Getting attention from customers and finding new ways to connect with them is a core point of interest for all marketing efforts. Brands want to find new ways to engage their customers and show them just how great their offerings are. Of course, to accomplish this, companies must use critical thinking, data, and creativity. A great marketing strategy is the key to convincing customers that you have exactly what they want. With this guide, you can learn how to use marketing strategies to grow your brand and catch the attention of your target audience!
What is a Marketing Strategy?
A marketing strategy is a type of strategy that focuses exclusively on engaging customers and convincing them that what you offer is right for them. These plans utilize information about your target audience, their interests, and their needs to create engaging campaigns that bring them to you. Focused on specific groups and filled with ways to entice them with your products, it is built around creating a sense of customer satisfaction before they ever make a purchase.
Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan
The marketing strategy definition often confuses people because they believe it is the same as a marketing plan. While marketing strategies cover the primary strategies behind all marketing efforts, marketing plans help to bring them to life. In many ways, the marketing strategy covers the goals and planning behind the experience for potential customers. The marketing plan, however, includes the details at work to bring that strategy into action.
To best understand the relationship between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan, it helps to think of a marketing strategy like the information behind the plan. It includes the goals, audience, and channels that can be used to reach an audience and convince them to buy your product or service.
A marketing plan will focus on the actual implementation of the strategy. These plans are often collaborative documents that will guide the marketing efforts when it comes down to it. They will include the marketing methods, details about each connection point, and the schedule for the campaigns themselves.
Types of Marketing Strategies
As marketing advances, new strategies are being created by experts from all global industries–and not just experts. Many common marketing tactics are the direct result of small business owners or small-scale marketers coming up with creative new ideas. Today, marketers have plenty of powerful strategies at work that can help businesses catch audience attention and convince them to make a purchase.
Word of Mouth
Word of Mouth marketing is often considered to be the oldest form of marketing. It is a process that is deeply focused on the customer experience and aims to ensure that customers genuinely enjoy everything that you offer. Pairing this with a little encouragement, brands can turn that enjoyment directly into a growing marketing funnel that expands across local areas.
With this marketing strategy, people are focused on getting customers talking. The Word of Mouth element comes in when those satisfied customers turn around and personally recommend your brand. Although this should not be your only focus for marketing, it is a strategy that should be considered with every customer interaction.
Content Marketing
For marketers in today’s day and age, content marketing is easily the most popular type of marketing strategy available. Most recently, content marketing has shifted to work around search engine optimization (SEO) and general customer engagement using multimedia resources. Visual content, in particular, can improve conversions by up to 86%.
Content marketing focuses on the idea that the best way to create connections with customers and get in front of them is to use content. Most commonly, content marketing focuses on blogs, web pages, and even newsletters to entice customers. Well-crafted content is a powerful engagement tool, even for businesses that are just getting started. In the age of viral marketing campaigns, anyone can create content that will reach customers on a global level.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is one of the most common features of modern society. At this point, it is fairly rare to find people who aren’t on social media in some capacity–even if it is only for family. For this reason, social media marketing acts as a great way to meet customers in their own digital world.
Like content marketing, social media marketing relies on content. However, the content for this strategy changes depending on what platforms a brand is using to post. Surprisingly, when asked, 55% of shoppers reported using social media for brand research. This means social media marketing can actually support other marketing efforts too.
Email Marketing
Most people use email for everything in their lives. In fact, 102.6 trillion emails are sent and received on an annual basis. It is how we log in to websites, how we connect with our accounts, and how we learn about our favorite companies. Since this is all true, email marketing is more effective than you might think. From emails about new deals and sales to email newsletters that keep customers informed, email marketing is great for convincing customers to check out your offerings.
Features of a Successful Marketing Strategy Template
When creating the template for your marketing strategy, there are several factors that you will want to consider. Although some marketing strategies may have different needs, the top-performing strategies have a strong foundation that is built upon specific features.
Features of a Marketing Strategy:
- Clearly Defined Goals
- Audience Information
- Products and Services Being Promoted
- Selling Points for Customers and Brand Benefits
- Defined Messaging and Tone
- Defined Marketing Channels
The Takeaway
Crafting a compelling marketing campaign often comes down to the strategy behind the campaign. To find success, companies must know what they are aiming for, who they are speaking to, and how they can adequately convey that message.
To start engaging your audience and build a winning marketing strategy, it helps to have a few experts in your corner. At Otter PR, we create custom a marketing strategy that support business goals and always leave the right impression on your audience. Contact us today to get started!
