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

• What will stand you apart from competitors?
• What will capture attention?
• What will cut through the market “noise?”

Here are five distinct marketing strategies you can use to achieve your marketing goals

Awareness marketing

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

Legitimacy marketing

• This marketing strategy is about building a reputation. Its marketing message is about the value you add to people’s lives
• This strategy usually involves many marketing tactics over a long period of time
• Small businesses use this marketing strategy because it takes much longer for it to pay off, but when it does, your success will be felt throughout the market segment

Affinity marketing

• I want people to see me as part of a community, to become part of a bigger whole
• The marketing message is about being a member of the club
• No one company owns it. Several companies may use this marketing strategy at any given time depending on how they approach their marketing activities

Relationship marketing

• I want to build a strong relationship with my customers, offering them the best of me and my business
• The marketing message is that we fit with each other
• This marketing strategy is about deepening communications over time through multiple marketing activities and approaches

Target marketing

• I want to focus on a specific market segment, a specific target audience
• The marketing message is about having the same needs, wants and desires
• This marketing strategy usually involves marketing tactics created for this purpose only
• It can be very effective when you have a smaller marketing budget which would allow you to focus on a small number of marketing activities instead of trying to cover a lot of marketing ground

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.