Marketing strategy

What is marketing strategy? 

Considering that digital marketing is heavily based on data and feedback, it follows that there must be a preconceived idea of where and how content and advertising assets will be invested and allocated. A digital marketing strategy is a long-term plan to achieve the company's goals, which sought to acquire as many potential customers as possible, turning them into independent customers of the company.
It underpins all the activities a brand does in the digital environment, and its development process carefully examines and evaluates the brand's style, desired visual image, target audience and tone to make decisions about which channels to use to reach those customers. Using the marketing strategy, it is possible to determine company's position in the market, to create parallels between company's activity in social network channels and business goals by testing the specific approaches on your chosen target audience. 
At the heart of a clear marketing strategy are the specific brand values that can inform consumers about what the company stands for, how it operates, and why it is worth buying its products or services. The marketing strategy is not the same as the marketing plan. Although the marketing strategy is also planned, it can be defined more as a long-term goal, an approach to beat the competition, while the marketing plan is the actions to be taken to achieve that goal, or the way of execution. The marketing plan should be continuously adjusted based on the ad and listing data collected, which shows what approaches are working and what are not.

The Four Ps

When creating a marketing strategy, it is worth considering the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. This marketing mix serves as a preliminary document that helps you understand exactly what will be promoted, where it will be promoted, and how it will be promoted.  

• The first P defines the product offered by the company, its features and what it can provide to customers. The type of product offered also partly determines how much it will cost and how and where it is best advertised.

• The next P is the price a buyer would be willing to pay for this product. Here it is necessary to calculate everything - the production costs of the product, the apparent and real value, competitive prices and markup. In addition, the possibility and extent of discounts are evaluated. A discount can attract more customers, but it can also give the impression that the product is not in high demand.

• Choosing where the product will be placed and how it will be created is essential. Depending on the type of product and the niche of the company, it should be placed in a way that is as accessible as possible to potential customers. The choice of place can also play on the exclusivity of the product or offer - if it is only available on the Internet, it can encourage greater engagement.

• Finally, the last P or product promotion can also be called advertising. Its purpose is to inform customers that they need this product, why they need it, and that its price is appropriate. Promotion includes advertising, public relations and overall social media strategy to promote the product. The promotion platforms are decided clearly based on the profile of the ideal customer. A social media strategy must reach the right audience with the right message. 

Marketing Strategy Objectives

In addition to the four Ps, the marketing strategy components also include the marketing strategy objectives, which are created in conjunction with the marketing mix, as these objectives will shape the other components of the plan, including the budget and content creation process. Without sufficient resources to select the right channels, promote and create content, the marketing strategy will not have a strong impact. When choosing a marketing strategy, it is important to conduct a competitor analysis to identify the competition and understand the main differences between your product and the competitor's product. As mentioned above, it is important to consider the target audience when choosing promotion platforms, therefore, segmentation is also necessary when creating a strategy. Instead of publishing posts and ads as you see fit, a methodical process is followed to create content that resonates with potential and desired customers. Successively, the strategy also includes content creation. The marketing strategy will allow you to benefit and capitalize on the latest trends.
Marketing is more than just advertising and promotion – it's about connecting with the customer. A successful marketing strategy helps save time, costs and resources. Without a defined strategy, it is much more difficult to understand exactly who the company's customers are, how to develop the right products and successfully allocate funds for their promotion. It's good to keep in mind that even successful marketing strategies should be reviewed from time to time. As the product evolves and the pool of customer changes, it should be improved and adapted.