Do you always stay worried about your business growth? Did you plan a marketing strategy for this? Or Did your planning did not work for you? Planning a marketing strategy is very important as it is the key to success. It works as stairs to reach your targeted audience.
Though we cannot predict what the future holds for us, we will feel less stressed and ready to tackle any situation due to the planning. Without planning seems that you are going in the dark tunnel. Following are some steps that will help you to plan your marketing strategies.
1) Rectify your Previous Mistakes
The first and foremost thing you have to do is see which marketing strategies have not worked for you in the past. Remove them from this year’s strategic plan and save your time and money. Also, make sure to include those strategies that were beneficial for you. This step will help you make a plan that will work for you so that you will not repeat the same mistake and regret it later.
2) Set your Goals, KPI, and Budget
Goals
The next step is to set the goals that you want to achieve. Make sure that your goals should be realistic and practical. Do not set false hopes for yourself. Set those goals that help you all around the year. If possible, set deadlines for your goals too.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPI are the indicators that will help you stay on the right track rate. They also help to check the success of your marketing strategy. So, make sure to select KPIs according to your goals.
Budget
Make a flexible budget by allocating it according to marketing spending. It helps you evaluate how much money return on investment (ROI). Your budget should be on an annual basis and also according to channels and tactics. While making a budget, keep in mind the hidden costs (i.e., consumer insights research.)
3) Identify your Audience
All your efforts in marketing will be fruitful for you only if you choose the right audience. The only way to see is to communicate with the people through different platforms of social media i.e Instagram or Facebook. You will get to know about their interests and needs by these means.
The next step is to stick to your right audience after identifying them. You can also change your market strategies according to changes in people’s interests or needs. It will help you to vast your business or company and be successful.
4) Conduct a SWOT or Competitor Analysis
SWOT Analysis helps see your weakness, strength, opportunities, and threats. It helps you to see your current business and market situation. You can analyze your competitors and the gaps in the market. It gives you the opportunity for the upper hand competition. It changes every year or month. It is also called situational analysis.
After conducting SWOT Analysis, you will have a clear picture in front of you. You will know how to accumulate against your competitors. You will know what changes you can make to increase the success rate.
5) Choose your Tactics
Now, you are ready to go further and deeper, that is, to choose tactics that will be beneficial for you. Make sure your tactics match with your goals, audience, etc. You can start your campaign with the following tactics. You can use Organic or Paid social media to reach your audience. Another option for this is public relations.
Influencers will help you to expand awareness about your desired product or brand. You can also use SEO(Search engine optimization) for your product or brand recognition. Find the right keywords and use them wisely in your content. Make websites and blogs and write an article about your product in them. Make sure this website or blog will stay active by updating the content regularly.
You can also give awareness about your product or brand with Video Marketing. For example, you can make an advertisement for your product. Email is also very effective and less stressful at the same time. You need a customer contact list for this to stay in touch with them and update them about your new product from time to time.
Bottom line
These are the 5 marketing strategies you should consider before planning to give your marketing a kick start. Do comment if you have more views or suggestions — best of luck.
