What’s in a marketing strategy? 22 assets that will focus your marketing

A recent study found that only 33% of UK SMEs have a marketing action plan.

2 in 3 aren’t connecting their marketing to their business goals.

It’s not surprising that 72% of the 2,000 decision-makers surveyed said they weren’t generating sufficient leads to achieve their growth objectives. Without the clarity on your ideal customer that a marketing strategy gives you, your marketing decisions are bound to miss the mark.

But what constitutes a marketing strategy?

To those without a senior marketer in-house, the content can be as elusive as the concept…

To make it more tangible, I’ve put together a list of 22 assets that a robust marketing strategy can provide. They break down across 3 key stages of the strategic marketing process:

1. Understand: this stage is about developing and consolidating the insights you need to build a strong foundation for your marketing decisions.
2. Develop: now you are able to target your marketing around your ideal customers’ needs and prioritise your marketing activities.
3. Embed: last but not least you need tools to help you implement your strategy, allocate resources efficiently and measure success.

The 22 assets of the strategic marketing process below are based around 6 key questions. You might not need or want every one of them, but each that you do have will bring you a step closer to having a fully strategic marketing plan.

Understand: Where are we? Where do we want to go?

1. SWOT / TOWS analysis: a SWOT gives you an up-to-date overview of the marketing environment you’re operating in. A TOWS takes it a step further and identifies how you can reduce external threats, take advantage of opportunities, make the most of your strengths and minimise your weaknesses.
2. Customer/ supporter journey map: helps you see where your marketing tactics add value at each stage of your prospective audience’s level of awareness and where there might be opportunities to simplify or supplement it.
3. Audience insights (from your data or open data): by consolidating this into data tables and dashboards, you can spot patterns and opportunities for growth.
4. Market research reports / data visualisations: carrying out surveys, focus groups or interviews will give you a strong evidence-base for market expansion, diversification, penetration, product development or or specific campaigns.
5. Portfolio analysis summary: considering the potential and return of each product or service helps you to balance your focus and investments.
6. Competitor / desk research summary: seeing how others position themselves in relation to cost, convenience, communication and credibility helps you identify the ways you are more unique, relevant or credible.
7. Stakeholder map: identifies opportunities for collaboration, who you need to engage and in what capacity to achieve your goals.
8. Quantified marketing objectives: numbers that link to your turnover targets will inform the appropriate marketing strategy and volume of activity you need.

Develop: How do we do it? What exactly do we need to do?

9. Audience segmentation chart: this will help identify which groups of the market you can best meet the needs of and design your messaging around.
10. Target audience personas or empathy maps: bring your ideal target customers to life to inform a customer-centric approach to marketing – also a great internal and agency communication tool.
11. Brand positioning statement / narrative: identifies what makes you unique, relevant and credible in relation to your competitors and highlights the key messages that unite your offerings.
12. Strategic Marketing approach: summarises the overall approach you should take on the basis of all the above over the next 1-3 years.
13. Content strategy: outlines the different purposes and types of content and the messages that will be needed to engage your target audience at each stage of the buyer journey.
14. Marketing funnel: shows the marketing tactics and conversion rates required at each stage of the marketing process to reach your goals.
15. Summary of changes required: considers what needs to happen with people, technology and processes to make your marketing strategy a success.

Embed: When do we need to do it? What is/ isn’t working?

16. Implementation roadmap: highlights the actions needed across the next 12 months to set the marketing strategy in motion.
17. Resource requirements summary: identifies where support or skills need to be built or brought in.
18. Project plans/ briefs: when website, tech developments or data integration are identified as a priority, or campaigns and events plans need to be put in place.
19. Internal communications materials: to align teams, bring them up to speed on any changes, and support the roll-out of the marketing strategy.
20. Budget planner: a spreadsheet with benchmark costings for the key marketing materials and tools that will be needed.
21. Dashboard of key metrics: an advance template for measuring and monitoring the results of your marketing strategy.
22. Guidance on strategy review: how often to update it, when to change direction and revisit your plans.

The benefits 

By having a documented marketing plan that contains the above or some combination of it, you’ll be able to:

• Make better choices on how to reach and engage with your ideal customers.
• Simplify and focus your marketing activity so you don’t feel like you’re taking shots in the dark
• Have confidence that budgets are being invested in the right products and services.
• Maintain the consistency needed to develop a sustainable brand position.
• Identify opportunities that could help you reach your audience in new ways or more efficiently.
• Protect your organisation against changes in the market.

Ultimately, it’s the process of connecting your marketing to your business goals that will enable you to create the commercial or social value you seek.

When 67% of your competitors probably aren’t doing it, it might be what gives you the edge!

If you’d like to start focusing your marketing with a documented marketing plan, I invite you to book a free half hour consultation with me today.