A Marketing strategy is crucial if you want to really succeed in your marketing. Amongst its advantages are:
1. Helping you to focus your marketing attention.
2. Better complete utilization of resources
3. Helps in increasing sales; and
4. A powerful resource of winning over your competitors.
Every company applies some kind of marketing strategies to maintain existing customers, attract potential customers and also to maintain and enhance their reputation in the market.
When designing a marketing plan, first a marketing strategy is taken into consideration. The marketing plan consists of steps to be taken so as to attain success in the implementation of the marketing strategy chosen. Big projects involve selection of different strategies at different levels. Usually a strategy consists of well-sketched tactics. They are meant to meet the needs and finally reach marketing objectives.
Each of the strategies has pre-calculated results because when a particular strategy is chosen at a particular level, its outcome becomes the goal of that particular level. If there is an absence of a well thought out strategy in a marketing plan it means it is supposedly lacking a good foundation. A reasonable marketing strategy should not only facilitate marketing goals, but also the action sequence of a campaign.
At regular time intervals the firm should analyze the marketing decision. This is done with the help of strategic models. The 3C's model is usaully considered for this purpose. The 3C's model determines the factors, which leads to the success of a marketing campaign.
There are three key parties involved in this model. These are:
>>> The corporation
>>> The customer; and
>>> The competitors.
The involvement of all the three key parties leads to positive results and this involvement is known as the 3C's or strategic triangle.
The role of the corporation is to increase the strength of the company in the success critical areas, when compared to that of the competitor. The customer and his interest form the basis of any strategy. The competitor also plays a vital part. The competitor-based strategies are based on the functioning of business competitors like design and engineering, sales and servicing, and purchasing.
When making a marketing plan some particular strategies known as mix strategies are used. 4P's model is used to calculate whether the plan is sticking to the strategies or not.
The four Ps stand for product, price, place and promotion. Products are goods produced by the company on a huge scale for the purpose of selling them and earning profit. Price is the money paid for a product by the customer. The price is based on many factors like competition, market share, customer perception and product identity. Place where the product is sold can be either physical store or store on the Internet. It is also known as distribution channel. To make the customer knowledgeable about a product, the marketer does promotion. It involves advertising, public relation and point of sale.
There are different types of marketing strategies based on some criteria. Some of the common marketing strategies are:
1. Market dominance strategies - Market dominance strategies are used to dominate the market. Examples of these are Challenger, Leader and Follower.
2. Porter generic strategies - Porter generic strategies are built on strategic strength or competing abilities and strategic scope or market penetration. Cost leadership, Market segmentation and Product differentiation are types of porter generic strategies.
3. Innovation strategies - Innovation strategies are meant to trigger the rate of product development and model innovation. It helps you as a business to incorporate latest technologies. Close followers, late follower and Pioneers are types of innovation strategies.
4. Growth strategies - Growth strategies facilitate the growth of the organization. Intensification, Diversification, Vertical integration and Horizontal integration are types of growth strategies.
5. Marketing warfare strategies are conjunction of marketing strategies and military strategies.
