Marketing Strategy.
If you don’t know where you're going, you’ll end up someplace else.
Equipped with a winning business plan and a well-defined brand, the next step on the road to online success is to map out your marketing strategy. The purpose of a marketing strategy is to provide crucial information about your target market, competitors, and customers, while outlining the tools and tactics you will use to go-to-market and grow your business.
Marketing strategies are often created in tandem with solution development planning and content strategies for stronger marketing-technology integration. Having these strategies created by the same team can further compound those benefits. Blayzer highly recommends this approach for complex or custom web solutions, ecommerce stores, and startups.
What Should Your marketing strategy Cover?
The marketing strategy should include key information about the business, buyer, and competitive landscape. Some good areas to explore in your marketing strategy include:
- Identity & Brand
- Products & Services
- Features & Advantages
- Competitors
- Target Market
- Buyer Personas
- Market Trends
- Benchmarks, Goals & KPIs
The marketing strategy should also include thorough exploration of all the marketing channels and tactics that are relevant to the brand. A thorough strategy will include best practices, potential opportunities, and recommended implementation plans for the following areas:
- Web Solutions
- Content
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search Engine Marketing
- Print Collateral
- Sales Sheets
- Social Media
- Email Marketing
- Lead Generation
- Reporting & ROI Measurement
- Video Content
- Audio Content
Marketing strategies can be used to help assess potential customers or clients, determine budgets, and set goals. The strategy can also be used to determine the the best platforms and content to get the best traction for a budget that has already been set. A thorough and comprehensive strategy should serve as a highly adaptable long-term playbook for your marketing programs.
Who Needs a marketing strategy?
- Starting a new brand or businesses
- Rebooting an established brand or business
- Launching new products & services
- Existing businesses in any industry
- Multichannel, omnichannel & integrated marketing
- Content marketing campaigns
- Crowdfunding campaigns
If you are thinking about building a new website, app, or ecommerce store without also planning your marketing strategy, we encourage you to stop and assess your marketing needs. Knowing what is needed for your marketing campaigns to be successful and having an in-depth assessment of your marketing competitors could have a big impact on how you can attract new customers.