Why Every Entrepreneur Needs a Marketing Strategy

What is a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a properly researched, well outlined long term plan of a business created in line with its goals and objectives to achieve established goals. It refers to a company’s plan to reach its target consumers and convert them to customers.

A solid marketing strategy is built on the company’s goals and objectives, it outlines clearly the target consumers the company plans to reach, the value that the company would provide its consumers, the brand message that would serve as the face of the marketing campaign, the ideal consumer profile, among others.

The Four Ps of Marketing

The four Ps of marketing are crucial building blocks of every marketing strategy. According to Adam Barone, a thorough marketing strategy should cover the Ps of marketing. They constitute the key factors involved in marketing and promoting a company’s goods and/or services. 

The four Ps of marketing are:

• Product
• Price
• Promotion 
• Place

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Marketing Strategy and Marketing Plans

Now it is important to note that while they are often used interchangeably, a company’s marketing strategy is quite different from its marketing plan.

Even though they some times contained in the same document.

Marketing Strategy

A Marketing Strategy is a document that clearly states and describes the bigger picture of the message the company wants to reach its target consumers with and the value proposition of the company. The marketing strategy ultimately seeks to communicate and hold an elevated position over its competitors by projecting a consistent and sustainable image to its target consumers.

Marketing Plan

The marketing plan on the other hand contains and outlines the specific types of marketing activities a company conducts and contains the schedule for running the established marketing campaign. A Marketing plan details the steps and logistic details of a marketing campaign within a specified timeframe. Hence, it outlines the marketing initiatives and activities of the marketing campaign on a monthly, quarterly, biannual or annual basis.

Why are Marketing Strategies Vital for every Business?

A thorough marketing strategy clearly defines your consumer profile which gives your company a competitive edge over your competitors. A consumer profile enables your marketing team understand the needs and wants of your target market; this knowledge will serve to guide your marketing efforts and plans for your company’s marketing campaigns. 

The marketing strategy will also determine the effectiveness of your marketing plan and enable you determine the right marketing and promotional channels to invest your money into.

Finally,

Your marketing strategy is an asset to your company as a whole. It would serve along with your business’ brand values to guide the marketing efforts of your company.

So, dear business owner, get a working marketing strategy today.

Thanks for reading ; -)