Is a Marketing Strategy Important for Your Business?

Is a marketing strategy important for your business? Don’t you just need to take some cool pictures and post them on the ‘gram and call it a day? Or shoot a super short video and put it up on TikTok and go viral? Or, maybe you just need to set up a shop on Etsy and watch all the orders come rolling in so you can live your creative dream and ditch your day job?

While all those ideas could net you your next cool million and send you on your way to entrepreneurial nirvana, chances are you’ll be more likely to need to plot out your course a little more carefully…just like everyone else. (Including those “overnight stars” you see online.)

Check out today’s post to learn the foundational questions you should be asking yourself to help you decide what’s important about a marketing strategy as an entrepreneur.

WHAT IS A MARKETING STRATEGY?

Depending on who you ask, the term “marketing strategy” can mean several different things, and some definitions are more accessible than others in my opinion.

For example, Wikipedia defines “marketing strategy” as:

“a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.”

They go on to add details about strategic planning and strategic marketing.

Conversely, Investopedia defines “marketing strategy” as:

“a business’s overall game plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers of their products or services. A marketing strategy contains the company’s value proposition, key brand messaging, data on target customer demographics, and other high-level elements.”

I might simplify both of these and suggest that a marketing strategy is basically the overall marketing objectives you’re trying to accomplish documented for the benefit of the business and others. It’s the “what” as opposed to the “how.”

WHY MIGHT YOU NEED A MARKETING STRATEGY?

There are basically three (3) big reasons a marketing strategy might be important for your business:

➜ YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO DO ALL THE THINGS

This is probably the most common reason a business owner needs a marketing strategy. The desire to do a variety of marketing tactics far exceeds the budget to execute those tactics. For example, a new business owner might want to have a strong media relations presence, be prolific on several social media channels, and have a robust website and online shopping experience. However, their budget may not allow for all these marketing tactics to be executed simultaneously.

A solid marketing strategy helps document, organize and pace the why and how behind the what so the business can be more successful with less resources.

➜ YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME FOR YOUR GENIUS TO SHINE

Coming in a close second behind money is time. (And of course it is…because these two things are intrinsically tied to one another.) Executing a multi-channel marketing strategy well takes hours of work. In larger organizations, it may be teams of people with dozens of objectives.

Most small business owners and newer entrepreneurs simply lack the time it takes to successfully execute a well-planned marketing strategy. This isn’t to say they don’t have solid ideas about what they want in their marketing strategy and why (they often do), but that doesn’t manifest the time to make those wants a reality.

That’s why really nailing your first marketing strategy is very important for your business. It can mean the difference between a “blah” launch and a “wow” punch that makes a stir and catches the eye of more would-be customers faster.

➜ YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MARKETING EXPERTISE TO MAKE SMART CHOICES

The third biggest reason I see people really invest the time and energy in building a great marketing strategy is a lack of expertise. If you don’t have trained, proven marketing professionals already on your team, seeking out that skill can be one investment that really helps make sure the business has enough lift to get off the ground in its first few months.

What do those marketing skills look like? You’re looking for someone who has:

• (a) developed a marketing strategy before,
• (b) executed that marketing strategy, and
• (c) has demonstrable success in building a marketing program that drives sales, customers, internal understanding and brand awareness.

You also need someone who has a keen instinct on knowing which tactics are most important first, why and how you’ll accomplish all your goals. These skills are not simply obtained by “reading marketing books” as one of my past clients proudly proclaimed to me. ? They are obtained by actually having done the work, learned, iterated after failed attempts, and sticking the landing repeatedly with successful marketing strategy execution for multiple brands.

IS A MARKETING STRATEGY IMPORTANT? HONESTLY?

Granted, I might be completely biased, but yes it’s very important.

A well-constructed marketing strategy helps you:

• Reach your existing customers more thoughtfully,
• Find new customers in unique ways, and
• Reminds anyone familiar with your brand what you’re doing and why on an ongoing basis.

A solid marketing strategy gives your brand a voice when you can’t reach people in person. And reaching customers where they are is a hallmark necessity of the digital age. There is no escaping in today’s world no matter the product or service you’re offering.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU NEED A MARKETING STRATEGY?

You basically have two (2) options in building your first marketing strategy—you either work to do it yourself or you hire someone to help you if you lack the expertise. Often this choice comes down to cash flow and time. Those that hire subject-matter experts tend to want to avoid wasting critical time trying to learn everything necessary in order to be successful in the short term. Those that build their own marketing strategies tend to have limited resources, and are trying to preserve as much cash as possible for their business.

HOW DO YOU CREATE YOUR FIRST MARKETING STRATEGY?

Join us for our next post where we’ll be offering a free marketing strategy template for entrepreneurs to use to get started. Or, if you don’t want to go it alone, you can always reach out and talk to us about your idea, budget and marketing goals to see if we might be able to lend a hand in helping you build your first marketing strategy.

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