is-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webii.net\/blog\/what-in-the-world-is-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"What in the World is Marketing Strategy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve had my share of blank stares when asked what I do. This is usually followed up by another question, \u2018so what do you DO?\u2019, implying that because it\u2019s a vague title, I must \u2018do\u2019 very little.\u00a0 So here I state my manifesto, speaking for marketing strategists everywhere. To begin, let\u2019s turn to our friend, Wikipedia, and see what he has to say:<\/p>\n

\n

Marketing strategy\u00a0is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable\u00a0competitive advantage<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Not bad. The short version of that is: I\u2019m a planner. Winston Wolf, from Pulp Fiction, \u201csolves problems.\u201d I, a marketing strategist, \u201cmake plans.\u201d It\u2019s probably less sexy and I generally don\u2019t speed to my client\u2019s offices in a sports car. Sometimes this plan needs to solve certain problems or challenges, but generally, I help people develop or articulate key components for their business which I then formulate into a plan to drive sales.\u00a0 Here are a few key questions I ask to help people formulate\/re-formulate as a basis for the plan:<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so great about you?<\/h2>\n

If you own a business and can\u2019t answer this question in 30 seconds or less, stop and think about it. Why do your customers do business with you? Why would someone who doesn\u2019t already? What sets you apart from the others doing what you do, or something close enough that your desired customers could go elsewhere? This should be the basis of your marketing message. Sometimes people need help in this area and competitive analysis<\/a> can help define this.<\/p>\n

Are you talk\u2019n to me?<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve articulated what makes you \u2018all that\u2019, now who are you talking to? Who is your Target Customer? Many small businesses don\u2019t want to limit who they are talking to because they\u2019re so hungry for revenue, they\u2019ll take it wherever they can get it. However, if you don\u2019t have a specific target market in mind, it\u2019s hard to know HOW to tell people what\u2019s so great about you. You may highlight features and\/or say something different to a 55-year-old than you would a 25-year-old (though not all segmentations are based on demographics). You may have several segments of customers, but at least in the beginning, you need to put a stake in the ground and decide who your core target is. Then learn as much about them as you can. You\u2019ll make better decisions about your plan with your target customer at your side.<\/p>\n

Now that you\u2019ve established who you are and to whom, we can make a marketing plan. Just like the definition says, I choose an optimal plan to reach these target customers with the budget you\u2019ve got. We choose different channels and develop messaging and campaigns for each. The plan ensures consistency \u2013 although it may be said many times, in many ways, you still want the same primary messages to get across.<\/p>\n

Will the nerd in this crowd of marketing folks please stand up?<\/h2>\n

What?! A marketing person who lives in spreadsheets and analytics? It\u2019s true. That would be me because I am a geeky numbers type. Numbers and analysis \u2013 because plans need to be tracked, measured, and tweaked. This is otherwise known as Marketing Effectiveness and it is the piece people generally like the least. Without it, however, you are a lost ship at sea, a hiker without a compass, an urbanite without their cell phone. You can\u2019t create the \u201coptimal plan\u201d if you aren\u2019t optimizing the money spent into measurable results. And I find this fun.<\/p>\n

OK, maybe I really need to start driving that sports car.<\/p>\n

Carmen Sutherland is in charge of Marketing Strategy at ThreeDefined, a marketing boutique offering strategy, web and design. They specialize in a powerful 3-hour strategy session called The Triple Threat.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve had my share of blank stares when asked what I do. This is usually followed up by another question, \u2018so what do you DO?\u2019, implying that because it\u2019s a vague title, I must \u2018do\u2019 very little.\u00a0 So here I state my manifesto, speaking for marketing strategists everywhere. To begin, let\u2019s turn to our friend, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":11170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,300],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marketing","category-www-learning-center"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat in the World is Marketing Strategy? - WEBii<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Any organization can benefit from having a marketing strategy. 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