Marketing Strategy: Why Bother?
It was a costly, cramped and, some say, entrenched enemy fleet.
Your new agency's advice is to allocate a limited percentage of your marketing budget (the budget that goes to content creation, paid placements, influencers, compelling ads, and leads) to strategy development.
However, you've done pretty well so far and never had a marketing strategy because you know your business and your customers. You are an energetic leader with experience (or an MBA). If you don't have problems, you don't need a strategy or change.
But when she started biting her lunch; when your previously engaged audience has turned in the wrong direction; if your growth performance does not meet the expectations of your board of directors; Or, if you see a new widget and don't know how your business will handle it, you're in trouble.
So what is and what is not a strategy in the context of marketing? It's not really rocket science, it's not magic, it's not a plan.
"Most strategic plans are just budgets with lots of explanations," says the brilliant strategist Roger Martin in the Harvard Business Review.
A strategy is a set of well-defined options that determine who we talk to, how we talk to them, where we talk to them, and what we talk to them about. These choices are framed by a set of predetermined goals.
The simplest approach is for us to enter into a series of "whys".
- Why this group of people?
- Why do you care what we have to say?
- Why are they struggling, struggling or feeling inspired and how can we help them complete, improve or achieve their goals?
- Why should they choose us and not our competitors?
The key to success is evaluation based on hours (and hours) of research: “We did this and didn't do that because it gave us the best chance to achieve what we wanted. You are clearly committed to it.
Constraints are where the magic happens
Yes, the limits of strategy; it delays you with theoretical, conceptual and perhaps uncomfortable observations, ideas and recommendations. This will limit where you play and how you can train. Or at least it will if all goes well. And that can sometimes be difficult.
Reactive: Stories at the Edge of Reason
The scariest moments for marketers are when carefully crafted strategies detailing the basics of understanding result in difficult decisions not being made by panicked customers who react to competitors, market changes or viral content with an instinct of "we're all ". , at all times!"
At such moments, clear and stable paths to achieving goals diverge in all directions and the brand itself becomes fragmented, fragmented, reactive and unhealthy.
Our choices limit us forever. Strategy requires commitment; You have to tighten up and remember how the limitations we impose serve our stated purpose. However, a good strategy does not limit flexible responses. Continue. This gives brands a very clear point of reference, allowing them to focus on who they are, who they "live" for and what they have to offer.
Constraints allow brands to respond quickly and reliably to challenges or when opportunities open up. Barriers also clearly tell brands when to give something up, constantly reminding us that not everything is for everyone.
What are the winning conditions?
As the immortal Iggy Pop said, "It's what you can't do that counts." While I'm not entirely sure what Pop is trying to achieve, I believe it has to do with knowing who and why you are, and clearly and concisely defining the terms for your earnings.
Strategy is the process of extracting profits and placing them in the center of the table. Everything else is on the table for this win. If it doesn't work, it will disappear. So clearly these are limits - that's the point. Strategy determines the sacrifices necessary to ensure victory.
So why bother, especially given the cost? It entirely depends on your commitment to your marketing triumph.
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