Many business owners understand their product or service very well but have a “build it and they will come” mentality. Unfortunately that’s not enough. Even the best product or service needs a marketing strategy to reach potential customers.
Without a strategy to get the message out there about your business, you’re relying on customers just stumbling across you or being referred to you by word of mouth alone. There are some exceptional cases where this happens but the hard truth is that to give yourself the best chance of success you do need a marketing strategy.
What is a small business marketing strategy?
A marketing strategy refers to a business overall game plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers of their products or services.
Why does a business need a marketing strategy?
All too often resources are wasted on misguided marketing efforts, leading small business owners to give up on marketing altogether. A marketing strategy helps you to work smarter, not harder. When done right, you can have both immediate and long-term growth.
A marketing strategy is a roadmap to success, used to accomplish your business objectives and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors. Conducting business marketing without a marketing strategy is like taking shots in the dark and hoping they hit the target.
What does a marketing strategy include?
A marketing strategy includes several elements that help you think about your product or service, your potential customers, your place in the market, what differentiates you from competitors, and what, when and how you will conduct your marketing to fit your business objectives. This includes:
The four Ps of marketing: Product, price, place, and promotion.
Typically, marketing strategies include consideration of the products and services offered, where and how you offer them, price points and pricing strategies, and how you should promote them.
The four Ps can be used when planning a new business venture, but also to evaluate an existing offer. It can also be used to test a current marketing strategy on a new audience.
Business value proposition
Marketing strategies should revolve around a business’ value proposition. A value proposition is a simple statement that summarises why a customer would choose your product or service.
Identifying marketing goals
While sales are the ultimate goal for every company, you should have more short-term goals such as increasing brand awareness and customer engagement, or generating leads that lead you to that promised land of increased revenue.
Know your customer, your competitors and your market
Every product or service has an ideal customer. You should know who they are and where they “hang out”. If you sell books, you’ll choose marketing channels where people create groups for local book clubs for example.
You’d be surprised how many blind spots you have without taking the time to really understand your customer, the market and your competitors on a deeper level. This will determine the best way to approach your marketing and give you the edge over your competitors. Market research can also help identify untapped customers and increase sales.
Clarify your brand message
Now that you know your goals and who you’re communicating it to, it’s time to create your brand messaging. This is your chance to show your potential customers how your product or service will benefit them and why you’re the business they should choose.
Determine your marketing channels
Even the best message needs the right place to share it. Some businesses may find more value in creating videos on TIkTok or Instagram. Others may find success with paid ads on Facebook or with blog posts shared via LinkedIn. Find the most appropriate place for your content.
Measure your success
To make sure your marketing is working, you need to determine how you’ll judge the success of your marketing efforts. You need KPIs (key performance indicators) you will track so that you can pivot your efforts if needed.
The difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan
A marketing strategy covers the big-picture messaging, while the marketing plan is a document that details the specific types of marketing activities you will conduct including timetables.
As a small business marketing agency, we provide an affordable marketing strategy consultancy service for small business. This sets you up to do marketing that works for you, identifies where you can make your biggest immediate impact and gain the best return on your marketing investment. Click here for more about our small business marketing strategy service.