A marketing strategy will help you in defining your project or business goals and objectives. And also help you develop a strong system to achieve them. The potentials are uncountable in terms of benefits. It sometimes provides you with what you need for decision making in business in order to achieve your marketing success.
Marketing strategy is however, the tactics in your goals in which you need to achieve your marketing efforts. Without it, your business cannot triumph or completely succeed.
Here are the five critical steps in developing marketing strategy.
Marketing objective is when you define what you want to achieve in your marketing activities. This depends on different businesses and on their needs, opportunities and the competition they are facing.
Your marketing objective might be to achieve 70% product awareness among the target customers for the next frame of first year in operation. Or to have sales tactic that will sustain the business for next 1-2 years of the its commencement.
The SMART approach should be considered in achieving this system.
You need to determine exactly what needs to be achieved. Be specific
The key indicators in your business must be measurable in terms of outcome, percentage, etc. It all has to be measurable.
Your Marketing objective must be action oriented. The action and the taker of the action must be available at the point of applying the tactic.
Your Marketing objective must also be realistic. It must however be achievable with the resources available.
You need to design a timely planned specific and target timing for the objective.
This is the method used in in measuring strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the treats/risks involved in the business. This could involve specifying the objective of the business and to also identify the external and internal factors that are good or not good to achieve that particular objective.
The features of the business that give an advantage over others (USP). This could include human resources, finance, internal/external advantages, etc.
You must also identify the features that looks like a disadvantage in relative to others. This could include, internal/external disadvantages of the organization or what has not worked in the past, etc.
This is the possibility that the business or brand can meet up to its expectation when weighing both pros and cons. This talks about the trends and society’s cultural, political ideology.
The various elements in the location of the business that could serve as high risk for the business. It talks about societal oppression, etc.
This is important because, it will help you to strategize your marketing plan and gives you the opportunity of SWOT analysis which will do the following
* create new solutions to problems
* Foresee obstacles to living goals/objectives
* Give directions that will be very effective and perfect
* It reveals possibilities and barriers to change
* It serves as a brainstorming device by means of communication
* It enhances credibility interpretation to be utilized in the presentation to key supporters.
This is a marketing strategy that involves dividing the target market into segments or subsets of the target customers who have similar needs and priorities, thereby designing and implementing strategies to meet these consumers demand. This includes demographic, geographic, behavioral, beneficial, psychological, and multi-variable account segmentation.
How To Determine Market Segmentation?
– It should be possible to measure
– It must last for a long time
– It must be large and profitable
– There should be the possibility to reach the potential customers with the promotion and distribution channels.
– It has heterogeneous features in its external target market
– It responds to the demands of target customers rapidly
– It is also vital in measuring the marketing mix
– It is cost effective in marketing
– It also identifies specific customers
– It creates supporting data for market positioning
The Market mix is often associated with price, product, promotion and place. It is a marketing term expedient in determining a particular product. You must try to identify the right marketing mix when starting a small business. Another concept of it is positioning, people and packaging. To use a marketing mix, you must understand one or two descriptions about your ideal customer. Have a particular key demography of your target consumers.
You must also outline the goals and the budget in order to evaluate your results and in determination of the leads you will require to generate sales objectives. Lastly, you must choose one or more strategies that will directly get to your target market, which will eventually help you achieve your marketing goals at the short or long run.
Evaluating your marketing strategies will mean appraising yourself on the different approaches you used in the development of your marketing strategy. As a matter of importance, most market strategies that are applicable in business has the following features;
What strategy does is to define the methods and tactics applied in order to achieve those laid down goals.
To manage a business, you have to be able to measure it. Measuring your strategy will help you to discover your strength and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
If it is achievable, then it is believable. Through the tactics applied, and not the external forces which is moving it.
Your employees must understand the strategies you are using, so as to go along with you in achieving your goals.
The goals and strategies applied must be understood in such a way that you will not lose direction. Your vision must not clash with your strategy while executing it.
A tactical business plan must be available for it to work out. You need to a very business plan to retain your strategy in that regard. This is the knowledge behind every business success.
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thanks for your write up. could you help me to develop a marketing strategy for the sale of both table size fish (fresh) and smoked catfish in salele, delta state.
God help me business is a key of life with out business nobody can living