Why Do I Need a Marketing Strategy to Communicate?

Are you relying on your task lists and goals to propel your marketing strategy forward?  Don’t get me wrong, these help, but too often I see businesses that jump on board with the latest marketing channel [Google +] but they don’t use it effectively. There are many reasons: not enough time, resources, understanding of the tool or their audience.

Downside Risk

Ron Schott from Search Engine Watch pointed out in his post this past Saturday the downside of not adhering to a strategy when it comes to companies trying to use Google + brand pages – even when Google said they weren’t ready. “…some brands jumped on the platform anyway, and, as promised, Google began shutting down many of these accounts Friday.”  [He also gave some great  Google + tips to help marketers get ready for brand pages once they are launched].

One business I know just demanded employees get involved in social media…start posting to Facebook was the plea from management – and when the employees posted things that hurt other departments within the same company, said business realized they needed to give their employees more than just a task to complete…they needed to enlist a social media strategy.

Even small companies can use this…

3 Step Marketing Strategy Planning:

1. List the business challenge(s) and/or objectives.
2. Design guidelines that produce an advantage (from the example above, this could be a Facebook posting policy targeted to cross promote other departments within the organization).
3. Create an action plan, also known as a marketing strategy, that includes specifics that align with the objectives listed in step 1.

While this is a simple concept, it is a powerful tool you can utilize to create marketing that matters.

professional PUNCH is a marketing, business development and freelance writing firm that helps companies build their business through communication strategies.