By A10 Digital. Published .
A marketing strategy is the reasoning behind your marketing: who you want to reach, what you want them to do, why they should choose you and how you will know it is working. It comes before any decision about channels or budgets.
What does a marketing strategy include?
- An objective. One clear aim, such as more enquiries for a particular service.
- An audience. The customers you most want more of, described closely enough to recognise.
- A position. The reason those customers should choose you over the alternatives.
- Channels. Where you will reach them, chosen because of the first three points.
- A budget. What you will invest, and where.
- Measures. The numbers that will tell you whether the objective is being met.
What is the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan?
The strategy is the thinking. The plan is the timetable. A strategy says you will win more work from local businesses by being the most visible firm in your area. The plan says which pages will be written in March and what the advertising budget is in April.
What is the difference between strategy and tactics?
Tactics are the individual actions: a post, an advert, an email. Without a strategy they pull in different directions. With one, each has a job, which is the idea behind integrated marketing.
How often should a marketing strategy be reviewed?
When something changes. A new service, a new competitor, a change in what customers search for or a set of results that does not match the objective. Otherwise once a year is sensible for most businesses.
Where does a strategy start?
With evidence. Where the business stands today, what its customers search for and what the competition is doing. A strategy built on those three is easier to defend than one built on opinion.
Related service: integrated marketing campaigns from A10 Digital.