A marketing strategy is crucial for businesses of all shapes and sizes, regardless of age, industry, or offering. It provides direction for promotional activities, with clearly defined goals, meaningful market analysis, and a tangible return on investment. While it can be a daunting task, creating a marketing strategy can be broken down into the following core areas:
An audit of your business as it stands right now is a vital starting point. This defines your current output and resources, and gives you a baseline from which to measure progress. Consider a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), competitive analysis, and a social media audit in the first instance. You need to really understand the data you have access to, what it shows, and how it can be fully utilised. Where data is lacking, explore why this is the case, and if there are ways of obtaining the information you need to better understand your
An effective marketing strategy will be based on core marketing goals, which must be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. These should be derived from the broader business objectives, but focus on key areas that will help you achieve your overall targets. For example, you may aim to increase website traffic by 20% in the next 6 months. Or perhaps your goal is to record a conversion rate of 30% from website visits to booked appointments or purchased products this year.
It can be helpful during this stage to consider your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are the quantifiable metrics to measure progress towards your goals – i.e. what you need to see to demonstrate success.
All of the above information can then be collected to form an operational plan of how you will achieve your objectives. Each goal and KPI should be broken down into a tactical plan so you know what to market, where, and how in order to support your ambitions. Define your budget, clearly delegate responsibility of each step, allocate the required resources, and make a plan to review progress at specific intervals.
Marketing is not something that can be planned, implemented, and forgotten about. Changes in anything from societal trends, to the global economy, business regulations, healthcare guidelines, and more can influence consumer or patient behaviour. As such, it’s important to remain flexible and to adapt campaigns as necessary in real-time. To do this, marketing activities must be monitored and reviewed regularly, always referring back to the KPIs and marketing objectives originally defined. Live data can be used to tweak messaging, marketing locations, or frequency of contact to improve results.
By following these 4 core steps, you can make your marketing work smarter for you. Well-defined objectives, planned campaigns, and constant monitoring are the key to genuine success.
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