Marketing has a hard time building strategic plans their organizations both understand and support. Read on for a simple way to change that.
Putting the "Strategy" in Your Marketing Strategy
Understand, the core of this problem that most marketing STRATEGIES are actually marketing PLANS. We in marketing spend too much time sharing HOW we'll market and WHEN we'll market, without explaining WHY and, at a strategic level, WHAT.
Without understanding how this trade show or that video drives the bigger company goals, it's easy to ask marketing to do something else.
Below is an easy workflow that helps you craft an actual marketing strategy that answers the Why and the What that your executives and other organizational partners need to understand.
Four Facets of Strategy: Problems, Products, Markets and Fit
Stare by answering the four questions below based on what's true in your world today. What market problems do your products solve? What types of products do you build? Who are your markets and how do you fit in the competitive landscape? This is the Baseline of your strategic story:
Next, answer the same questions from the perspective of where your leadership wants you to be in a year - your corporate Vision. Maybe it's opening new markets or achieving a higher level of customer retention. Maybe you're going to be responsible for launching an entirely new product.
Building a Bridge from Baseline to Company Vision: Marketing Strategy
Now, lay out how you'll get from your baseline to the corporate vision: this is your Strategy. This isn't a list of things to do, but rather types of activities, the focus of your efforts and the core message you'll send to make this transformation. You can't build a sell sheet or schedule a trade show until you know how it's helping you get from baseline to vision. Below is a good example, using a hypothetical company that builds time-and-billing software for lawyers and law firms: pay special attention to the level of detail that ISN'T in the Strategy boxes.
Marketing Strategy Tells a Story to Align and Focus All Teams
It's easy for an executive to say no to a couple videos if they don't see them as part of a portfolio of activities driving a strategic outcome. And why wouldn't a sales rep ask you for something they want if it's just a matter of this sell sheet or that blog post? Without a strategic plan every day is a struggle for marketers to keep their budgets and stay on track. With a plan that aligns the team, those conversations are already over, and you spend your year innovating on purpose.
Want to learn more about building a strategic plan? Get my book How to Innovate on Purpose. Good luck as you prepare to innovate on purpose in 2025!
About the Author
Diane Pierson is the Founder and Chief Market Strategist of Innovate on Purpose, a consultancy enabling successful product commercialization for B2B tech companies. Order her book, How to Innovate on Purpose or contact Diane at dpierson@innovateonpurpose.com.
Comments