What is a Marketing Strategy? Definition & Importance in 2023

Having a great marketing strategy is important. It’s the foundation of any business to help reach its goals. Without a comprehensive marketing strategy, organizations are set up to fail. In this blog, we provide an overview of good marketing strategies in modern marketing, and effective marketing strategies with examples in 2022.

THE WORD STRATEGY COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD STRATĒGIA, MEANING “ART OF THE TROOP LEADER, GENERALSHIP” – WHICH EXPLAINS ALL THE MILITARY ANALOGIES IN STRATEGY BOOKS.

 

Marketing Strategy, Defined:

Simply defined, a marketing strategy is defined as the high-level approach that you plan to use to achieve your objectives. Your marketing strategy is ultimately designed to reach your audience to promote your products or services.

Marketing strategies vs. plans and tactics – what’s the difference?

People often mistake the terms “marketing strategy”, “marketing plan,” and “marketing tactics. It is important to note that there are important distinctions between them.

• A marketing plan is the “execution”, while a marketing strategy is the “purpose” or “reason” behind your marketing plan. Marketing strategies are a subset of a marketing plan.
• A marketing tactic is a more granular detail included as a strategy. Tactics help accomplish the objectives of a marketing strategy.

 

Elements of a Marketing Strategy

When you create a marketing strategy, there are several elements that need to present. Here are seven foundational elements that must be accounted for with any marketing strategy.

 

 

Tips for Creating a Marketing Strategy

Creating a marketing strategy is easier said than done. Here are some important tips on developing a marketing strategy for your organization.

Tip #1: Choosing Different Marketing Strategies

A marketing strategy is tightly connected to your objectives, but it is important to note that you can choose different strategies to achieve the same goal.

For example, if your marketing objective is to “develop $1M in pipeline from mid-market tech companies”, your strategy might be: “Use targeted digital marketing to generate leads that are qualified by an inside sales team”. Another strategy to achieve that objective could be: “Leverage account based marketing to build opportunities within a named account list”.

Both approaches, while very different, maybe completely valid for your target market. You might even use a combination of these approaches to achieve your objective.   

Tip #2: Be Aligned in Your Strategy

With a marketing strategy, it’s important that your entire team. For example, if your organization uses the digital marketing approach, you need to ensure you have the appropriate inside sales resources and tools from product marketing to respond to the leads that will be created. You may need to pick just one strategy to conserve resources.

Tip #3: Defining Strategies at Different Levels

You can also define strategies at different levels. The examples above are strategies designed to achieve a specific marketing objective, but they can also be applied to your overall marketing plan.

HubSpot is a great example of a company with a well-defined, unifying marketing strategy. They leveraged content marketing to define a category of marketing they called inbound marketing. While they employ various marketing tactics, they all fit nicely into their overarching content marketing strategy.

A comprehensive marketing plan will have an overarching strategy with compatible strategies to achieve the key marketing objectives in your plan.

 

Best Marketing Strategies to Use in 2022

It’s important to note that not all marketing strategies will be the best fit for a brand. Some make much more sense than others based on the product or service sold, industry, marketing goals, user behavior, buying cycle, and more. Here are some strategies that well-known companies took.

#1 Promote strong values

Demonstrating company values to consumers is important. Companies that emphasize setting their brand foundation around string company values and exuding them in their marketing activities can reap the rewards.

Real-world example: Nike

Nike’s values of “inspiration and innovation for every athlete” in the world are shown true in every marketing channel or activity.

#2 Use video tutorials

Online tutorials are an effective marketing strategy in 2022. They are helpful for customers, and tutorial videos are particularly useful for products or services that are more difficult to use or understand. These videos play a part in the buying process.

Real-world example: Callaway Golf

Callaway Golf has a YouTube presence and a section on its website dedicated to instructional videos that break down the fundamentals of golf.

#3 Incorporate user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is a great way to get your audience engaged and helps build a loyal fan base for your brand. Using UGC as a marketing strategy, a company will re-use videos, photos, social media posts, reviews, or testimonials for customers or clients.

Real-world example: GoPro

UGC is a fitting marketing strategy for your brand when your product is designed to make video content. GoPro embraces its upbeat lifestyle through user-generated videos, which fits the brand, and promotes them on video-heavy platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

#4 Work with a brand ambassador

A brand ambassador is a person who a company hires to represent and promote its brand positively. With this marketing strategy, a brand and the ambassador hired should be completely aligned in the messaging, voice, and personality.

Real-world example: Spot Pet Insurance

Spot Pet Insurance hired Cesar Millan, a well-known dog trainer, to write content while carrying over its brand message. Their partnership is rooted in helping to make pet insurance coverage more accessible.

#5 Create a cause marketing campaign

Cause marketing seeks to increase profits while also bettering society. Companies will typically choose something they believe or stand for that closely aligns with customer base views.

Real-World Example: Jet Blue

Every November, JetBlue launches its cause marketing strategy, “JetBlue for Good”. This initiative highlights the airline’s charitable efforts to aid local communities and partner with non-profits.

 

Takeaways:

A great marketing strategy is important for helping you achieve your key objectives. We hope this article outlined some actionable tips for you to get started. If you’d like to learn more about marketing plans in our blog on how to create highly effective marketing plans, and the steps of the marketing planning process.

Planful is a marketing performance management software that can help marketers manage their marketing plans.