Why do I need a marketing strategy?
“We need to grow.” “We need more customers.” “We only get new customers when we offer a huge discount.”
Saying you want to grow your business is like saying you want to take a trip. It’s far too generic to provide any guidance. And since growth is a journey, we’ll run with that analogy.
A well thought out marketing strategy will focus your efforts and ground your planning. Think of it as the details for the reason you’re going to take a trip. Is it a business trip to Iceland in January or a vacation to celebrate the one-year anniversary with your special someone? Obviously very different journeys for different reasons.
Your marketing strategy should contain three main components- your positioning, your ideal customer profile (ICP), and your unique selling proposition (USP). Some sources will tell you to include elements like channel and content in your strategy. I disagree because these are closer to the tactical execution of your plan than they are to the governing vision of your brand. Your marketing strategy should guide your development of things like channel and content strategy.
Your positioning is where you plant your flag. The area of your marketing you choose to capture and defend. It’s how you choose to be perceived. A great example of this (used often in this blog) is Wrangler® Jeans. They decided to become the brand of choice for the rural lifestyle. This positioning guides all their efforts.
Your ICP is your WHO. This means a detailed profile of your perfect audience. For a detailed breakdown, check out my post on why is it important to have an ICP. Expanding on Wrangler, their ICP is the person who lives that rural lifestyle.
Your USP is your WHY. This is how you showcase why the solution you offer or the value your audience receive from choosing you is perfect for them. To learn more about this, check out my post on what is a USP. And good ol’ Wrangler? Their USP is ‘The toughest, most durable denim for the western lifestyle.’
You do not have to be some giant conglomeration to have a defined marketing strategy. Sure, huge companies may have more complex documentation or more ICPs for various regions or products, but the goal is the same- understand exactly who to talk to and how you need to approach them.
Without a defined marketing strategy, you won’t know who your target audience is, what matters to them or how they feel about the solution you offer. If they feel anything at all. Without a defined strategy you will undoubtedly default into tactic-based marketing where the quantity of things that you do and how often you do them becomes your strategy.
Tactic-based marketing is simply throwing stuff out there and watching what happens. It destroys ROI and it wastes opportunity for you to actually connect with your audience. Whoever they may be.
I hear often from people that they don’t have the time to develop and fine-tune their WHO and WHY. Yet they continue to spend (read: waste) time with whatever they’re doing in terms of tactics or worrying about why their business isn’t growing. Invest the time. Consider it capital expenditure in the future of your success.
If a customer has never heard of your company, they need a reason to care about what you’re going to tell them. Yes, ‘going to’ tell them. Why? Because they don’t owe you anything. To them, you’re just interrupting their day.
A marketing strategy will help ensure that you give your audience every reason to forge those connections with you. Connections that will encourage your audience to pay attention.
After all, you need to get people to pay attention before you can get them to pay. (™Craig Comstock)