What is Marketing Strategy and Why Your Small Business Needs It?

Marketing strategy is not just for big business. You don’t need an in-house marketing department to put together an effective marketing strategy for your small business. A marketing strategy is a plan for reaching out to a targeted demographic and bringing them into the top of funnel service work that your business provides. It sounds very simple, but as the Harvard Business Review notes, marketing strategy is changing very quickly. This is also good news for small business since larger businesses cannot be as agile in their marketing strategy.

Steve Jobs Had It Right

When asked about what kind of marketing research went into developing first iPad, Steve Jobs answered that it was not the consumer’s job to know what they want. A marketing campaign is designed to convince potential customers that this service or item is what they want and give them reasons to purchase. It might sound cynical, but it is accurate. Think about the times that you have shopped on Amazon, and bought something you completely did not intend to purchase. It might have been spur of the moment, but you can bet that there was a marketing campaign behind getting that merchandise in front of your eyeballs.

What Is Marketing Strategy Good For?

So, you’re not Apple. Not Amazon. And thank your lucky stars that you are not Sears. A marketing strategy is good for setting goals for your small business and laying out tactics that are best for reaching those goals. What do you want your new marketing campaign to do? Do you want to increase your e-commerce store sales? You want to increase walk-in clients for your law practice? Do you want everyone in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to know that you have best Taco Tuesday on the planet? Then you need to develop a strategy for reaching your target demographic and bringing them into your marketing funnel.

How Do You Create a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy consists of something we will call the Five P’s.

1. What are the unique attributes of your merchandise or service? What makes you different from the competition. What is the value that this product will provide your customers?
2. What profit margin do you need to remain operational while remaining competitive with your pricing?
3. Where will customers be able to access your goods or services?
4. How will you get the word out about the products and services that you are offering? What kind of features are available, and what benefits will customers experience from purchasing?
5. Do you have trained salespeople who thoroughly understand the product and can explain it either face-to-face, via chat, or via phone?

There is also a Single R – research.

What is marketing strategy without research? It’s at best a good intention that is not well-executed.

Research is complicated, it’s time consuming, and it might not turn out the way that you planned. Your business is your pride and joy, just like a child, and you might not want to hear anything but glowing reports, or be tempted to cherry-pick the research. You could be tempted to forgo research all together and charge ahead to save time and get to launch. In that case, it might be a better idea to outsource your marketing strategy to a neutral third party,

Get Help

At 4 Step Studio we have decades of combined experience to help our clients define their goals, develop a marketing strategy to achieve them, and lay out tactics to get them there step-by-step. Results don’t happen overnight, but they do happen with a lot of hard work and devotion. Let us use our experience to help you grow your business and show you what a marketing strategy can do.

Fill out this form to get a free consultation from our digital marketing professionals.

About 4 Step Studio

4 Step Studio is an online marketing agency that specializes in website design and redesign, SEO, social media and more. Our team of experts focuses on helping small business get found online, while educating them on what will make them successful in the digital world. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit our website at www.4StepStudio.com