`A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve certain objectives.

A
marketing strategy is therefore a marketing plan designed to achieve
marketing objectives. For example, marketing objective may relate to
becoming the market leader by delighting customers. The strategic plan
therefore is the detailed planning involving marketing research, and
then developing a marketing mix to delight customers. very
organisation needs to have clear marketing objectives, and the major
route to achieving organisational goals !ill depend on strategy.
There are a broad range of strategies that you can use to achieve your
objectives. They include"
Defining your target market
Product positioning
Pricing
Promotion
Distribution
#our target market needs to be defined so that you can tailor your message
to the right market, other!ise your marketing !ill be a !aste of time. #ou
need to be crystal clear on $%& you !ant to target. A target market of
'anyone !ho !ants to pay me( !ill make your marketing results dismal,
because it is too vague.
&ne of the best !ays to really hone in on your target market is to analyse
your demographics and psychographics and come up !ith an )avatar*, like a
real person. %er name might be )+ane*, she*s over ,-, married !ith t!o kids,
running a business, time poor and constantly !orried about ho! to manage
her cashflo!. $hen you*re crafting your marketing message, keep +ane in
mind and anticipate !hat problems of hers you can solve.
From this perspective, you should be able to develop your Unique Selling
Proposition (USP). $hy !ould +ane hire you instead of someone else in
your field. $hat makes you uni/ue. #ou must convey the benefits derived
from your product or service, because people buy based on )!ants* not
)needs*. 0ut yourself in +ane*s shoes !hen tailoring your marketing message.
$hat kind of )pain* !ould she be feeling on a daily basis. %o! can you fix
that pain !ith your product or service. 1raft your marketing message by
targeting the kind of emotions she !ould be experiencing.
2n terms of product position, !hat are the features, names and packaging of
your products. Are there any services involved. 3o you provide guarantees.
$hat price !ill the market bear for your product4service. 5ake sure that
your mark-ups cover all costs and leave you !ith a healthy profit margin.
$hat about !holesale pricing. $ill you give discounts for bulk purchases.
%o! about credit costs.
%o! !ill you promote your products4services. %o! !ill you create
customer a!areness and promote the benefits of your products4services. $ill
you use advertising, sales promotions, direct mail or public relations 6in the
next section 2 go into more detail about the various marketing tools
available7.
$hat are your distribution methods for your products4services. $ho are the
distributors and4or retailers. $here are the physical stores. Are there
fulfilment houses for online stores. $hat transportation methods are used
and is any !arehousing necessary.
Before starting business, make sure there is a market for it.
Consumers often have diferent preferences and needs and
might not have much interest in buying your product, also
diferent places, societies, countries have diferent regulatory
standards. Products that can be made and sold freely in some
markets might run up against stif objections and hurdles in
other places.
looking at their income. Income can change and with the recovery from the
recession and many customers dealing with tighter budgets,
Distribution
2f a marketing strategy concerns itself !ith distribution, examining and accessing the cost
of different distribution methods !ill reveal if the strategy should be implemented. For
example, one !ay to distribute information is through email marketing. Although the
advantage is email marketing is relatively inexpensive, the disadvantage is that because
of the high volume of spam junk mail, many 2nternet service providers have set up
elaborate filters to keep out unsolicited emails.
Viral
&ne marketing strategy that has gained popularity in the ne! media !orld is 8viral
marketing.8 2n viral marketing, a clever or emotional campaign begins to spread /uickly
through the 2nternet. This is usually accomplished through !ord-of-mouth means, as !ell
as through social net!orks such as Facebook and T!itter. The advantage to this
marketing strategy is that it gets a !idespread a!areness of the product or service, but the
disadvantage is that there is no control over ho! the material spreads.
although an effective marketing strategy for a product might include T9 advertising !ith
programs that have high audience ratings, a disadvantage to that could entail sponsoring a
program that some might find offensive or in /uestionable taste, !hich might lead to a boycott of
the product or service. 3eciding !hether to alienate one group over enticing another group
!ould need to be determined by the team behind the marketing strategy and the company itself