Measure the success of marketing campaigns and show how well campaigns are tracking toward key performance indicators (KPIs). They are one of the most important elements of any campaign, and without them, you wouldn’t have a clear picture of whether their marketing strategy is a success.
This guide will help you create an outline for managing your marketing program that includes setting measurable goals, maintaining support of brand assets and the marketing strategy.
A marketing strategy is of paramount importance for any business. It is a roadmap for organizations to target their desired audience and reach business objectives.
A brand is “a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
The Integrative Marketing Fusion (IMF) model is an integrative approach, adding the fusion of evolve, connect, inspire, and empowerment.
For every marketer, it’s important to research market trends and marketing strategies. Check out these 5 tips to get started.
While goals indicate what you want to achieve; a strategy is the plan to meet those goals.
This is where we map out several integral elements in one, concise document to act as a checks and balances against your communications activities. Reviewing your activities against this document will quickly identify if you are on strategy with your mix and tactics.
Keep conscious when you’re creating this
Here are five distinct marketing strategies you can use to achieve your marketing goals
I want people to know who I am and what I do
In order to be noticed, this marketing strategy must be loud and clear
The marketing message is simple and straightforward
Large companies use this marketing strategy because it gets a lot of attention very quickly
Depending on your marketing goals and budget, all the above strategies can be used at the same time. Your strategy should also be aligned to support your brand and what you want to achieve through marketing activities.
I figure it’s time for an update on my marketing book. It seems the writing process ebbs and flows with time availability, energy and the right mindset but I’m cranking right along. Currently at 68 pages (18,000-ish words). I’m really happy with how this is progressing.
Here’s a look at the current outline and working title:
Foundations, strategies & tactics for marketers, growth drivers & change agents
Other elements to add in:
This answers the “Who are you talking to?” question. I break these down:
Each primary and secondary target audience must be broken down into a persona. What they think, how they use your product or service, what challenges do they face daily or annually? What attitudes, concerns or criteria drives customers to choose your product or service?
This also includes where they get their information? What do they read, listen to or watch? Where do they go or hang out? Do they use any buzzwords or industry speak? What are their professional goals?
Outlining your primary and secondary audiences will provide valuable insight into who you’re marketing to.
The persona development process can help you assess your target audience persona development much easier. This helps you identify the specific group of people that represent your target audience, and guide marketing and business to design experiences that are relevant for specific persona.
Each persona is a type of person represents, or a representation of, your ideal customer. This typically is based on real data from your existing customers.
When creating personas include demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, goals, and values. The more detailed, the better. This can is the foundations for your marketing tactics and programs. Your messaging and imagery should trigger emotions and actions in these personas. That will ensure an on-strategy tactic. Also look at your SWOT analysis and work the strengths and opportunities into your messaging if appropriate.
Essential information for persona development includes:
Persona development can also relate to other areas of business-like product design, branding, marketing, and sales. By understanding persona this way, you will be able to focus on the needs of your persona development which results in them returning to buy products or services from you over time.
Keep in mind that messaging and creative development need to support your brand assets. The brand assets are your checks and balances. If your tactics don’t support some or all the brand assets, then your tactic is off strategy. Consistency and repetition are key.
The primary goal of marketing is to communicate with your audience, and you must do this in a way that reinforces the values, tones, style, and strategy that your brand represents. The ultimate outcome should be an effective message that moves them to action.
Messaging (and every interaction) must support the overall brand. For this to happen consistently, there needs to be some framework or foundation from which you build everything on top of. These are the brand assets we discussed earlier in the book. Strong messaging comes from a strong branding foundation. Strong branding requires consistency so use brand asset checks and balances when implementing individual marketing tactics. Your brand assets are powerful tools at your disposal, and they need to be honored in every piece of communication.
You may remember seeing a box when you were writing an essay for school; we’re going to use the same idea in our marketing. Every time we launch a new campaign or message, we’ll check it against these brand asset questions:
If your answer is yes, then you can proceed confidently knowing that your messaging is not only on strategy but also reinforcing the branding foundation that’s already there.
If the answer is no, then you need to go back to the drawing board and ask yourself why. It will help you rebuild your branding foundation so that it’s stronger next time. Remember, you’re building this over time. Don’t give up!
By taking a holistic approach, messaging and creative will reinforce your brand values for marketing to be effective.
