Creating a Marketing Strategy That Works

Q4 starts today. As a marketing leader, you are probably juggling your responsibilities right now. You must finish the year strong, while also planning for the New Year. You want to set yourself up for a big 2015. This means you need a strong Q4, AND a comprehensive strategy for next year. Do you have the expertise needed to do this?

What does it mean to have a comprehensive marketing strategy?

First, you must answer this simple question. We see a lot of confusion around the definition in general. In most cases, marketing tactics are often confused for a strategy. The first step to setting yourself up for success is understanding the difference.

Your marketing strategy should be an operating plan for your team. It should allocate your resources efficiently and drive revenue. If you use a strategy, your team will contribute to the company’s growth. It allows you to focus on the top priorities of the sales team, product team and your CEO.  

Now that you know what a marketing strategy is, how do you create one that works? Start by downloading our report, How to Increase Marketing’s Contribution to 2015 Revenue. It walks you through our 6 step methodology to creating an effective marketing strategy for 2015.

You can also learn from your peers. Avoid their mistakes to give yourself the best chance for success. Below are some of the most common errors we see.

Strategy Mistakes Made by CMOs

1. Being reactive instead of proactive. Is this your team? Are they consistently contributing to revenue, or is it all over the map? Until you can systemize your marketing tactics, contribution to revenue won’t be steady.
2. Unable to differentiate yourself from your competitor. The first question to ask yourself is – do you understand who your competitors really are? And if so, do you know what their marketing strategy is? Is it the same as yours? If so, you are limiting yourself. You will only be able to differentiate on product or prices.
3. You don’t understand your buyers. If your marketing strategy isn’t aligned with your buyers, they will not have a great experience. Learn more about your buyers and their journey here.
4. Not aligning your marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy needs to be aligned with both the corporate strategy and the product strategy. This is critical to being able to contribute to the bottom line.
5. Relying on luck. Some marketing leaders don’t have a strategy. They rely on pure luck. This is dangerous. Very dangerous.

    

As the year winds down you have a choice to make. You can stick with the status quo. Maybe you haven’t been making any of the mistakes mentioned above. Your team is excelling and both your sales leader and CEO are happy. Or maybe your marketing strategy needs an overhaul. Start 2015 off on the right foot by making sure you have the right strategy in place.

Read our report, How to Increase Marketing’s Contribution to 2015 Revenue, here. It will give you the framework needed to get started. If you’re interested in reviewing the report in more detail you can also schedule a 90 min. 1-on-1. It will ensure a bright start to 2015.