Key Pillars of Marketing Strategy
Marketing strategies are the instruments and processes used to reach a target audience and build a positive perception of the company and its products or services. Marketing strategies are the processes and methods that organizations use to acquire, manage, maintain and leverage various assets at a minimal cost. These assets include people, reputation, technology, and other things that are necessary for the organization to effectively reach out and create a presence in the market. When an organization does not have a well-developed marketing strategy, it risks being left out in the proverbial cold. On the other hand, a firm that has a well-developed marketing strategy will be more likely to attract the right kind of clients, employees, and customers.
There are many ways of defining and categorizing marketing strategies. In reality, marketing strategies are too numerous to mention in a small write-up such as this. However, some marketing strategies are common, while others are less common. The most important thing to remember when it comes to developing a marketing strategy for your business is that it should be consistent with the company’s overall strategy and goals. Thus, marketing strategy should be adopted by all the elements of the organization, from the top management down to the frontline employees.
A marketing strategy refers to the different measures and activities that are taken in order to promote the business and its products or services. There are four basic pillars of marketing strategies: Product promotion, Affiliate marketing, Personal selling, and Recruiting and retaining team members. All these pillars support each other, providing the necessary functionality to make a business function properly. However, before applying any of these pillars, a company first needs to set up a comprehensive marketing plan. This plan should lay out the steps that are required to reach out to, and then convert, a prospective consumer.
Developing a marketing plan involves setting forth the goals, strategies, and measures that are required to achieve the marketing objectives. In addition to these, it should also include the measures and activities that will be taking to achieve each of the goals. Usually, marketers come up with marketing strategies based on their previous experience and research. The information gathered thus becomes the basis of the actual marketing activities undertaken by the marketers.
The marketing strategies may however vary from one person to another. In this case, marketers need to identify the particular needs of the individual consumers in order to create a marketing plan that is unique to that particular person. For instance, a female marketer may come up with a different marketing plan compared to a male marketer. This is why marketers often seek the help of consultants who can help them fine tune their plans to those of their clients.
Consultants can also help identify potential problems in a marketing strategy, allowing marketers to work on potential issues. However, the consultants do not manage the marketing activities once they identify problems. They leave everything up to the marketers. It is therefore important for marketers to have control over the entire process.
Another way to achieve long term sustainable competitive edge is to have a well-structured and diversified marketing strategies team. In fact, there are many benefits that come with having a team that works together. A team allows for better communication and helps in achieving synergies. Some of the key pillars of sustainable competitive advantage include innovation, better data management, quality improvement, and of course, effective and consistent communication.
Lastly, it is important to incorporate customer service in all marketing activities. Customer service is important because not only does it build trust among your audience, but it also allows you to provide answers to customers’ most common questions. At the same time, marketing strategies that focus on developing strong relationships with the audience will give you an edge in maintaining a solid subscriber base. In the end, a strong and reliable list of subscribers is instrumental in building a strong brand image that will last for a long period of time.