It’s mid-January and while some companies are finalising their marketing plans for the next six months to a year, others are already implementing theirs. That’s why for the month of January, we’re focusing on strategy, specifically in the realm of marketing and digital marketing.
Don’t wing it, strategise it
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, like figuring out what to post on social media today and tomorrow, and often overlook the bigger picture. A solid marketing strategy helps guide your efforts, ensuring that you’re reaching the right people, taking advantage of new opportunities, and driving your business objectives. Without a plan, you risk missing vital information like targeting the wrong audience or missing out on new opportunities.
Think of it like trying to make a mango smoothie without peeling the mangos – it can be done, but the result is not going to be nearly as good as it could be. So, let’s peel back the layers and make sure your marketing strategy is perfectly blended.
Here are our 6 reasons why you need to have a solid marketing strategy:
Helps identify your target audience
A marketing strategy will help you identify who your target audience is, and the specific needs and pain points of that audience. Don’t make assumptions. A good example of this is The Old Spice, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, where old spice repositioned themselves as a modern and relevant brand, resulting in a significant increase in sales. This campaign was driven by a key insight: 60% of body wash purchases are made by women. They wanted to provoke a conversation between couples. “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” was created to do just that. The success was that Old Spice Red Zone Body Wash had increased 60% from the previous year.
Have a look at one of the videos of the campaign.
Guides decision making
A marketing strategy serves as a roadmap, providing direction and guidance on how to allocate resources and make decisions. It helps you to focus on what’s important and avoid wasting time and money. Remember the FNB campaign, “Steve” from “Beep Bank” became one of the most popular characters of South African radio. Whether you loved him or loved to hate him, consumers all over the country knew his name and what he represented. Once “Steve” was a household name, FNB rolled out billboards in major cities to remind South Africans why they need to join FNB. Within the first year of the campaign, FNB’s sales increased by an astounding 40%.
Maximizes efficiency and effectiveness
Having a clear strategy paves the way for what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it, you can create campaigns that are more likely to be successful and drive sales because they are to a clear target audience, with a clear message. The “Share a Coke” campaign, which encouraged customers to purchase Coca-Cola products with their friends’ names on the label, was a huge success.
#ShareACoke even became the number one global trending topic. It’s resulted in over 1 billion impressions. The campaign won seven awards at the Cannes Lions festival, raised U.S. sales by 2.5% after a decade of decline, and continues to be expanded in new and innovative ways that are still driving revenue now.
Helps measure success
Having a marketing strategy in place allows you to set specific goals and objectives. By tracking your progress towards these goals, you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions. Dropbox’s referral program is possibly one of the most famous cases of referral marketing.
Almost a decade later, it’s still used in numerous case studies showcasing how referral programs can contribute to a company’s growth engine- or even be the engine itself.
Dropbox used key metrics such as number of referrals, new sign-ups, and conversion rate to measure the success of their referral program. By doing so, they were able to identify that the referral program was cost-effective and a successful way to acquire new users, and this helped them to make data-driven decisions on how to improve and optimise their marketing strategy.
Gives your business a competitive advantage
A well-crafted marketing strategy can give your business a competitive advantage by effectively reaching and engaging your target audience and setting your business apart from your competitors. Nando’s message has always been clear and consistent. They have positioned themselves as the peri-peri guys, serving grilled chicken not “oil”. They always differentiate themselves from competition. They at some point undertook a campaign at which their message was “oil is meant for your car, not your chicken”.
There are now over 1 000 Nando’s stores in 30 different countries across the globe, and it’s widely considered to be South Africa’s most successful food franchise.
Helps with budgeting
Having a marketing strategy in place allows you to better plan and allocate your budget. By having a clear understanding of what you need to achieve, and the costs associated with each activity, you can ensure that you have the necessary resources to execute your plan successfully.
Overall, a marketing strategy is a crucial tool that helps you to focus your efforts, set clear goals, and make informed decisions to grow your business and reach new customers. Without a strategy, you may waste time and resources on ineffective marketing efforts and miss opportunities to reach your target audience.
Like that bad mango smoothie, it may take a little longer in the beginning to peel the mangos, but the result is so much sweeter.
If you need help with creating the best blended marketing plan, feel free to connect with us.