Developing a Marketing Strategy may begin to feel overwhelming when you're busy running your business. Don't get stuck fretting about it. Always remember to go back to the basics.
Remember the "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How" mantra used by journalists? These prompts, called the "5 W's and an H" will also help you focus on the basics as you begin the process of crafting a Marketing Strategy.
Who is your audience (a.k.a. your customer/potential customer)? Identify who you want to reach with information about your product or service.
What do you want your customer to know about your company or products? You may want to thank customers for their loyalty, introduce a new product or service, or raise awareness about your company.
When do you want your customer to receive this information and when is your customer most likely to be paying attention? Consider whether the information is time-sensitive (such as a short-time offer) or not (relevant for a longer duration of time). Also consider when your customer is most likely to interact with various media channels. If your customer is the parent of young children, for example, schedule your messages to run later in the evening when young children have most likely been bathed, fed and put to bed.
Where is your customer? Consider your customer's lifestyle and through what media they might see, hear and interact with your message. In this step think broadly about the social media, digital (online/streaming), traditional (radio/television) or out-of-home (billboards/transportation) channels your customer will most likely see, hear and interact with during their day.
You design a product or service to help customers overcome a challenge or improve their well-being. Explain why the information, product or service you provide will help and support your customer and why they should buy from you rather than your competitor.
Once the five "W's" are answered, you can begin developing your Marketing Strategy which is the "How."
Below, we share an example of how we used the "5 W's" in our work with an Economic Development organization for a coastal Connecticut town. Economic Development organizations serve local, county or state governments. Their goals vary but one of the most common is to attract tourists to their location because tourists bring their pocketbooks and support the economy. This organization wanted to draw more boaters into the town for day trips and overnight stays. We gathered the following information when we started asking the five "W's."
Boaters traveling along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard seeking day trip and overnight opportunities to a fun destination offering dining, shopping and entertainment.
The availability of moorings or slips at local marinas; the variety of unique dining options; the ability to restock supplies; the proximity of art, history, cultural and entertainment venues.
We may want to do some marketing during the boating season, but a more important time to get our message out is during the off-season when boaters are planning excursions for the up-coming season.
Social media sites focused on boats and boating; online and print publications catering the boaters; boat trade shows; and digital streaming content about travel and boating.
The town provides a variety of fun day and overnight trip experiences for boaters of all ages.
Only after we know the answers to the five "W's" can we begin devising our Marketing Strategy. Next steps include determining a budget, selecting specific media channels to use, creating content to share, planning our media purchasing, and developing a calendar outlining the timing and duration of our campaign.
The innovative and seasoned team at Scierka-Lang Media Solutions brings you advertising within a well-designed marketing strategy to provide you with an edge and deliver results. We thrive on successfully connecting our clients with their audience. Our approach intertwines traditional, digital and emerging media platforms to provide you with a unique and effective strategy to meet your goals.
When you reach your goals, we reach ours.