The Marketing Strategy, Marketing Plan, and Marketing Tactics: What are they? And How To Use Them to Succeed.

Happy Marketing Monday!

Today’s blog is all about Marketing strategies, plans, and tactics and how they contribute to business success. I hope you find it helpful for your marketing success. Let me know what your questions and comments are below or take them to my Instagram. @l.t.marketing

Reaching customers and showing them why they should act are the fundamental objectives for a marketer. But seeing these results come to life strongly depends on structure. Like anything, without a proper structure whether it is a big building or a developing business, will eventually crumble without proper support. Structure is incredibly important in marketing and in achieving any long-term goal in life.

            The key structural components to incorporate into your marketing projects include a marketing strategy, a marketing plan, and tactics. They all sound notably similar but are strong independent pieces that contribute to success.

1.     Marketing Strategy:

The marketing strategy defines the overall approach and direction you’ll take to achieve a specific business goal or set of goals. A well-crafted marketing strategy helps align all marketing efforts toward the desired outcome, ultimately driving growth and success for your business. By conducting market research, analyzing competitors, and identifying unique selling points, you can develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the competition. Implementing and evaluating this strategy will allow you to measure its effectiveness and make necessary adjustments for future success.

            Some key components of the marketing strategy include the target audience, the unique selling proposition, key messages, positioning, and high-level goals. Understanding your target audience is understanding your ideal customer. What do they prefer, how do they behave, what are their miseries (pain points) and what are their miracles (aspirations)? The unique selling proposition defines how your product or service is different, and how it stands out from the others. Key messages help determine how you will communicate with your ideal customer. Will you use Instagram or Facebook? What kind of language do they use? Do they say things like “ick” or “red flag”? Or do they say things like “groovy” or “cool cat”? Positioning is how you want your brand or product to be perceived in the market compared to the competition. For example, a purse company may position itself to be a luxury in the market. High-level goals are exactly what they sound like, statements defining the goal of the project that are aligned with the business objective.

The Marketing strategy is the foundation for the project. It is the basis of all other efforts and is often revisited especially when the business or market is shifting significantly.

2.     The Marketing Plan:

The marketing plan outlines the actions that are intended to execute the marketing strategy. It defines the platforms, tools, and channels you’ll use throughout the process.

The key components of a marketing plan include the objectives, budget, timeline, channels and platforms, KPIs and metrics, and content calendar. The objective is the explicit goal aligned with the marketing strategy. The budget needs to be detailed and includes the resources necessary for the project. The timeline is the schedule of when you’ll reach the smaller goals and when action will occur. The Channels and platforms help determine what social media and mass communication sources will be used to reach the ideal audience. KPIs and metrics help measure the success of each campaign or post. And finally the content calendar details what, when, and where you’ll post content to reach your audience.

            The marketing plan is usually created and adjusted once a year, but it can be adjusted more regularly based on performance data or market changes. It is a clear plan for the marketing team and stakeholders.

3.      Marketing Tactics:

            Marketing tactics are the specific actions or methods taken to execute the marketing plan and strategy. These are the practical approaches and activities that a company employs to promote its products, services, or brand to its customers.

            Some examples of tactics include Pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, email campaigns, social media posts, influencer collaborations, and trade shows. Pay-per-click ads are ads run on platforms like Google or Facebook. Search engine optimization helps adjust website content and structure to rank higher on search engines. Email campaigns include sending news, promotional offers, or informational content through email. Social media posts, well you know what a social media post is, they are the images and videos you find on platforms like Instagram. Influencer collaborations that partner together promote products and services as well. Trade shows incorporate attending and hosting industry events.

            Depending on the tactic and marketing plan specifics, marketing tactics should be employed daily, weekly, or monthly. They constantly need to be adjusted based on analytics and feedback.

            How and When to use them:

1.     Start with the marketing strategy: First know your overall approach, direction, and achievement goals. Adjust annually or during market shifts.

2.     Develop the marketing plan: Based on the strategy, outline your roadmap. Detail out the specific steps, channels, budgets, and timelines. Adjust annually but be prepared to adjust more regularly.

3.     Execute using marketing tactics: Implement daily, weekly, and monthly actions to make the plan a reality. Regularly monitor and adjust the tactics based on results.

In a nutshell, think of strategy as your “why”, the plan as your “what” and the tactics as your “how”. They all work together and are important to incorporate for a successful marketing endeavor.