Marketing strategy still matters

2018 – here we are – and for most of you, your new marketing strategy and plans are put into action. Or are they? How did you dive into the New Year? There are marketing and communications managers who have an entire strategy and plan and will follow it to the letter and dollar amount, flexing on an as-needed basis.

Then there are those who ask, “Plan? What plan?” Flying by the seat of your pants or moving blindly through each month causes more problems than we can count. What are key questions to ask yourself when planning?

• What do your marketing or product managers need? Hold in-depth meetings with them to determine how you can work with each department to meet their customers’ needs on various levels.
• What tools will you utilize to meet those needs? Each audience may differ in terms of the most effective marketing method. Work with your counterparts to determine how best to reach each stage of those involved in the purchasing process.
• Are you integrating both traditional and digital? Gone are the days of just not “believing” in social media or pay-per-click advertising. You NEED it to reach a large portion of your customer base. How will everything work together? How will you spread your message across all platforms?
• Are you paying attention to your internal and external audiences? Yes, you need to make your internal audience and corporate leadership happy, but are your customers paying attention? Are they getting what they need from your content? Or is it all fluffy and pretty with no real purpose? Without customers, there are no sales. Be sure to invest most heavily where it matters.