5 Good Reasons To Have A Marketing Strategy

A good marketing strategy can help you reach your target audience, expand your customer list, and, more important, achieve that “sweet spot” of ROI.

Before actually talking about the importance of marketing strategy for your business let’s clarify what does it actually mean. Marketing strategy is often confused with a marketing plan. They both intend to guide your business journey in the direction of the best result. They definitely compliment each other. However, a well-defined marketing strategy makes a great foundation for your marketing planning.

Business Dictionary says Marketing strategy is “…an organization’s strategy that combines all of its marketing goals into one comprehensive plan. A good marketing strategy should be drawn from market research and focus on the right product mix in order to achieve the maximum profit potential and sustain the business.”

Jim Rohn once said that success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. And it’s true. You can try random tactics as many times as you want. As a result, you will also get a random outcome. Only operating relevant information and thinking globally with the help of data-driven decisions you can guarantee the best possible outcome.

So, here are 5 essential reasons to have a marketing strategy:

1. Your competitors have one. You should too. Seriously. It has nothing to do with being a copycat. It is all about inspiration and new ideas. Simply saying, if you noticed that your competitor went digital, that’s the sign. Create a website if you don’t have one, maintain your social media presence, promotions, etc. Just keeping up with the market gives you a competitive advantage. By monitoring both direct and indirect competition you are staying informed, proactive and up to date.

2. With a marketing strategy, you will be well prepared for any future situation because you did research and market analysis. Let’s say you see a tendency of increased demand for a specific product during X holiday. You can plan ahead to order significant amount ahead, hire/schedule more staff, maybe even launch special campaign for online orders. Your call.

3. You will know your strength and weaknesses. By leveraging internal (strength and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) you can clearly see your business situation. Minimise your weaknesses, neutralize threats, and, the most important, you can identify growth opportunity for your business by utilizing SWOT analysis. Knowledge is a power.

4. You will become a “budget genius”. Seeing the whole picture of the four Ps (product, price, place, and promotion) and thinking long term will help you to make the best decisions regarding the most effective use of resources. No point to spend money on old marketing channels which are not bringing results anymore. Choose based not on “that’s how we always do”, but evaluate actual results. ROI is our everything.

5. Know your audience. Address your audience. Marketing strategy helps to identify your target audience and determine the most effective ways of reaching it. Just have a look at McDonald’s. Few points I want to bring here. Big Mac Index is a thing. Prices are based on how much people of a specific country can afford to pay. Note: product, quality, and service stay the same. Also, monitoring the audience preferences they noticed the increased demand for healthy food. As a result — adjusting the menu and rebranding.

I want to remind that marketing strategy is an important strategic document which includes targets and milestones. It is your roadmap. Going back to it once in a while helps to stick to the plan and adjust when needed.

I hope this information been useful to you. I would love to know your thoughts about it. And good luck on your marketing journey! You are definitely on the right path if you are reading this. Follow me to stay updated.