How to create a marketing strategy

1) Define your business goals

The first and most important step of creating your marketing strategy is to clarify what your business goals and objectives are and what outcome are you looking to achieve

Some examples of business goals include:

-Grow customer base

-Increase sales

-Increase brand awareness

The purpose of outlining your goals and objectives is to simply understand what you are going to achieve by expanding your marketing efforts

2) Conduct market research

It is absolutely essential to have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the marketplace, economy and the political context surrounding the current market that you are in. Once you understand the market, it’ll be easier to understand your place in it and how you can grow

Some factors to include in your research are:

-Competitors, particularly their value and market share

-Market size, including a realistic number of customers that would be interested in your product/service.

-Market gaps where you can provide value

-Politics and economy changes that can impact the market longterm

3) Create a customer profile

The purpose of every marketing campaign is to connect with the consumer. Therefore, it is important to include a comprehensive profile on your target audience.

It is helpful to build your customer profile in relation to the 4 Ps:

-Based on your knowledge of the market, who is your target audience?

-What is your products proposition to your customers (product)

-What are they willing to pay for your product/service (price)

-Where does your target audience shop? (place)

-What marketing tactics are most appealing to your target audience? (promotion)

As you research and understand these questions, your customer will come more clearly into view. This will help you to create a strategy the impacts those you are trying to reach.

4) Synthesize and strategise

Once you have outlined your goals, conducted research and created your profiles, you can construct your marketing strategy. The question you’ll want to answer is, how will you align your target audience to your overall objectives? Your answer to this question will be your marketing strategy.

Remember, the marketing strategy is meant to act as long-term guide for directing specific marketing tactics, not an action plan of how a marketing campaign will be done