Marketing Planning

One common question we hear is, “Why is it important to invest time in planning and strategising our marketing?” This is often followed by the concern that it might be a waste of resources when they could be focusing on their business. Marie Wimlett, Founder and CEO of MW Marketing Solutions explores these questions.

Firstly, what is Marketing?

Marketing, contrary to a common misconception, is not just about advertising and selling. Whilst these are components, true marketing revolves around understanding and satisfying customers’ needs. It should be seen as a philosophy that permeates your entire business, aiming to create customer satisfaction profitably and build valued relationships. By integrating marketing philosophy into your business’ DNA from the beginning, you’ll find that less time is needed for planning, allowing you to focus on your core business.

Marketing works by influencing customers to take action and is all about getting the right message in front of the right people at the right time. And this is where brand and marketing strategies come into play.

What’s the difference between a brand strategy and a marketing strategy?

A brand can be described as ‘a person’s perception of a product, service, experience or organisation based on an organisation’s identifying logo, name and presence.’ Note the word ‘perception’. Another way to look at it is your brand represents your business’ personality. It shapes how people think or feel about your business and it needs to be consistent. Your brand is likely the first impression potential customers have of your business and, as the saying goes, first impressions count! A brand strategy assists in defining your brand, starting with your brand purpose, which is the reason for your existence and what you stand for (both the ‘why’ and the ‘what’). Once this foundation is established, you can move on to develop your brand attributes and brand values. Essentially, your brand attributes are the core values that define your business. They are the characteristics your audience recognises as integral to your brand, much like how we describe ourselves as individuals. How would your friends and family describe you? Are you intelligent, focussed, amusing, professional? These attributes align with your personal brand.

Brand attributes also encompass your business’ brand values – the principles ‘within’ your business, for example ‘Integrity’, ‘Accountability’, ‘Quality’, and so on.

Once you have established your brand strategy, you can move on to develop your marketing strategy focusing on the long and short-term ‘tactics and activities’ needed to meet your goals. This includes creating your ‘Marketing Mix’ – the combination of tactics used to effectively market your products or services to your chosen target market. This concept is commonly referred to as the ‘4 Ps’ (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) or the ‘7 P’s’ (adding People, Process and Physical Evidence). However, we suggest starting with R, S and T - customer research, segmentation and targeting - to refine your marketing strategy.

Is marketing strategy important?

Absolutely. Just like embarking on a journey without knowing your destination or travel time would be unwise, marketing your business requires planning. A well-developed marketing strategy paves the way to smoother and potentially faster achievement of your business goals.

Why marketing strategy is the foundation of a marketing plan?

Short-term tactical marketing plans support longer-term marketing strategies. Without a marketing strategy, it becomes impossible to develop tactical marketing plans that align with your business goals.

As a small business, it’s beneficial to devise a long-term marketing strategy spanning one to five years, focusing on two or three priorities. Subsequently, you can create short-term tactical marketing plans that support these priorities. Keep in mind that approximately 80 per cent of your marketing efforts will consist of ongoing business activities, while only 20 per cent will be dedicated to addressing challenges and priorities. Therefore, marketing plans should primarily concentrate on the 20 per cent and should be revisited regularly in line with environmental/business changes.

How do brand and marketing strategies help with competitive positioning?

Before addressing this question, it’s important to note that the answer depends on whether your business aims to compete within an existing market category or develop its own. If your business chooses to compete it may opt for differentiation or price (or both) as competitive strategies.

An alternative perspective involves creating a new, uncontested market space. This concept is the essence of the ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’, a term coined by Professors Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne in their book, ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’. It revolves around value innovation and provides an alternative approach to determining brand and marketing strategies. I highly recommend reading the book as it offers valuable insights.