why you need a marketing strategy.

What is marketing?

If you ask a stranger on the street what marketing is, the likelihood is that they will answer with something like ‘advertising or promoting a product or service,’ or they will say it is ‘a load of lies made up by businesses to try and sell products or services.’

If we were to define marketing, we would describe it as how businesses form deep connections with their target customers to drive up revenue and achieve business goals. Now, the actual definition is that it’s the process of getting people interested in your company’s product or service, but if you can’t form a connection with your target market, then you can’t generate interest, which is why I prefer our one.

With that in mind, how do you form a deep connection with a person or people, without really understanding who they are, what drives them and how to reach them? And, how do you know if the people you are trying to connect with, are the people who your business, product or service is most suited for?

The answer is, through strategy.

If you came to us with a product, and we told you WITHOUT a strategy and without really getting under the skin of your business that the best way to promote that product was through social media, then you could end up spending a lot of money promoting your product on a platform that could be unsuitable for your target market. Whether your business operates as B2B (business to business) or D2C (direct to consumer), the single most important thing to do after preparing your business plan and forecasts is to prepare a marketing strategy.

Now, for start-up businesses you might be thinking, “but we don’t even have a marketing team, how can we prepare a strategy?”

But if you are a new business about to enter the market, then you should already be concerned with how hard it can be to stand out from the crowd. If you are already concerned about how you’ll stand out, then you’ll be pleased to know that there are ways to get ahead of your competitors and make sure you're seen by the right people—providing you have a decent marketing strategy.

> Here are our tips on developing a killer marketing strategy that helps you to reach the right people:

1. Understand your target market.

You can't run a successful business without knowing who you're targeting.

In order to target the right people, you have to understand them. You need to know what they want and how they think, so that you can speak their language and make them feel like your brand is speaking directly to them. If you don't do this, you'll end up with a bunch of people who don't care about what you're saying—and a bunch of people who will tune out because it doesn't resonate with them.

Who are the people who would be most interested in your business? What do they care about, and what do they want from a company like yours?

2. Research your competitors.

Look at what their marketing strategies are and figure out what works for them (and what doesn't). What kind of message do they send to potential customers? How does that compare with the image you want to portray? What channels do they use? Where do they spend their money?

3. Choose your channels.

Which channels are best suited for reaching out to your target audience? How can you best use those channels to reach people who might be interested in what you have to offer? Is it better to try social media marketing or traditional advertising, or both? What kind of content should you share on each channel?

4. Create SMART goals.

Once you've done all that research into your target audience, it's time to start creating smart goals for yourself and your team! Instead of just saying "I want more followers," say something like: "I want 10 new followers next week." Or: "I want X% increase in website traffic by next quarter." Or whatever else makes sense for your goals!

Set up specific goals for each channel so that you know exactly what success looks like before starting!

If you want a killer marketing strategy but still (even with these tips) don’t know where to begin – get in touch to see how we can help.