Crafting a robust marketing strategy is crucial for thriving in today’s competitive landscape. Many business owners and even corporate marketers wrestle with the concept—while they recognise its importance, the thought of executing it can be daunting. Questions like “Where will I find the time?” or “Do I really need a strategy?” often arise. However, relying on ad hoc tactics over a cohesive strategy can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. A well-defined strategy not only guides your efforts but also ensures you’re using the most effective marketing tactics tailored to your business goals.
In any industry, a strategy provides a clear roadmap for achieving growth and staying ahead of the competition. It involves understanding market dynamics, identifying target audiences, and aligning marketing efforts with overarching business objectives. By systematically planning and implementing a robust marketing strategy, businesses can optimise their finite resources to grow the business. Coupled that with the fact that 50 per cent of marketeers says their marketing strategy in 2023 was “somewhat effective”; definitely scope for further improvement.
Here are my 7 key principles for creating a winning marketing strategy.
1. Think of a marketing strategy as a realistic, deliverable action plan
A marketing strategy doesn’t need to be lofty or extensive. Effective strategies can be straightforward and written in clear, understandable language. Too often, marketers overcomplicate their strategies unnecessarily. A marketing strategy should be describable in one page.
2. Regularly review the assumptions on which a marketing strategy is built
The strategy should be a living document that is regularly reviewed. Today’s fast-changing world demands that businesses have the agility to change strategies to ensure ongoing competitiveness. This requires reviewing and updating the assumptions on which your marketing strategy is built. For example, how is your business positioned in the business environment? How is the competitive landscape and how do you fit in? What are your customers’ needs? What are your key messages and value propositions? Are there new market opportunities for your products/services? What is driving the market?
These are just some of the key critical issues that underpin a strategy and that need to be reviewed at least twice a year.
3. Take note of the external environment that surrounds your business
Business owners and often inhouse marketers tend to look at their business from the inside out. They are often so focused on the day-to-day that they lose awareness of what is happening around them.
Take the example of one of the most epic fails in marketing recently, the Pepsi Kendall Jenner spot. Staged during the Black Lives Matter furor after police shootings of African Americans, Pepsi thought it would be a good idea to showcase their product as a unifying cultural force – a reasonable concept on paper, which failed in execution. The ad depicted Kendall Jenner marching with demonstrators and handing a policeman a Pepsi can. The backlash was immediate and severe, with Pepsi accused of trivialising an important social movement.
This is a good example of how a brand’s marketing strategy can backfire spectacularly when it fails to understand the broader societal context and sentiments, and what is happening around them.
4. Listen to your customers!
Believe it or not, although you might think this is common sense, you would be surprised how many businesses and marketers build a marketing strategy without talking with their existing, past or future customers. Businesses often assume they know what their customers want. This is the equivalent of your local coffee barista, assuming you will order a latte without asking you and confirming first. Imagine if he assumed wrongly for each customer and had to remake coffees to meet their actual orders? This would not only be costly, but he probably would lose his customers to the café down the road that listens to their customers, resulting in a more efficient service and an overall better customer experience.
How do you solicit customer feedback? Customer questionnaires are very useful as a tool to survey past and current customers, and they can be done online and via the phone. Phone or face-to-face interviews are the best way to get detailed information. Online surveys are great for quantitative data and can supplement the qualitative data gained through phone or face-to-face interviews. Customer focus groups are also another way of soliciting feedback.
Take the example of Starbucks, the world’s leading coffeehouse chain. For over 14 years, Starbucks has utilised market research extensively, leveraging platforms like My Starbucks Idea to gather consumer feedback. This initiative allows customers, potential customers, and employees to submit creative ideas directly through their website. Ideas range from new product offerings to improvements on existing ones, all of which contribute to Starbucks’ ongoing business and marketing strategies.
Another example, LEGO actively pursued inclusivity in toy play through targeted market research. Originally oriented towards boys, LEGO recognised the need to expand its appeal across genders. Conducting a study involving 3,500 girls and their mothers over four years, LEGO gained insights into children’s play habits and identified opportunities for growth in new markets. Based on their findings, LEGO introduced the “Friends” toy line aimed at encouraging girls to engage with their products.
By involving your customers in the process of building a strategy, repositioning your products/services, or developing new products and services, people feel engaged and valued, which, in turn, helps build customer loyalty.
5. Be targeted in your approach
Don’t bite off more than you can chew! A marketing strategy needs to be relevant to the business and be realistic. This means that you need to understand your customers and markets – i.e. what are their needs, how do they purchase and how to get to them (following the point above about listening to your customers)? Try a simple customer value matrix to determine what group of customers you should invest in when it comes to marketing spending. This will impact your final marketing mix of activities and the way you go to market.
6. Look at the entire marketing mix in your strategy
Research shows that customers often need to be touched seven times by a brand before they make a purchase. Media coverage on the back of a PR campaign alone won’t cut it, nor will a single advertisement. As a marketing manager, you must look at all areas of the marketing mix – direct marketing, online marketing, partner marketing, media relations, referrals etc. When customers encounter your business through media, discover you online, and hear positive word-of-mouth about your excellent service or product, your business will be in a significantly stronger selling position.
7. Convert your strategy to a tactical marketing calendar with defined activities and timelines
Little use in having a brilliant strategy that sits on the shelf gathering dust. It needs to be executed and acted upon! Do you have the resources and internal expertise to execute your strategy? If not, how will you ensure that you have the right people on board or engaged in helping you deliver your winning strategy?
Follow the key 7 principles above, and you will be on your way to building a strategy will set your business apart from the competition! We can help; please connect with us to explore how we can support your journey to business growth.
