Strategy & Planning

Strategic Marketing

Making your marketing more strategic is integrating it and making it all encompassing.  Marketing is the central point of excellence and innovation within any organisation.  Working with key stakeholders to meet and exceed business objectives and or achieve results for shareholders.

The Ultimate Goal – To Make Sales

At the outset, the ultimate goal of marketing is to make sales.  That is to acquire new business, retain and grow existing business all via the specific target market channels.  Activating marketing is done via a range of strategies and mediums.

Working Together to Get it Right

Creative, Structured, Results Orientated Workshops

Working together as your partner, it is imperative to provide you with the best possible Marketing solutions that continue drive and innovate your business.  Ensuring smooth and efficient activation, uncovering operational challenges are all part of the work shop process.  The outcome of the recommended workshops is a clearly detailed strategy and action plan.

Action, Activation, Doing, Implementation

Based on the outcomes of the workshops, where the creation of the marketing strategy and tactical marketing plan took place it’s now time to start work.  Activation of your marketing may include:

• Revamp of website to better incorporate ecommerce, online advertising, social media
• Secure portals to loyalty programmes for online customers
• Secure portals to support wholesalers/dealers
• Secure portals for internal access such as an intranet
• Secure portal of marketing for all to access merchandise, pos, ticketing and so forth
• Logistics, product, pricing & stock management
• Online advertising to drive new customers, nurture existing customers
• Research and documentation of any new markets identified within the workshops
• Mass marketing and advertising campaigns
• Direct marketing and advertising campaigns

Keep Moving Forward

Continue to track, measure and report, providing timely accurate information from which critical business decisions can be made.  Make improvements and continue to innovate to fulfil the vision.

Strategy Workshop

• To develop or enhance the vision of Your Brand that can be communicated
• To develop or enhance the mission of Your Brand to be communicated
• To detail the business objectives, immediate priorities, short, medium & long term
• To identify all the sales channels
• To discover potential sales and growth opportunities
• To discuss the lines of communication, responsibilities and accountabilities
• To understand the infrastructure to support marketing
• To understand the current financial status
• To discuss the product & pricing mix
• To detail the locations
• Determine high level marketing & communications strategies

Branding & Positioning Workshop

• To sanity check branding
• To strengthen positioning within target markets
• To identify and profile target markets by channel
• To develop communications strategy externally and internally
• What are the branding & comm’s guidelines
• Determine branding, positioning and communications action plan

Marketing Planning Workshop

• To develop marketing plan for actioning immediate and short term priorities
• Online strategy including ecommerce, social media integration and advertising
• Customer & Channel Loyalty Programme, Staff Incentive Programmes
• Acquisition, Sales campaigns and promotions
• Retention and growth strategy
• Communications, media & PR
• Advertising campaign
• Events, shows etc
• Any as deemed necessary from the strategy/branding workshops

External Marketing

External Marketing can be broken into 3 key segments across your total target market:

Above the line (ATL)
Advertising & Public Relations:  Radio, TV, Press, Billboards, instore POS etc

Below the line (BTL)
Direct one to one communications: Email, phone, letterbox drops, loyalty/incentive programmes etc

Crowd marketing
Communication individually and within groups or communities: Social Media, Online forums, networking etc 

Internal Marketing

Internal Marketing can be broken into 2 key segments:

-          Employees
Anyone employed by the business in any capacity

Associates
Any business partner, business supplier or associate in any capacity

Brand

They will manage the Brand Strategy – which is usually to build equity in the brand as being recognised for either being the best, the cheapest, the biggest or the oldest – as there can only be one leader in each unique offering.

Managing the brand so that it and all of it’s actions communicates and delivers on your business’s key messages to all the target markets.

Communications

Does your business communicate from the top down, from the bottom up or in a collaborative environment, understanding and deciding upon this strategy is a key component to marketing management.

Marketing Process

Marketing is a tried and tested process, think of all the greatest companies in the world – they have been fantastic marketers.  Inline with the ultimate goal to make sales, the golden rule is long term consistent marketing works.
 

Research to understand

• The environment you are operating within, both internal and external with a full SWOT
• Competitors, Products, Pricing, Promotions, Innovations
• Customers, who they are, why and where they buy, what they do, demographics

Segmentation to target

• To target your marketing appropriately
• Accurately position your business to exceed your business objectives
• Branding, to build on the equity so that you become the first choice and only choice in your field

Marketing Mix getting the balance right

• Utilising all the tools in the marketing tool box to provide the best product to the right person, at the right price, in the right place with the right promotions

Implementation – must do it properly

• Ideas are only ideas until they are activated – make sure you get marketing

Control for continuous improvement

• This is the cycle of continuous improvement, track and measure your marketing, make necessary changes and go again