You probably hear a lot of marketers telling you that you have to develop a marketing strategy, but a lot of times they don’t actually tell you what that even is…
A marketing strategy is a plan for reaching a specific marketing-related goal (or goals) in a focused and achievable way.
It’s important to remember that things like: posting on social media, writing a blog, uploading a video are all tactics used in marketing, and not an actual strategy.
Below are 5 easy steps to implement to help you start developing a marketing strategy.
Step 1: Determine your target market
Who is your audience? Who is buying your products? (Tip – don’t say everyone! No one can sell to everyone). The further you break down your audience, the more likely you are to create a successful strategy.
Break down you Target market by identifying:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Hobbies / Interests
- Goals
You can go as far as to create an ‘Avatar’ about your ideal market, to really hone into their psychology.
Step 2: Set a Goal
You will want to set a SMART goal, that will help you with your overall business goal… Most likely making a profit, so that you can eat.
Specific – Be very clear about your goal – avoid something like “I want more customers” (Don’t we all)
Measurable – Make sure you can track your progress – avoid saying things like “I want more sales”
Achievable – You need to make sure you have the capacity to accomplish your goal – avoid “I want to sell 100 products, when I can only really make 20 of them”
Realistic – Your goal needs to be reasonable in that you could actually accomplish it – avoid things like “I want 1 million followers, when I have 1000 now”
Timely – Set a time limit or end date for motivation – avoid open ended timelines
Step 3: Decide on your Marketing Channels
I don’t mean on the TV. I mean the platforms / avenues you will use to accomplish your goal.
Are you using social media, your own website, emails, flyer drops?
Top Tip: Don’t try to use them all. Find the one’s where your audience lives and use those.
Step 4: Set a Budget
How much are you willing to spend? Remember that you will need to determine your return on investment (ROI).
E.g. If you run an ad for $2/day for 5 days, you will spend a total of $10. Your product sells at $5. You would ideally need to sell 2 products to break even (get a return on your investment) and 3 products to make a profit.
Remember that you also need to take into consideration the lifetime value of your client. For example, you may have lost money on your ads, but your client is now on a monthly subscription which will in turn return your investment over a longer period of time.
Step 5: Plan your Customer Journey
Great! You know what you want to accomplish. Now come the fun part; planning your customer journey.
What is a customer journey? Well from the first time your audience see’s / hear’s about your business, through to purchasing, through to aftercare, is what this is.
An example could look like this:
- Facebook Ad with a free lead magnet
Lead Magnet gather details for mailing list - Mailing list sends off automation with value adding content
Value adding content includes link to purchase from your website - Website product its purchased and shipped
Client is updated about status of order via emails - Customer Survey or Feedback request is sent after a certain time
- Customer remains on mailing list which continues to add value to customer
This is just one basic example of a possible journey for your customer. This is where you get to be creative with your content and your audience experience. Remember that this is a structured plan that has a purpose behind it.
Top tip! Remember that ‘Hard Sells’ (Selling to someone the first time they are aware of your business is not a great strategy – which is why a valuable lead magnet works a treat).
Step 6: Analyse your Strategies Performance
In step 2, you have set a goal. Is that goal being achieved?
Make sure you check your measurables. If it’s not working, start from step one, analyse, revise and continue.
For example, if step one in the buying journey example above is not generating leads, then you may need to adjust your lead magnet or landing page. If you are generating leads, but it’s not driving clicks, then you may need to adjust step 2. Continue until your journey is flowing smoothly.
Now, do it all again!
Build on your brand by continuing to develop strategies that compliment each other. You can build long, mid and short term strategies that work together to consistently generate more business.
Need help building your business Strategy? Get in Touch!