Questions You Must Ask to Build a Strong Marketing Strategy

So you've been tasked with building out an entire marketing strategy, but you're not quite sure where to begin...

Luckily, I know where you can start. Research and strategy must come before implementing into a fully-fledged campaign. Here are 7 questions to ask yourself/your team to help guide you through the process.

1. What problem are you trying to solve?

Probably the most important question you should ask yourself is, "How can I fix our customer's problem?" This helps you focus on the root issue. This question lets you focus on the real value that you can provide to your customers aside from some generic product. Write down the exact problem you are trying to combat, so you have a starting point.

2. Who is your target market?

What type of audience are you going to focus most of your efforts on? Millennials? Fitness gurus? Business owners? Give some thought on how you will appeal to a large audience, and capture their attention. Creativity is key here. The more specific your target audience is will give you a higher chance of seeing more ROI.

3. Who are your competitors, and what is their advantage?

Do some research on what your competitors are doing to market their product/service. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? Establish where you can capitalize on an untapped audience or create a unique strategy that will appeal to more people.

You have to keep an eye on your competitors. See what kind of ads they are running, and what they are posting on social media to see if you can do anything better. Figure out what is missing about your current strategies that aren't quite capturing all of the audience you wish.

4. How will your market become aware of your campaign?

What platforms will you use to market your campaign? Word of mouth? Tradition marketing such as radio, TV, and billboards? Or digital marketing, and social media platforms? Start small by focusing your efforts on one space, and then as you get bigger you can scale your reach to more platforms.

Your business is unique. Figure out how to differentiate yourself from others, and portray that to your audience.

5. How much should I spend?

Money talks. Sure, you can market your business for free, or little-to-no money out of pocket, but that probably will take much more time, and lead to many more headaches.

An extremely important question is to ask yourself how much you are willing to spend on each campaign. If you are restricted to a certain budget then you should map out exactly how much you are willing to spend on each platform. Whether it's through digital marketing such as PPC or social media advertising you should be aware of how much you are spending, and when you've spent enough.

Click here to determine how much you should spend on advertising.

6. How will you implement the campaign?

Once the strategy is created, how will you bring it to life? Depending on your target audience, you will need to pick the best methods to explain, teach, and communicate your message to your audience.

Find out where your audience lives, and what their habits are when interacting with your type of product/service. Use that information to your advantage when trying to reach them.

Your market strategy should be split into three separate parts: Social Media, Content, and Paid Advertising.

Social Media is a must for online marketing. You will reach a much larger audience through social media platforms. Over three billion people use Facebook actively, and other platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat will continue to rise in activity.

Use content marketing as a way to educate your audience about your product, and why yours is better than your competitor. This is a long, and rather complicated part of the strategy however it is extremely necessary.

Finally, based on your budget you should determine where you want to advertise. Target based on demographic, location, and search terms. Use Facebook and Google to your advantage in order to reach your full audience potential.

7. What metrics determine success/failure?

Ultimately your business is about getting results. Whether your goal is simply brand awareness, to grow an email list, or to generate more sales you still need to have attainable goals. Use the common SMART goal strategy to determine your metrics.

• Specific goals that are clear and concise.
• Measurable goals that can be realistically reached.
• Achievable goals that you can meet.
• Relevant goals that relate to your business, and your marketing goals.
• Time-bound guidelines that determine when a campaign should start and end.

Final Thoughts...

If you have no starting point yet, use these seven questions as a foundation to your marketing strategy. Ask yourself these questions, then ask your team the same questions, so you can all be on the same page, and each have the same vision.

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