In case you missed the memo – marketing success isn’t random! No business should be without a marketing strategy.

Let’s kick this party off with a fresh reminder that having a strategy ensures you target the correct people with relevant material. The more time you spend planning, the more sales possibilities you produce.

So, what is a marketing plan?

A plan offers you direction and holds you accountable. While you may imagine what you need to accomplish, writing it down helps bind you to execute it.

It also gives you something to show your marketing team to assist them in understanding your business and your target market.

What is a marketing strategy? How do I make a simple marketing plan for a new product?

Marketing strategies define your business goals, target customers, and how to reach them. It’s your strategy for marketing your firm in the coming months and years.

It’s a systematic document explaining your company’s mission, goals, and what sets it apart. It defines your target market and why they use your products and services. Your strategy details planned activities and communication approaches to reach this target population.

Common strategies include:

• The company’s goals and vision
• Personas and demographics of interest
• Details of current market position 
• Competitor research
• Budget and key metrics
• A thorough situation analysis report
• Multi-channel marketing campaigns (website, social media, PPC, etc.)
• Implementation schedule

Let’s take a gander at four compelling advantages to developing a savvy marketing strategy and plan:

1. Speak directly to your target market

Understanding your buyer’s persona and what makes them tick is essential for any strategy and marketing goal. Specifying your target market and connecting with them on a personal level increases your chances of selling to them.

When communicating with your potential buyer, limit the brag and be of service, yes, customer service. What problem can the reader or viewer solve by using your product? How will your product or service make everyone’s lives easier?

Do you have 6 minutes? Great! Then check this video out on addressing your customers’ pain points 

2. Stop wasting money

It’s easy to overspend on ad campaigns when you don’t have a plan. It’s the ‘let’s see what happens’ marketing technique. And it’s usually a waste of time and money.

Building a trusted brand is essential to marketing success. Consistent, regular communication gets your message across. Buying a magazine ad one month and an email campaign the next isn’t going to work.

A clear marketing strategy saves time and money. Designing each campaign to achieve quick and long-term outcomes ensures budget planning and allocation.

3. Set goals and track ROI

We flounder when we lack direction, and even though it may not seem like a priority, this non-strategic choice will hurt your marketing. You may see some results, but how can you quantify your return on investment if you haven’t set any clear goals?

Focus on a set of stated goals. You could wish to increase your Twitter or Instagram following. Do you want to use email marketing to cross-sell to existing clients? Maybe you want to rank on the top page of Google for your key terms. Writing out and revisiting your goals is the first step toward realizing them.

4. It’s a benchmark

There’s a lot to factor into your marketing strategy with multiple channels (web, social, sponsored, search, etc.) and target audiences. To succeed, you need a rock-solid plan.

The plan serves as a foundation for new employees and those responsible for marketing outcomes. It’s a starting point, a detailed guide, and the foundation for all your work.

If the sales department or another team approaches you with a campaign proposal, you can refer to your strategy to confirm its relevance. If it doesn’t, you can explain why the idea isn’t worth pursuing.

Need some help with a content strategy? Watch this video.

Putting it all together for a stellar marketing strategy

It is possible to develop a successful company without a marketing plan, but it will take far longer, involving hundreds of unnecessary headaches!

Hopefully, you can value how vital a well-crafted (and presented) marketing plan is to every company, regardless of its current stage of development.

It’s no surprise that the world’s most successful organizations have a solid marketing strategy, plan, budget, and resource allocation for each component of their marketing plan.

Build your marketing strategy today