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Strategic marketing is one area that many small business owners get confused about. Differentiating between tactical and strategic marketing can be tricky, but you should know what each term means. A little bit of both will help your business succeed in the long run!
Strategic marketing refers to making decisions related to the sale or growth of your company. These are typically longer-term decisions, such as which products or services you should offer, how you should market them, and where you should focus your efforts.
Tactical marketing, on the other hand, are shorter-term changes designed to increase customer engagement or sales. This may include things like changing the colors of your logo, creating new advertisements, etc.
Many entrepreneurs mix up strategic with promotional strategies, which are also important parts of marketing, but not as significant as the first two. Promotional strategies include things like using social media to spread word about your product or service, doing direct mail campaigns, and more.
This article will go into greater detail about both strategic and tactical marketing, as well as some ways to improve yours for great success.
Changing your company’s overall marketing strategy is an excellent way to improve your market position. It is also a good way to wake up your sleep-deprived colleagues who have been struggling with what approach works best for you since before the sun came up this morning!
Changing your strategic focus is always difficult, but it can be done in stages. Start by changing one thing about your current strategy, then add another tactic as needed.
Gradually move towards making the most effective change until you find something that sticks. This could mean keeping the same strategy, switching to another one, or both.
Don’t make drastic changes all at once though.
Consistency is one of the most important things you can be as a marketer. This means doing the same thing over and over again, sometimes for a long time before deciding to change it.
As we've discussed before, consistency is key when marketing online. You must consistently update your website, launch campaigns, create content etc. without too much interruption otherwise people will give up on what you're offering and look elsewhere for answers.
Consistency is also very important in person-to-person (P2P) marketing. If someone meets with you once a week for a business meeting, they'll likely leave thinking that you don't care about their company. If however you meet with them twice a month or every other month, then they may feel that you're investing into their company.
If you are ever having trouble staying motivated, try making these changes mentioned above. It might take you months to see results, but at the end of those months, you'll know whether changing this factor helped bring down your stress levels.
As mentioned earlier, marketing is more than just advertising your product or offering discounts on it. It includes things like supporting charities, providing educational materials, responding to online reviews, and keeping up-to-date with trends in the market.
All of these activities can be done as part of developing an understanding of the company and its products. They all contribute to creating loyal customers who will spend money because they want to support you.
By including these components into your marketing strategy, we are talking about something that goes beyond what might be called the “advertising” component. More accurately, it should be referred to as “customer experience” marketing.
That sounds better!
Focus on customer service
Most people have experienced bad customer service at some time. Whether it was from buying a product or seeking help for an item, you may have been ignored or put upon by staff. If this has happened to you, then chances are you will never go back to do business with such and such a company.
Likewise, if their staff make rude comments or seem incapable of giving appropriate answers, you will likely look elsewhere for similar goods or services.
Bad experiences will always hurt future sales, which is why most companies try hard not to give them. This is very counterproductive when what you really need to do is create repeat purchases and referrals.
As mentioned before, marketing is more than just slapping together an advertisement and hitting publish. You have to connect with your audience or your will lose engagement and momentum.
Your audience should feel like you are talking about things that matter to them and that you care about their well-being. If you do not, they may look for alternatives.
You must remain interactive by leaving comments and responding to messages and questions. Do not use digital media to promote products; instead use stories and examples to showcase how companies integrate social media into business strategies.
Businesses seem to forget that it takes time to build trust with people. Your company can make its reputation through solid marketing strategies but it will take some time.
As mentioned before, your marketing strategy should be focused, but you must know when it is time to shift gears. You will need to mix things up, so do not get stuck in one mode or approach for too long!
Companies that succeed have leadership that can adapt their strategies according to what works at any given moment. This way, they are never forced into stagnant routes that no longer work.
You as an individual marketer cannot assume that your current strategies will always yield results. If a change does not seem to work, try another tactic.
Keeping up-to-date on your current market strategies is an easy way to improve your company’s marketing strategy. You can do this by reading business magazines, surfing the internet for information or listening to podcasts that relate to your field.
By staying informed, you will also notice changes in competitors’ strategies as well as new developments coming down the pike from companies looking to expand their reach.
Reading business magazines is a great way to stay informed about what others are doing to grow their businesses. You can even create your own magazine by highlighting the best products and services in the marketplace and offering them at a discounted price!
Business magazines vary widely depending on the audience they aim to appeal to. There are many out there with helpful tips and tricks for entrepreneurs to learn. Some focus more on product reviews while some publish how to make recipes or manage a home office. It all depends on the targeted audience.
As mentioned before, your company’s marketing strategy is only as good as your current branding. If you are looking to improve the effectiveness of your strategies, then start by thinking about what makes you company unique and strong. What sets you apart from the competition?
What do people recognize you for? What messages does your company promote?
You can use this information to create new brands or rebrand existing ones. For example, how would you feel if I told you that product X was the best way to wash your hair? Or that it could be found at any grocery store nationwide?
That wouldn’t make sense now, would it? So why would anyone pay so much money for an expensive bottle of gel that they have to search online to find where to buy it.
By having such a popular product, Sears lost business. And while some may argue that the products are better than what we already had, most agree that the price is too high.
The same goes for Pepsi, iced tea, and many other beverages. They might taste better than what everyone else has, but they cost more which turns off potential customers. You will also run into issues with copyright when promoting these types of products.
Never forget what made you successful in the first place! Companies lose out on revenue due to poor branding. Create a label for your company that resonates and attracts attention.
As we have seen, marketing is an important part of any successful business. Companies that do not invest in their market position are limiting their growth.
Too often, however, companies get focused on cutting costs instead of investing in other areas. This should be avoided at all cost as it will only hurt your company down the road.
Investing in advertising, social media campaigns, brochures, flyers, you name it — they’re all forms of marketing. It does not make sense to limit yourself by spending less than what you need to grow your business.
Fortunately for you, there are ways to improve the marketing strategy of most any company! Read on to see some tips and tricks to do just that.
