1 Business and brand strategy
Before you can delve into marketing strategy, take a step back and consider the business and brand with which you are working.
The end-goal of any business is to make money, in one way or another. Business strategy asks the questions: ‘What is the business challenge we are facing that prevents us from making more revenue?’ or, ‘What business objective should we strive for in order to increase the money in the bank?’
The brand is the vessel of value in this equation. The brand justifies why the business matters, and what value its adds to people’s lives. The value of the brand is measured in terms of its equity – how aware are people of the brand? Does it hold positive associations and perceived value? How loyal are people to the brand?
When you have the answer to this question, you can formulate a marketing strategy to address the challenge or objective you’ve discovered.
2 Marketing strategy
The purpose of a marketing strategy is to address a business or brand challenge or objective that has been revealed. An effective strategy involves making a series of well-informed decisions about how the brand, product or service should be promoted; the brand that attempts to be all things to all people risks becoming unfocused or losing the clarity of its value proposition.
For example, a new airline would need to consider how it is going to add value to the category and differentiate itself from competitors; whether their product is a domestic or international service; whether its target market would be budget travellers or international and business travellers; and whether the channel would be through primary airports or smaller, more cost-effective airports. Each of these choices will result in a vastly different strategic direction.
To make these decisions, a strategist must understand the context in which the brand operates: what are the factors that affect the business? This means conducting a situational analysis that looks at four pillars:
1. The environment
2. The business
3. The customers
4. The competitors
The brand is the vessel of value in this equation. The brand justifies why the business matters, and what value its adds to people’s lives. The value of the brand is measured in terms of its equity – how aware are people of the brand? Does it hold positive associations and perceived value? How loyal are people to the brand?
When you have the answer to this question, you can formulate a marketing strategy to address the challenge or objective you’ve discovered.
2 Marketing strategy
The purpose of a marketing strategy is to address a business or brand challenge or objective that has been revealed. An effective strategy involves making a series of well-informed decisions about how the brand, product or service should be promoted; the brand that attempts to be all things to all people risks becoming unfocused or losing the clarity of its value proposition.
For example, a new airline would need to consider how it is going to add value to the category and differentiate itself from competitors; whether their product is a domestic or international service; whether its target market would be budget travellers or international and business travellers; and whether the channel would be through primary airports or smaller, more cost-effective airports. Each of these choices will result in a vastly different strategic direction.
To make these decisions, a strategist must understand the context in which the brand operates: what are the factors that affect the business? This means conducting a situational analysis that looks at four pillars:
1. The environment
2. The business
3. The customers
4. The competitors
