A marketing strategy is the basis for successfully conducting your marketing. To design it well, you need to know the elements of a marketing strategy. Thanks to them, you will use the existing opportunities, avoid threats, and identify the perfect tools selected for your target group.
Elements of a marketing strategy
A marketing strategy is a document containing all activities of the company aimed at increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage by understanding the needs and desires of customers and satisfying them. It is a long-term approach that covers everything: from positioning, media relations, all kinds of analyzes and marketing channels. It also provides key information about the company, data on target groups and proposes the company's value. By identifying the elements of your marketing strategy in turn, you can develop an effective set of steps that lead to the achievement of your marketing goal.
Without a marketing strategy, your actions will not bring the expected results.
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target group
target group are the consumers you want to target with your marketing activities. They will most likely identify with your brand and use your products or services. It is especially important to consider many factors when defining your target audience in order to obtain the most accurate results. For this purpose, market segmentation is carried out, which consists in distinguishing groups of customers according to demographic factors (age, gender, income, marital status), geographic (location, culture, climate), psychographic (lifestyle, views, beliefs) or behavioral (how they make purchasing decisions). Some companies take advantage of mass marketing, that is, they direct their activities to all people, however, it is possible only with products that are commonly needed and known. Therefore, identifying target groups are elements of the marketing strategy with which to start designing the strategy. Knowing to whom you will direct your actions, you can set goals and tasks of your strategy in the next step.
Goals and tasks
The next elements of the marketing strategy are goals and tasks. Remember the SMART principle that goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. Using this analysis, we can be sure that our goals have been properly specified. Their development is particularly important as they determine the direction of our activities. Examples of goals are: increasing sales by x%, increasing profits by x%, entering new markets, or introducing new products.
SWOT analysis
You already have set goals - what other elements of the marketing strategy should you set? SWOT analysis, i.e. your strengths, weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats in the environment. It helps to determine your current position and set development prospects. Diagnose your strengths - what are we better at than the competition? What can you praise us for? So are the weaknesses - where are my competitors better than me? What activities of the competition attract my clients? Analyze the opportunities that exist in the market, for example: you have resources that are not available to your competitors. As well as threats, such as the coming war.
Elements of the marketing strategy - competition analysis
If you want to create an effective marketing strategy, you need to do an in-depth approach competition analysis. These elements of your marketing strategy will allow you to get a clear picture of your position in the market. The first step is to find out who my competitors are. Find all companies that sell similar products, services or meet the same need. Analyze your competitors' products, their strategies, presence in social media, website, how they build their brand, etc. The better you identify your competitors, the easier it will be for you to recognize the opportunities and opportunities in the market. It will be helpful to categorize your competitors into prime and less significant groups. Thanks to this, you will know which ones you should focus on in your analysis. If you use competition analysis in your strategy, you can get a real advantage in the market. Knowing the competition, you will present the features and values of your products that will make them appear exceptional and unique in the minds of consumers.
Marketing communication channels
Once you know your target group, set marketing goals, have analyzed the competition - the next elements of the marketing strategy will concern specific marketing communication channels. Which platforms you will use for your marketing activities. These can be digital channels such as: social media, Apps, Email, Google Ads, TV ads as well as offline, i.e. outdoor campaign, flyers, brochures, catalogs. There are many communication channels, and new and modernized types are created every year. To choose the right one, think about where your customers are and develop your business there.