Marketing is the branch of business that provides customers with the means to choose your products or services. In simpler terms, marketing is the process of getting people (and hopefully, keeping them) interested in your product or service, so that they’ll eventually choose to purchase it. When done well, marketing can be extremely effective, creating brand loyalty and opening up new sales opportunities. On the flip side, poor marketing can result in missed sales, under-performance, and even the rejection of future business offers. To put it bluntly, having a good or bad marketing strategy can make or break your company.

What Is Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a plan designed to acquire new customers, retain existing customers, and increase sales volume. To put it another way, a marketing strategy is a road map that will help you achieve your marketing objectives. If you have a specific goal in mind—like generating revenue of $500,000 annually—you can create a marketing strategy designed to achieve that goal.

Why Are Marketing Strategies Important?

Marketing strategies are important for a number of reasons. First, you need to establish a clear picture of what you’re trying to achieve, otherwise it’s difficult to determine whether you’ve actually achieved your goal. Second, your marketing strategy should reflect an analysis of your competitors’ strategies, so that you can develop your own distinctive approach. Third, you need to ensure that your marketing strategy is feasible, and that there are no significant barriers preventing you from executing it. Fourth, you need to provide sufficient detail about your strategy, so that those responsible for implementing it have the information they need without having to ask for it.

Types Of Marketing

There are four basic types of marketing:

• Attraction
• Incentive
• Insight
• Action

Each of these types of marketing serves a specific purpose, and it’s important to understand their differences.

Attraction Marketing

This type of marketing focuses on drawing attention to your product or service. You do this by creating advertising or messaging that is designed to make potential customers curious about your offering. This type of marketing is all about getting people to take action and make a purchase. Some examples of this type of marketing include:

• Product placements (e.g., “This Week’s Must-Have Product Placement”)
• Product endorsements (e.g., “I use this product and I love it”)
• Product competitions (e.g., “Win a Free iPod!”)
• Showcasing a product in a viral way (e.g., through a viral marketing campaign)
• Creating memes and jokes about your product
• Giving away free samples of your product

Some companies get so caught up in the details of their business model that they forget to think about how they’re going to attract customers. A common mistake is to get distracted by the mechanics of selling (e.g., price, availability, etc.) and lose track of why they’re doing business with you in the first place. While other companies take a much more holistic view, considering all aspects of marketing, including strategy, from the very beginning.

Incentive Marketing

This type of marketing focuses on offering a reward for performing a specific action, whether it’s making a purchase, filling out a form, subscribing to newsletter, etc. The goal is to get people to take the action you want them to take without having to ask them to. Incentive marketing is all about getting people to do something for you (e.g., purchase your product or service) without them feeling like they’re being bought. This type of marketing is all about building a loyalty base, rather than acquiring new customers.

It can be tricky to figure out how to incentivize people to take the action you want them to. For instance, if you’re selling fashion accessories and you want potential customers to purchase an earring, you might want to consider offering them a discount on a necklace they also purchase.

Insight Marketing

This type of marketing focuses on providing your customers with information they need, whether it’s product knowledge, news about your company, promotions, or just plain old interesting trivia. This type of marketing is all about providing customers with the information they need, without them having to ask for it. Insight marketing is all about getting the most out of your existing customers, retaining them, and encouraging them to do your business again. It’s not necessarily about attracting new customers, although that’s certainly a goal.

Too many companies get so focused on acquiring new customers that they forget about the value that their existing customers provide. You can gain a lot of insight into your customers’ behavior and develop a deeper understanding of their needs by reviewing their past behavior. This is especially important if you want to grow and maintain your business, because, ultimately, you’re going to have to make a lot of sales to keep your business viable. The more you know about your customers, the better you can tailor your strategy to provide them with the best possible service. 

By studying your customers and identifying their needs, you’ll be able to develop an understanding of what will interest them, what will irk them, and what will encourage them to take action. This type of marketing is all about getting the most out of your existing customers, keeping them, and encouraging them to do your business again. It’s not necessarily about attracting new customers, although that’s certainly a goal.

Action Marketing

This type of marketing is all about getting your customers to take a specific action, whether it’s signing up for your email list, making a purchase, filling out a form, or clicking a link in an email. The goal is to get people to do the things you want them to do, without them feeling like they’re being tricked or forced into doing something. Action marketing is all about building a relationship with your customer, rather than just trying to get them to take an action, because, ultimately, you want them to continue doing your business. It needs to be done well, however, because if your customers feel like they’re being tricked or forced into doing something, it can seriously damage your business—especially if you have a no-questions-asked return policy.

You have to be careful about how you go about getting your customers to take action, because, essentially, you’re asking someone to do something that is against their will. For example, if you’re trying to get someone to click on a link or fill out a form, but they feel that you’re doing this against their will, it could be seriously considered spam.

Fortunately, it’s fairly easy to get started with action marketing. Simply set up a series of ‘call to actions’ (e.g., make a purchase, sign up for the email list, etc.), but give your customers the option of whether or not to participate. This way, you’re not pushing your products or services on them (i.e., spamming), but are rather providing them with the information they need, from which they can make their own decision.

Principles Of Marketing

Whether you’re new to the field or have been practicing for a while, you’ll inevitably encounter situations that challenge your marketing principles. When this happens, it’s usually a good idea to re-evaluate your approach, because sometimes, the answer isn’t as easy as you think it is. Below, you’ll find a short list of marketing principles that you should always keep in mind.

1. Purpose – Every marketing strategy should have a clear and precise goal in mind. Without a clear and measurable goal, it’s difficult to determine whether you’ve actually achieved your objective. Having a few goals is definitely acceptable, but having too many is a pain, because it’s difficult to keep track of what you’re trying to achieve. This is why it’s important to prioritize your objectives and decide which one is the most vital for your business.

2. Product – Whatever it is that you’re selling, whether it’s a physical product or a service, you need to understand its characteristics and how it can be used. The more you know about your product, the better you’ll be able to promote it. This means performing market research, analyzing sales volumes, and determining pricing, among other things.