Marketing strategy to execution

Marketing Strategy to Execution

Market Directions

Boston

Market Research is the foundation of the marketing planning process. You need to understand your customer, your environments — external and internal — assess the competition and your digital footprint and reputation. Read

marketdirectionsmr.com

Market Directions White Paper to help you understand how to develop and execute a plan.

617-323-1862

mary@ marketdirectionsmr.com

ABOUT Marketing “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing people. “ ---David Packard Founder, HP David Packard’s quote is not a slight against the profession, it demonstrates the importance of marketing at the C level where marketing is embraced as a key driver in the company’s success.

“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation. “ ---Peter Drucker “Listening to customers must become everyone’s business.” ---Tom Peters

Being Market Driven

Strategy Development

Strategic Process

Executiong the Plan

Integrated Marketing Plan

Measure and Adjust

ABOUT Market Driven

Market driven companies approach marketing from the view of the customer.

They focus on customer satisfaction, managing the customer experience, customer retention, and customer lifetime value. Being market-driven presumes that when customers are delighted, revenues, profits and growth will ensue.

Having a thorough understanding of market environment and consumer needs is implicit to being market driven. What are the advantages? Research has shown that market-driven companies: - are 31% more profitable - bring new products to market twice as fast - enjoy 10-20% higher customer satisfaction levels Market Directions works with companiesto build and benefit from a marketdriven perspective, both at the strategic and tactical level.

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ABOUT Strategic Planning Process

ďƒ…---------------- Strategy -------------------------------------- Execution ---------------------------Excelling on oneďƒ†half of the spectrum, but not on the other will not allow you to reach your growth targets.

Strategic planning leverages marketing concepts and research to better influence the outcomes of your marketing efforts.

ABOUT Strategic Planning Marketing Research

The Competition

This is an imperative step to understand external environment: the customer, the competition, and trends that can impact how you do business and how customers respond to your business.

The Customer Engaging customers with your product or service provides you with an understanding of their needs (expressed and emerging). Secondary, and primary, research to better understand the target audience and their needs discovers how the market is segmented and the unique needs within each of those segments.

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The competitive environment: the key players; their value propositions and positioning; target markets; pricing; and how they reach customers is imperative in understanding how customers will value you relative to the competition. A SWOT analysis lays the ground work to be able to adjust and improve.

External Environment Reviewing trends in demographics, government regulations, technology, and industry developments, keeps your informed touch in order to react to outside forces.

Digital Footprint What is your digital footprint? What do people discover about you and your competition when they search? Are you everywhere your competition is? Are you everywhere your customers are?

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ABOUT Strategic Development Once consumers and the marketplace are fully understood, then a customer-driven marketing strategy can be developed. In developing the strategy, the optimal Marketing Mix is considered, traditionally known as the four P’s. However in the age of Modern Marketing is converted in to the four C’s of “Consumer Oriented Marketing” This involves determining strategies with regard to:

1. Product----------------Consumer •

Create and provide products and services tailored to the needs, wants and demands of target consumers.

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Needs--- States of felt deprivation

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o

o

o

Wants--- the form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality Demands--- human wants that are backed by buying power

2. Placement ---------Convenience •

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3. Pricing----------------Costs

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4. Promotion -------Communication • • •

Deliver the product or service to the customer in the means that is easiest to them.

Online on premise Make websites navigable Align channels to customers buying preferences.

Consider the entire cost to the customer, the cost of shipping, the cost of time, the cost of getting to the store.

Pricing in terms of value to the customer.

Is pricing part of your marketing strategy? Cost leader or discounter?

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•

Two way communication.

Promote and communicate where target customers are.

Develop customer feedback loop Focus on branding as it relates to selling more products/services.

Create a Unique value and selling proposition.

Customers see themselves as buying value or solutions to their problems. And customers are interested in more than just the price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and disposing of a product. Customers want the product and service to be as conveniently available as possible. Finally, they want two-way communication. Customers set up a hierarchy of values, wants and needs based on data, opinions, word-of-month, and previous experiences. They use that information to make purchasing decisions.

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ABOUT Building an Integrated Plan Marketing and Sales Funnels Transition from the strategic to the tactical. Build a marketing funnel, which depicts the process from contacts to leads through to the various stages of the sales process, to create buyers. The integrated plan must employ various marketing tactics and initiatives to support the marketing objectives of building awareness, generating leads, and making the sale then, nurturing customers to create repeat business, brand superiority and ultimately customer advocates.

Marketing Objective An effective marketing program blends each marketing mix element into an integrated marketing program designed to achieve the company’s marketing objectives by delivering value to consumers. The marketing mix constitutes the company’s tactical tool kit for establishing strong positioning in target markets.

Build Awareness

Generate Leads

Support Selling

Generate Loyal & Repeat Customers

Funnel graphics from: Changing Dynamics – The Rise of New B2B Marketing Funnel: Cladius Cloud, Marketing Automation Blog

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ABOUT Building an Integrated Plan Build Awareness • • • • •

Traditional Marketing Public Relations Direct Marketing Digital Marketing Thought Leadership

Generate Leads • • • • •

How many do you need? Create goal to measure against.

Compare and contrast to competition Process in place to capture leads Sales ready, follow-up with appropriate communication List building, lead campaigns, integration with d-base or CRM, marketing automation platform.

Support the Selling Process • • • • •

Create process to follow-up inquiries.

Personal Touch Drip Campaign Ensure Privacy Measure and Tract through the buying journey

Generate Repeat Business/Renewals • • • • • •

Reputation management Follow online, social chatter Ask for referrals Ask for testimonials Create case studies Capture and funnel back customer feedback for enhancements and innovation

The plan must detail time, budget and responsibility specified for each item.

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ABOUT Creating the Plan Creating a Marketing Plan

An actual marketing plan is beyond the scope of this paper. This paper highlights the strategic elements that go into producing the optimal marketing plan for your unique business.

A Market Plan would consist of how you would generate awareness, attract and engage customers and ultimately get them to buy. Marketing Plans consist of both traditional marketing techniques along with digital marketing platforms.

Briefly, you would implement your strategic plan with: • • • • • • •

Public Relations Promotion--- TV, Radio, Print Marketing Collateral Direct Marketing Telemarketing Event Marketing Digital Marketing, Including:  Web Content Development for Optimal SEO  Pay Per Click Campaigns  Blogs  Case Studies  Articles  White Papers  Email Marketing  Banner Ads

ABOUT Executing the Plan Marketing Plan Execution Now it’s time to take everything you know about your customers, your markets, your competition and put you plan into action that will reach the correct audience. The writing, vendor selection, and work begins. Budget and practical limitations are the only barriers to putting a plan in place.

Consideration should be given to traditional marketing tactics along with your digital marketing.

Additionally, your approach needs to be flexible and adaptable to changing business conditions.

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Create a Sales Tool Kit • • • • • • • • •

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General FAQs Compelling value proposition Messaging guidelines Proof points Objection Handling Guide Pricing information, allowable discounts Overview of competitors Referenceable customer list Marketing collateral targeted by market segment, product line, etc.

Information on upcoming promotional and other marketing activities

Create a Content Management Calendar Your digital marketing campaign will consist of content--- content in the form of website text, blogs, articles, … etc. Strategically placing this content in frequency and place is paramount.

Use Project Management Tools Collaboration with your internal marketing and any vendors you hire to assist is important. There are many project management tools that collaborate across “the cloud,” which helps keep track of topics and content to be published.

ABOUT Measuring and Adjusting Measure and Adjust – with a Focus on Marketing ROI Measuring effectiveness on digital and traditional marketing efforts is paramount to adjusting as you move forward. Create tools including daily updates, dashboards, reports. Additionally, you should create a model that measures your marketing ROI because marketing is an integral part of the organization’s profitability.

Furthermore, the key to success lies in flexibility, the ability to adapt your strategy to changing business conditions. Creating the feedback loop from customers assists in remaining flexible to service their needs and can also help innovation.

This paper is mostly about strategy. How the right strategy will help you to create and implement the best marketing plan for the right customers in the right places, who are ready buy or at least investigate your product or service. Modern Marketing has transitioned from the manipulation of customers’ minds to serving customers’ needs. A strategic process that includes research must be part of the marketing planning process in order to be successful in a complex business environment.

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Results from Market Research

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This paper was prepared by Mary Malaszek of Market Directions.

Market Directions is s a full service custom market research firm that helps companies to identify and clarify distinct marketplace opportunities.

Together with our market research we function as a fullservice marketing agency, with an emphasis on strategic planning.

Please contact Mary Malaszek at

mary@makretdirectionsmr.com or visit our website at www.marketdirectionsmr.com

Market Directions Boston 617-323-1862 Š2016 Market Directions

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