Strategy – and marketing strategy in particular – is one of the most overused phrases in business. But when crafted correctly, your marketing strategy provides powerful direction to your business. For small businesses in particular, a well defined marketing strategy can be the difference between increased profitability and overspending.
When defining your marketing strategy, it is important to be clear on some key points:
1) Your marketing strategy is NOT your business strategy. No matter how big or small your business, you should have strategies (HOW you are going to achieve your overall business objectives) that relate to finance, operations, legal, sales, etc – not just marketing.
2) Everything you do isn’t marketing. This is a common mistake that many small businesses make. Your marketing strategy specifically defines how you are going to spend your time/resources to differentiate your company and products from the competition. Each strategy should be actionable (via various tactics), measurable, and designed to reach your overall business goals. Make sure that your marketing plan is robust, but remember that you need to have time/resources to allocate outside of your marketing plan.
3) Marketing is not sales. I have written an entire article on The Difference Between Sales and Marketing. But as a reminder here – specifically for small businesses – there are many tactical things that you can and should do to close a sale. Let’s face it – if you only spend your time doing brand building instead of selling, you won’t be around for long enough for anyone to care about the brand. But ensure that your marketing takes a longer term view, focusing on building sustainable competitive advantages in addition to short term financial goals.
4) Keep your marketing strategy high-level enough to vary your tactics. For example, one element of your strategy might be to leverage PR to build awareness. That high-level strategy gives you all the guidance you need to then build a workplan of tactics and evaluate the individual tactics without changing your strategy.
5) Most importantly, your marketing strategy not only tells you what you are going to do – it also tells you what you are not going to do. This is one of the most common mistakes that small businesses and entrepreneurs make. They establish their marketing strategy, and yet when a new opportunity comes along that isn’t part of that strategy, they pursue it anyway. And maybe, that is the right decision. But if so, make sure to go back and change your strategy. Because the purpose of your marketing strategy is to decide HOW you are going to spend your time/resources. When it is complete, you should feel confident that you have the time and money to execute that plan. If you pursue each new “shiny object” that isn’t part of your marketing strategy – you will quickly get stretched too thin, likely overspending and reducing your profitability even while possibly increasing your top line sales.
Clear strategy – both overall business strategy and marketing strategy – are critical underpinnings to a successful business of any size. For small businesses, remembering what to include in each, and using them to manage your time and resources, can give you the edge you need to be more competitive and beat the odds.
