Marketing strategy is your broad plan for achieving your marketing goals. The word “strategy” entered marketing from the military. Some other words with the same origin are “defend”, “attack”, “intelligence” and “tactical”.
To be very clear about the meaning of this term, let’s differentiate it from terms such as marketing plan and marketing mix. The first is your plan for using your resources, such as money and human capital, and the first is the elements that are available to influence demand for your product or service. Marketing strategy would be a heading under a marketing plan, just as marketing mix would be a heading under marketing strategy.
Each element of the mix would also have its own strategy. The elements of the marketing mix are product, promotions, price, and place for physical products, plus three (people, physical evidence, and process) for services.
What would you expect to see in a marketing strategy? It must contain these elements:
- Differential advantage (why your product should be purchased over competing products; in what area or how is your product superior to others)
- Target market (those who you think should be interested in your product)
- How you will compete in the market in terms of your mix relative to the competition.
- The primary target of your actions (new vs. old users, trial vs. increased usage, etc.)
- How you will allocate your resources (geographically, seasonally, etc.)
- Rationale for making all of the above decisions (research data)
A well-articulated marketing strategy will allow you to focus your marketing activities to achieve your marketing objectives.