How To Outline A Marketing Strategy

Marketing is essential to the eventual success of your business. Regardless of how amazing your product or service is, your business isn't going to reach its potential unless it's in front of your target market.

Identify your target market

Developing a strong marketing strategy will ensure that your product or service is visible in the marketplace and, as a result, is seen by your target market. If you have not already done so, identify your target market before you even consider outlining your marketing strategy.

Identify your USP

An essential key to outlining a marketing strategy is to identify your business's Unique Selling Proposition, most commonly referred to as the USP. Your business's USP is a statement that identifies the unique aspects of your product or service, aspects that your competitors can't claim. In addition to identifying your USP, you also want to pinpoint the benefits your product or service has to your target market.

Determine your market position

Another key component of any marketing strategy is determining how you want to position your product or service in the market. For example, do you want to position your product or service as high-end? Or, would you rather position your offering as a budget alternative to your competitors' product or service?

Identify key benefits

Consider which benefits or features of your product or service you are going to focus on when marketing.

Set a marketing budget

Once you've identified your target market, USP, product or service benefits and market position, you must now consider your marketing budget. How much do you have to spend on marketing efforts? The good news is you have a plethora of options both free and paid when it comes to marketing.

Choose your methods of marketing

Your budget, especially if you're on a tight budget, will likely play a significant role in which marketing methods you actually implement. Your marketing methods might include advertising, internet marketing, public relations, and direct marketing.

Advertising
You have numerous advertising opportunities, including television and radio commercials, newspaper and magazine ads, and pay-per-click advertising online (i.e. Google Adwords).

Internet Marketing
Whether you have an offline or an online business, you must have an online presence. In addition to having a Web site to promote your business, you have numerous internet marketing options, such as article marketing (writing articles and submitting them to article directories), forum marketing (posting on relevant forums), and affiliate marketing (having affiliates promote your product or service and, in return, they receive a percentage of the sale price).

Public Relations
A press release is one of the best ways to receive attention

Direct Marketing
Generally, direct marketing is done by telephone and snail mail. For example, you might send out postcards to your mailing list advertising your product or service or offering a discount for customers who respond to your mailing.

Keep track of the results

Once you have determined which marketing methods you want to implement, keep track of the results. Forgo using those marketing methods that don't have strong results. Keep using those marketing methods that are working, and always keep experimenting with other marketing methods. One very important thing to remember is you never want to have just one avenue of marketing your business; keeping all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, could have disastrous effects if something happens and that marketing method becomes lame.