What is a Marketing Strategy and Does Your Business Need One?

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Getting eyes on your product or services isn’t easy when you’re a small business. You don’t have a big marketing budget or team working behind you. In reality, you’re running the whole show (honestly, it’s impressive).

But this also means that for your marketing message to reach the right audience, create brand awareness, and drive sales, you need to have a solid marketing strategy. 

If not, you’re going to throw money at the wind (and it’s not the kind of wind that’s blowing in your direction). That money is gonna fly away, baby!

Okay, a marketing strategy. Sounds good. Wait…what’s a marketing strategy? And do you really need it for your business? That’s what I’m about to answer in this post.

What Is a Marketing Strategy?

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Let’s get right to it. A marketing strategy sounds pretty straightforward, right? It’s an outline of how you will advertise and drive sales. But when taking a closer look, it’s a little more complex.

A marketing strategy is a game plan of how you will reach, connect, and attract prospective customers, turning them into returning customers for your business. 

It goes beyond knowing which social media channels you’re going to use. Your marketing strategy will take a deep dive into your business, establishing your goals, what makes your business different, and how you plan to communicate with your audience.

That’s a marketing strategy.

Why Your Business Needs a Marketing Strategy

I don’t want to cast a dark shadow above your head, but failing to plan is planning to fail. In other words, creating a marketing strategy isn’t just a suggestion; it’s a very very strong recommendation. 

Not having a plan runs the likelihood of your business staying in limbo. If you don’t know where you want your business to go and the audience that will take you there, your business won’t achieve its goals. It’s that simple.

So, if you’re on the fence about creating a marketing strategy (please, get off the fence!), here are 5 crucial reasons why your business needs a marketing strategy.

Helps you connect with your target audience

You know how to talk about your product or service, but that’s not what your audience wants to hear (sorry). They want to know how your product or service will solve their problem. The question is, do you know your audience’s problems? Do you know their needs and desires?

A marketing strategy requires you to conduct audience research and create a buyer’s persona. By doing these two things, you learn about the market and the people in it. Once you know who they are, you know how to communicate with them and tell them what they want to hear.

Keeps your marketing consistent

Consistency is hot. Sorry, had a Paris Hilton moment (oh no, am I old?).

But seriously, consistency is key, and when you don’t know what’s working for your business, you try a little bit of everything. And while that may seem like a good idea, in the long run, it’s a waste of resources and creates a lack of consistency. 

For example, let’s say your audience likes to go on Facebook. If you don’t know this and end up spending most of your time posting on Instagram, you’re lacking consistency on Facebook (and if your audience is there, that’s where you want to be). 

With a marketing strategy, you know everything about your audience. This means you will invest your time on the right social media channels and create engaging and consistent content.

Spend your marketing budget in the right places

You didn’t start this business with millions in the bank. I mean, if you did, then why not hire a team to do this for you? Anyways, the chances are you’re starting your business with a limited budget, and you want to use the money wisely. 

Well, if there’s one thing I can tell you it’s easy to throw away money at things you think you need when starting a business

And this is a major reason why you need a marketing strategy. It acts as a guide, and also helps you put your money in the right places. While the “let’s give it a try and see how it works” method is appeals to many, that’s not how you build a successful business. 

Having a planned out and consistent marketing strategy will help you find and connect with your audience while aligning with your overall marketing goals.

Acts as a guide

When you have a clear plan laid out for your marketing strategy, you know where to go and how to get there. 

With a marketing strategy, you understand your target audience, where they hang out online, their pain points, and how you will connect with them. You have everything you need.

So, whether you’re going through a stressful period (you know things can get hectic as a business owner) or end up hiring someone, there’s always a base for you to turn to.

Gives you measurable results

If you don’t know whether your actions bring in the results you want, your business won’t grow.

A marketing strategy can do a couple of things regarding giving you measurable results.

Firstly, it can help you set your goals. Once you set your goals, you have something to work towards.

And secondly, by knowing what’s working and not working within your marketing campaigns, you can make changes to improve them. Thus, improving your marketing and reaching your goals at a quicker pace.

Over to You

You see what I mean? I wouldn’t tell you that you need a marketing strategy if I didn’t think it was important – and it is (but I don’t have to tell you that, you can see from this post). 

Can you create a marketing strategy on your own? Yes. To help you create a marketing strategy for your business, read this blog post.

Natasha Ivanovic is a Vancouver-born creative writer that started her writing career as a freelancer while studying for her Master’s in Investigative Psychology. On the weekends, she writes short stories for her blog, TheLonelySerb, and cuddles with her bulldog, Bob.