How to Have the Right Marketing Strategy
It can take a considerable amount of time and effort to determine the right marketing strategy. The overall objective of the right marketing strategy is to increase sales and profits. The best way to grow your company or business is to have a plan, according to Gaebler, an online business reference site. Marketing strategies start with determining the right products, prices, promotions and distribution. For example, you will need to introduce your products at the right price to the right market. Additionally, you will need to know where your customers typically shop, and how to best reach them through advertising.
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Things You'll Need
- Secondary market research information
- Focus group
- Market research agency
- Product concept
Instructions
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Make sure you fully understand your market and competition. Get secondary market research information to better understand where you stand versus competitors. Study your market share, or the percent of sales you wield in the marketplace, versus that of key competitors. Find out if your industry is growing as a whole, which indicates an opportunity for growth.
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Do a strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats -- SWOT -- analysis. Write down your key strengths and weaknesses versus key competitors. Look for ways to use your strengths to your advantage. Use your superior soap products, for example, to find more markets like hospitals and car washes. Make a note of any government regulations that may restrict your advertising, such as in the tobacco industry.
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Target the right customers. Sell your line of high-priced suits to businessmen with higher incomes, for example.
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Conduct focus groups to test your marketing strategy. Hire an experienced moderator or focus group interviewer to talk to customers and similar non-customer consumers behind one-way mirrors. Instruct the moderator to ask people questions about your new chicken meal, for example, if you own a restaurant. Ask people how they rate the taste and texture of the chicken meal. Find out how much people will pay for the chicken meal. Have the moderator ask if customers will purchase the chicken meal once it is introduced. Use the focus group data to tweak your product or strategy before testing it on a larger scale.
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Conduct market research surveys among larger groups of customers, which will increase the reliability of your customer data. Hire a marketing research agency to do the surveys, as these companies are more experienced in conducting market research. Introduce the new product concept, or idea, to customers through the surveys. Find out how much customers like the idea of the new product, and whether or not they will purchase it. Ask customers what other suggestions they have for the product.
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Analyze the results of the survey. Write down key features or prices that consumers really want. Align your marketing strategy, including product changes and advertising, with the needs and wants of your customers.
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Tips & Warnings
Your marketing strategies may pertain to using different suppliers, or selling your products in wholesale outlets in addition to retail stores. Whatever the case, the key to having the right marketing strategy is offering products that customers want at prices they are willing to pay.
References
- Gaebler.com: Business Strategy
- Business Know-How: Ten Survival Strategies for Entrepreneurs
- Quick MBA: Marketing Research
- Quick MBA: SWOT Analysis
- "Entrepreneur"; Steal Your Competitors' Clients; Steve Von Loren; Jan. 2009
- "Entrepreneur"; Which Ad Strategy Works for You?; Rosalind Resnick; Aug. 2009
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
