What is a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is different than a goal, but it’s easy to understand why many business owners get them mixed up. It seems logical that they should both take you to the same end point, so what is the difference? When I meet with a potential client, I like to start the discussion by talking about their goals for their company. Marketing strategy should always be driven by the company’s goals, otherwise you risk ping-ponging your marketing investment all over the place without any real way to measure results. As I like to say, if you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will get you there.

By identifying what your goals are first, finding the right marketing strategies will follow more naturally. Let’s use an example of a small business that has a website but is not getting many visitors. Since the business is in the service industry, the owner relies on the website to drive leads – phone calls and e-mail inquiries. These leads turn into quotes and some of those quotes will turn into new business. If the owner knows that about 1 in 3 leads turns into a new job, then it is easy to figure out how many leads are needed to hit the business goals. For the example, let’s say 50 leads are needed every month to generate the business needed to reach the goal. Now, we have to get people to visit the website and that’s our strategy. Figuring out how to get people to the website – that’s tactics. Once we get people to the website, we need them to take an action – make a phone call or fill out a form. That’s a strategy. Moving things around on the website so that Call To Action (CTA) is more visible – that’s a tactic.

It’s natural for people to start with the tactics first because that is what they are most familiar with and they want to take some action. Unfortunately, not just any action will do – and some actions can cost you plenty without providing any return on investment. By backing up and starting off with your goals, then determining your strategy, the tactics that are necessary will fall into place quickly. And, you are likely to realize that a brochure or a phone book ad is just not going to help you get to your goal. Or maybe it will – but until you have thought it through, you won’t know.

Are you struggling with trying to figure out where to invest your marketing dollars? Give me a call and let Deppe Communications help you build a marketing plan that has its foundation on your unique business goals.