Strategic marketing is the process of creating and executing a marketing strategy for a product or service with the explicit intention of achieving defined business objectives. This article will focus on the fundamentals of developing a successful marketing plan designed to supercharge your company’s growth.
What is a marketing plan? A marketing plan is a detailed document that provides a view of a marketing strategy for a predetermined amount of time, most commonly one year, but don’t rest on your laurels once you’ve built it! Your strategy needs to be malleable enough to adjust to shifting market conditions (technological, socioeconomic, competitive, etc.), and it needs to be constantly evaluated, adjusted, and improved upon. This continuous development involves a constant scrutiny and refinement of your marketing mix and the ‘7 Ps’: product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence, people, and process (I will address these in a future article). No matter how extensive or detailed a marketing plan is, it always has the same overarching purpose; to structure and direct the marketing tactics of an organisation, and evaluate the results. A marketing plan can be applied to any type of business, regardless of its size, industry, or product/service offering. Whether you’re a small start-up, a non-profit organisation, or a multinational corporation, a marketing plan is essential for achieving business goals and objectives. Here are some examples of businesses that can benefit from a marketing plan:
- Start-ups: A marketing plan can help start-ups to gain visibility, generate leads, and build brand awareness.
- Small businesses: Small businesses can use a marketing plan to differentiate themselves from their competitors, reach new customers, and retain existing ones.
- Established businesses: Established businesses can use a marketing plan to refresh their brand, launch new products or services, and expand into new markets.
- E-commerce businesses: E-commerce businesses can use a marketing plan to drive traffic to their website, increase sales, and build customer loyalty.
- Service-based businesses: Service-based businesses can use a marketing plan to promote their expertise, generate leads, and build relationships with clients.
Does a marketing plan really play to the success of a business?
Think you’re cruising comfortably without a marketing plan? Look at it this way. However well you think you’re doing without a marketing plan, or what kind of business you’re in, you can take your company to new heights with the right strategy. Your plan will identify refined target audiences, develop stand-out messaging and positioning, and allocate your resources effectively. It will provide laser-focussed direction to you, your teams, and the company – perhaps to increase revenue, expand market share, both, or more. Your goal in creating a marketing plan is to give your company a competitive edge by allowing it to better meet the needs of its target market and to set your product or service apart from the competition, all while driving revenue and reputation. Because it lays out a strategy for meeting company objectives, it is an essential component of the success of business, product, or service; narrowing your focus on the things that are important, while allowing you to set aside the things that can wait.
How to build a marketing plan
Creating a marketing plan should live as the very bedrock of your overall promotional strategy. Market, rival, and target audience analysis, as well as the development of a unique selling proposition to differentiate your product from the competition, are all essential components of a comprehensive marketing plan. To formulate your very own and one-of-a-kind marketing strategy, the following steps need to be taken:
Identify Your Target Market
Defining who you’re selling to is the first step in any successful marketing strategy. Identifying your target market is one of the most important steps in creating a successful business strategy and allows you to tailor your marketing efforts and product offerings to the people who are most likely to buy from you. By focusing your efforts on the right target market, you can increase your chances of success and maximise your return on investment. So how do you start?
Continue reading
