A marketing strategy is incredibly important when it comes to analysing your marketing options, setting goals and then assessing how well your marketing has achieved your desired outcomes. It can be a difficult document to get to grips with, and working with Marketing Strategy Consultants like www.reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/specialist-services/marketing-strategy-consultant/ is always a good idea.
There are a number of key elements that you should ensure you include in your marketing strategy.
Customer segmentation
This is the section where you take your existing customer base and separate them out into distinct customer segments. This will often be done based on the similar characteristics that some of your customers will have. For example, this could be that one of your products is loved by teenagers or perhaps you have a product that is designed for busy parents. When you identify what your customer segments are, you can then target your marketing efforts toward these people.
Channels
There are lots of marketing channels available to businesses today, and these can include everything from free platforms such as social media right through to paid traditional advertising such as leaflets and brochures. When looking at what platforms to use, it is important that you choose those channels that your customer segments like to use. There is no point in advertising your products or services on Instagram if your target market is over 80s, for example. This way, you can make the most of the marketing budget that you have available.
Goals and objectives
Before you start any marketing activities, you should first think about what goals and objectives you want to achieve. It could be to increase awareness of your services, or it could be more specific and relate to sales of a particular product. Once you have these goals laid out, you should ensure that they have a timescale set. SMART goals are the best way to achieve this.
Monitoring
Make sure that you plan on monitoring your marketing strategy. This will give you dedicated time to look at how your marketing activities are performing and allow you time to adjust them if necessary and refine your message. Having regular monitoring throughout the life cycle of your strategy is much better than simply reviewing it at the end.