No business possible without reasonably selected channels that will be used for products or services delivery. At the same time, no development and growth possible without extending the number of clients and increasing the market share. The key role in these purposes plays marketing strategy, which allows planning and allocating resources with minimum costs and maximum profits.
How does it work? What is better: creating own strategy or using an existing one? How to select the most suitable one for the certain company? And what are the possible disadvantages of using the marketing strategy? The answers are provided below.
Creating Own Strategy: Importance and Benefits
A sales strategy can be described via a set of tools and solutions oriented for realizing commercial goals. Depending on the type of business, its goals, and specifics the set of tools and decisions may vary. What will remain stable is the desire to attract new clients and achieve loyalty among regular ones. In other words, it should describe the way the business interacts with buyers and competitors.
Among the disadvantages of incorporating the sales concept is often named high costs and complexity. This is not the full truth. The effectively applied tools bring new clients and increase profitability that evidences its necessity and importance. Among other reasons proving the necessity to develop it:
Created guides and policies allow to make more effective decisions for goods promotion;
It defines the development direction and existing options, proposes an action plan in case of threats;
Assists in the creation of additional value to market, making the business stand out from competitors.
Disregarding such an important component used for promoting will never lead to prosperity and truly significant gains.
Things to Consider Creating Own Strategy
When it comes to developing the own concept the understanding of the following factors should be obtained:
How the internal and external environment can be used for benefits? Market research can help to define possible advantages and turn them into real action plan;
Based on the research the concept can be formulated. Considering buyer’ segmentation and business specifics the plan and set of tools can be determined;
Define the way the created concept and plan will be implemented.
The important thing about segmentation is to know clients and to cooperate with them with maximum efficiency. Depending on whether the company is oriented to individuals (B2C) or to legal entities (B2B) the following strategies can be successfully implemented.
Effective Strategies for B2B Entities
Social Media Marketing Strategy
Attractive and valuable content can significantly increase visibility and traffic if it is shared via social media. Additionally, when it is shared by people and their friends it affects credibility. And one more added benefit of it is the SEO effect. It promotes relevant information via popular networks and helps to be identified before any other company.
Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing strategy is directed to influence buyer’s behavior via informational/educational activities. By learning the interests and needs of potential buyers, the company can provide the relevant data to potential customers in the most suitable way, motivating them to purchase a product or order service. The format for informing may be any including blogs, landings, webinars, and even podcasts. Content marketing strategy’s results are:
Creating sales funnel;
Visibility, desirability, and credibility increase.
Inbound
The inbound concept is the approach helping buyers to find the business, rather than business attract new customers. It combines several tools and is aimed to help potentially interested buyers to find the company before they’ll find competitors. Based on the client’s preferences and search requests inbound concept allows offering products without noisy advertising by invitation of customers to the site. The main advantages are:
Applicable for any kind of business;
Easy in implementation;
Effectively informs about service/product.
Industry Events
Tradeshows and exhibitions are some of the most effective tools when it comes to B2B segment. Potential customers can learn about products via demonstrations and presentations and compare them to similar belonging to competitors. Entities may learn trends and markets. Even in the times of COVID-19 the online meetings and webinars still matter. The major benefits are:
Interaction with clients, strengthening or building business relationships;
Access to the high number of potentially interested leads;
High coverage of potential customers.
Effective Strategies for B2C Entities
Online Marketing Strategy
When it comes to any tools applied via the web, email, or other Internet tools, the online marketing strategy is considered. Whether it is social media, advertising shared via YouTube, reviews in blogs, or landing page all of it can be considered as an online marketing strategy.
Social Media Marketing Strategy
Actually, the principle of sharing the content via social networks is similar for both B2C and B2B. The main point is the information shared should respond to each segment and cover the needs of the audience. Otherwise, it slightly possible that sharing will happen, or targeted results will be achieved.
Paid Media Advertising
The paid media is used in order to increase the conversion and traffic of the website. The commission is paid for each visit, sometimes for a certain time spent on the site. Nevertheless, the tool is relatively old, it still effective in order to inform about the brand and fight for a new audience.
Story Telling
Considering the B2C segments apply to individuals one of the most effective tools is storytelling, which allows showing on an example how good the product is and create the necessity to buy it. It is aimed to affect emotions and motivate customers to buy the product as something needful or able to make them happy.
Resume
Except for described promotional tools, there’re many others, which are effective. The main point before making a decision of what set of tools to apply, is to understand the client and his needs and own business, and create the model which will respond to the interests of both sides.