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The importance of implementing a marketing strategy in your business

marketing-stratgey
“Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.” ― Henry Mintzberg (academic and author)

With 50% of new businesses failing in their first year, the excitement of jumping in head first and growing a business can sometimes lead to important preparation activities, such as research, strategy and planning, being left behind. Attempting to master the multiple and ever-changing marketing channels available without a clear direction can be impossible. The creation and effective implementation of a marketing strategy can be the difference between a business sinking and swimming.

Not only does a marketing strategy establish solid and tangible goals, it also provides an understanding of target markets and customers, which serves as a valuable foundation for future communication campaigns. A good marketing strategy should provide the business with focus and direction by identifying the opportunities worth pursuing, as well as the threats to avoid.

 

When completing your strategy, here are just some of the factors you should consider:

  • Unique selling point – what makes your product or service different from competitors? Think beyond your experience in the industry
  • Target market – will you be focusing on businesses or consumers? Where are they located? What is their job title etc.?
  • The pricing and position of the product or service – are they aligned? Will you be offering a premium service or product at a premium price?
  • Marketing materials and platforms – will you adopt social media and email marketing campaigns to attract your target market?

For inspiration, take a look at some well-known brands who have recently changed their marketing strategy in order to grow their business and generate a wider appeal:

 

Müller

 One of the largest producers of dairy products in Europe, Müller, have produced some memorable marketing campaigns over the years, sponsoring Aston Villa football club and most recently using Nicole Scherzinger in a campaign of television commercials.

At the start of 2014, the company decided to rethink their marketing strategy and have begun training staff from other areas of the company in marketing in order to share responsibility for the brand.

Müller’s staff training scheme, “BCubed”, teaches their marketing strategy in a bid to encourage ground breaking ideas for marketing campaigns and new products throughout the company. Müller plan to hold internal workshops and have already asked staff to share new product ideas in a ballot, which took place last October.

Michael Inpong, the company’s UK Marketing Director says “Marketing is central at Müller so we need to make sure we know how it affects every part of the business.”

 

IKEA

The Swedish furniture company, IKEA, which is famous for its flat-pack furniture, have recently implemented an updated marketing strategy.

IKEA’s past focus used to be on individual rooms; however, their new strategy highlights specific activities that take place in the home. The brands recent campaigns have been shot in a music video format, focusing on entertaining, spring cleaning and outdoor living as a way of improving your home.

IKEA’s marketing manager says “Awareness isn’t where I would like it to be and preference for the brand could be stronger.” He claims that this is because of people’s attitudes towards their homes, they’re more interested in the newest gadgets and electronic goods so they ignore the fact that their home is “falling apart” around them.  Ikea hope to change this attitude with their new marketing strategy.

 

Coke Zero

Coke Zero, the low calorie version of Coca Cola, was first introduced in 2005, marketed specifically at men who were seen to associate diet drinks with women.

Earlier this year, Coca Cola re-launched the product, which has come to be nicknamed “Bloke Coke”.  Coke Zero have changed their marketing strategy and now hope to reach out to a “new demographic” of young people, not just men. Their new campaign plays on the slogan “Just Add Zero” and shows a young male adding “Zero” to certain aspects of his life, which become infinitely better.

Coca Cola’s Great Britain marketing activation director says “Coke Zero has seen a healthy sales growth in the UK in a short space of time and now we’re marking a new edgier direction with the ‘Just Add Zero’ platform, which we believe is a life philosophy.”

Only time will tell if the new marketing strategies adopted by the likes of IKEA and Coke Zero will be successful. To create an effective strategy, it must be simple to understand, with a realistic and clear path of action that different members of the business can apply. To generate the desired results, a strategy should be reviewed and updated throughout the year.

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How we can help:

If you’re still in need of some inspiration for your marketing strategy, Growth Vouchers might be a step in the right direction.

Your business could be eligible for up to £2000 of match funding from the £30m government funded scheme. If your business is successful during the application process, the vouchers can then be spent on strategic advice in certain areas, one of which is marketing.

If you would like to find out more about the government’s Growth Vouchers scheme, click here. 

#MarketingTitbits – Facebook campaigns by Ikea, ‘Brick by Brick’ and tips on being social media savvy from Richard Branson.

1. Six awesome examples of Facebook campaigns by Ikea
Ikea is the world’s largest furniture retailer, amassing sales last year of £186 billion, selling ready to assemble furniture in 38 countries around the world. Unsurprisingly, Ikea has managed to attain a pretty impressive social media fan base over the years with millions of Facebook fans and hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers, particularly impressive for a furniture retailer!

We found this great article, which showcases six inspirational examples of Facebook campaigns from Ikea. To have a look click here.

 

2. What can your company learn from Lego?

Founded in 1932, Lego is one of the oldest plastic toys in the world. Today, Lego is an iconic brand and one of the most successful and popular toys of all time, with 80 Lego bricks for every one man, woman and child on the plant today!

David Robertson’s new book, Brick by Brick, tells the story of the family owned company from Denmark, about how they grew steadily for years until the 1990s, when they struggled to compete with new technologies. The book follows Lego through the harder times, when in 2003 they nearly went bankrupt, with the company seeing its biggest loss in history. However, Lego managed to save itself and companies of all sizes can learn a lot from David Robertson’s account of the journey.

http://www.robertsoninnovation.com/brick-by-brick/

3. Richard Branson on being social media savvy

Sir Richard Branson is perhaps the most familiar current British entrepreneur on the world stage. He is the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group and began his very first business venture at the ripe old age of 16. However, to achieve his success he has had to keep up with the times, something that he has done incredibly successfully.

Despite being 63 years old, there are many things that we can learn about being social media savvy from Richard Branson and he regularly shares his advice and business experience with anyone and everyone who is willing to take it.

We have found this article that highlights Richard Branson’s main points around how to harness social media and we think it is really worth a read. If you would like to read more thenclick here.

#MarketingTitbits – paper, augmented reality, Google

  1. FINAL-ONE-SMALLERHow a 75 year old piece ofpaper started modern communicationIn October 1938, an American physicist, inventor and patent attorney, Chester Carlson spent a Saturday morning with his assistant creating the world’s very first dry copy. The world’s first xerographic image read “10.-22.-38 ASTORIA”. It took another 4 years before Carlson was issued a patent on his new process, which was eventually renamed xerography, a name which was later appropriated by the multinational printing company Xerox. Carlson’s invention heralded the beginning of modern computing and prompted the invention of the photocopier, which changed the way that people work in offices forever.

    2. Augmented reality

    Augmented reality is a view of the real world which has been edited or augmented by technology in some way. The idea of augmented reality has been around since 1901 when L. Frank Baum, the author best known for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, spoke about the idea of an electronic display overlaying data onto real life. Despite this, nothing was put into practice until 1962, when cinematographer Morton Heilig invented and patented Sensorama, a simulator with visuals, sound, vibration, and smell. Between 1901 and 2013 a lot has changed, technology has moved from a simple idea to Google announcing the beta phase of Google Glass, turning the idea into reality.

However, it is not just those lucky few Google Glass users that can get to experience augmented reality. Increasingly, there are a wide variety of mobile apps that use augmented reality to enhance your real life experience. This year, Ikea and Audi have released augmented reality apps that are not just for fun. Ikea’s app lets users ‘try out’ furniture and artwork in their home before they buy it and Audi have developed an augmented reality handbook app for their newest Audi A1 model.

3. Shared endorsements from Google

This week, Google updated its terms and conditions and the changes might give you cause to think carefully about the comments or ratings you give to anything on Google’s services like Google+ and YouTube. Google can now use adult users’ comments and ratings and provide them to companies to use as endorsements for internet advertising. These are accompanied with the endorsers’ names and photos.

To have a look at the full article click here.