Tips for Developing an Effective Marketing Strategy

As the CEO of multiple businesses, I've found that a good marketing strategy consists of two main things: a mechanism for collecting and analyzing customers' feedback and a method for implementing amendments to the strategy based on their feedback.

Before starting a marketing strategy in a new market, it is essential to collect information about consumer behaviors in the new market. A mixed approach, including supplying product differentiation or price differentiation, might be considered part of the marketing strategy. Even further, depending on consumer behaviors in the new market, revising or improving products and services might be necessary.

While making these decisions, a comparison based on some real numbers can lead a company to a good position in marketing optimization. Entering a market brings some extra costs, and some gains would be received by introducing the new market. The benefits from a new market are dependent upon the number of potential customers and sales realization. If the expected gains are higher than, or at least, equal to, the cost becomes rational to enter. The company needs to analyze consumers and groups of consumers targeted in the new market.

After developing a good understanding of the potential customers, and consumer behaviors, advertising has to be implemented to give a message to stimulate a desire for purchasing the specific product supplied by the company. The message should include aspects matching the needs of the targeted customers, and be easy, clear, and direct to enable the targeted customers to understand it. Picking advertisement tools is an essential step. Social media, local media, or national media might be provides advertising tools. While advertising, it is crucial to deliver the message properly to the target customers.

Creating some incentives for customers to involve in the product supplied by the company might bolster the interest in this specific product. Promotion campaigns, including discounts for limited time intervals, customer-specific rewards, and opportunities to try the products, are essential tools. Also, creating loyalty among customers is needed for sustainable marketing by minimizing the costs of marketing activities. Implementing a proper promotion campaign at the beginning of the marketing process might decrease marketing value at later stages. Creating strong loyalty also requires improving the quality of the product and deliver a feeling of quality to customers.

Using social media is an essential part of marketing. Social media provides an environment of advertising your products and services and communicating with potential customers at a relatively lower cost. Also, a large number of people all around the people have access to the internet and social media tools. Thus, having an easy-to-access and user-friendly website and a social media strategy are two crucial "musts" for any SME. Notably, the new generation has a second life online. Therefore, if your company sells a product that young people might be more interested in, tools you can use on the internet cannot be ignored.

Creating a brand and developing brand advocacy is another vital strategy. Creating a brand is to create a respectable image in customers' minds. When customers see a color, a shape, or a special symbol, they remember the product if the right brand image is created. Brand advocates are the customers who are loyal to the brand, and they suggest this product to other people by carrying their positive experience of using this product to them.