Six Things You Might Be Missing In Your Marketing Approach

If you build a website, they will come. Or maybe not. What you typically see as marketing output is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg; the execution of a plan. A strong marketing strategy is meant to narrow your focus to increase the accuracy of your aim and achieve growth goals faster. Do your tactics follow a clear strategy, or are you just trying things to see what happens?

Here are six things you need to consider to create a winning marketing strategy:

1. Choose your target market. It can be hard, especially when you’re launching something new, to narrow down your target, but it’s focus that leads to sales. Trying to be everything to all potential markets doesn’t work. Pick your primary target and tailor the offering to them.

2. Know your target market. You increase your chances of winning when you know more about your customers’ behaviors, problems and decision factors. Strive to collect primary research data through surveys and face-to-face meetings with potential and existing customers. Supplement this research by purchasing secondary data on your target customers. Once you know them better, make sure you can you clearly explain how the offering helps them solve a problem.

3. Understand your competitors, including the share of wallet competitors. Your customers have limited funds; be able to communicate why they should prioritize your value over alternatives. Can you clearly state why you are better and different in a way that matters to your customers?  

4. Have a digital strategy. You don’t have to be on every digital marketing platform to be successful. You do have to be consistent on the platform or platforms you choose. Start with one, do it well, and expand as you go. Create a reliable and valuable communication cadence where your potential customers can feel connected.

5. Have a strong marketing operations approach. Do you have a marketing operations structure that supports market intelligence, data collection, project management and execution? In today’s world, you stay competitive with a continuous flow of marketing data; before, during, and after the sale. Having the right systems and processes in place can help you improve return on marketing investment.

6. Have a team of brand ambassadors. Your first customer sale is internal to your company. If you can sell your team first, you’ll have strong brand ambassadors representing you. Customers can see when representatives truly believe in what they’re selling.

If you want to improve your chances of winning in the marketplace, have a clear marketing strategy. You can create the best customer experience by sharpening your focus and tailoring more to customer needs. Your internal team will also feel more confident when your approach is crystal clear.