Marketing strategy is your broad plan for achieving your marketing objectives. The word “strategy” entered marketing from the military. Some other words with the same origin are “defend”, “attack”, “intelligence” and “tactic”.
To be very clear about the meaning of this term, let’s differentiate it from terms like marketing plan and marketing mix. The first is your plan to use your resources, such as money and human capital, and the first is the elements that are available to influence the demand for your product or service. Marketing strategy would be a heading under marketing plan, just as marketing mix would be a heading under marketing strategy.
Each element of the mix would also have its own strategy. The elements of the marketing mix are product, promotions, price, and place for physical products, plus three (people, physical evidence, and process) for services.
What would you expect to see in a marketing strategy? It must contain these elements:
- Differential advantage (why your product should be purchased over competing products; in what area or how is your product superior to others)
- Target market (those you think should be interested in your product)
- How you will compete in the marketplace in terms of your mix relative to the competition.
- The primary goal of your actions (new vs. old users, trial use vs. increased use, etc.)
- How will you allocate your resources (geographically, seasonally, etc.)
- Rationale for making all of the above decisions (research data)
A well-articulated marketing strategy will allow you to focus your marketing activities to achieve your marketing objectives.
