How to Implement a Marketing Strategy

Implement your marketing strategy by knowing your target market.

In order to successfully implement a marketing strategy, you must set up your marketing plan with an eye toward following through and evaluating your progress. The more specific the actions and objectives you lay out in your marketing plan, the better you will be able to achieve your objectives and spread the word about your company.

Things You'll Need

• Marketing plan
• Customer service survey

Instructions

1. Assess the business climate in which you will implement your marketing strategy. Study your competition and develop a plan for differentiating yourself from them through perks and features that you will integrate into your products and services. For example, if you own a restaurant that caters to a busy clientele, offer your customers curbside service. Developing communication strategies for letting customers know how your business is different, such as by mentioning your curbside service in ads. Identify the target market for your products and services, such as customers who are too busy to get out of their cars and pick up their food themselves. Direct your outreach efforts directly to these customers by identifying magazines that they read and radio stations that they support, and placing ads in these venues.

2. Survey your customers in order to learn who they are and what they want from your products and services. Use informal surveying techniques such as speaking to your clientele directly and asking how you can better meet their needs. Also perform formal marketing research by asking customers to fill out questionnaires in person or online. Offer free products in exchange for their time and feedback. Use the information you obtain to tailor your offerings, offering additional products and services or redirecting your marketing efforts in order to reach more customers similar to the ones who are supporting your company.

3. Create quantifiable objectives that you will be able to use as benchmarks in order to evaluate the success of your marketing efforts. Design your ads to provide you with indicators that you can use to measure their effectiveness. For example, include a coupon with magazine ads and count these coupons as customers bring them in, or tell your customers to mention a radio ad to receive a free beverage. Use these measuring tools to adjust your marketing budget so that you are directing the majority of your resources towards avenues that prove themselves to be effective.

References

• Oklahoma State University: Developing and Implementing Marketing Plan
• BusinessKnowledgeSource.com: Implementing a Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Library Services: How to Write a Marketing Plan