Tip: The 5 Pillars Of An Effective Marketing Strategy

76% of today’s marketers think their profession has changed more in the last two years than it did in the previous 50.

It’s a staggering thought, but it’s likely not far off the mark. As brands struggle to keep up with quickly-changing consumer behaviors, many traditional marketing programs are being rebuilt from the ground up. As you’re faced with having to decide how to redirect your budget, it’s important to understand what you must include, as well as which old-fashioned tactics should be laid to rest. Regardless of your budget size, KPIs or target marketing, here are the five most important things to include as components in your forward-facing marketing strategy:

1. Know Your Brand Values

Ultimately, what’s the basis of your relationship with your existing customers? There’s an exchange of goods or services for money, but think deeper than that. At the core, it’s about shared values. Your clients picked you instead of your competitors because of your track record of service, transparency or quality; or possibly some other factor that make your company distinct.

Understanding who your brand is within your industry, and how you help your clients in ways your competitors can’t should be at the very core of your marketing strategy. Thomas Dawson highlights that “shared values are the only path to competitive advantage.” Your prices and market placement could fluctuate by this time next year, but your brand essence will continue to set you apart.

2. Know Your Target Personas

Your organization has loads of customer data, but it is actionable? The most effective buyer personas represent a blend of functional and emotional elements. According to Jeff Bullas, “personas have emerged in the past few years as a means to put a human face to the soulless and faceless stats of the demographic data scientist.”

Traditional customer models rely on demographic information for the purpose of modeling and segmentation. However, an individual’s age and job title isn’t always an effective predictor of whether they’ll buy. 

Using qualitative data gleaned from interviews with your existing customers, you can gain insights on your persona’s goals and challenges, as well as where they shop and research purchases. Knowing these profiles will facilitate more targeted and emotionally-appealing marketing communications.

3. Know Your Geography and Target Industries

Even brands with a truly world-wide target market segment their communications according to geography. Why? It’s highly inefficient to broadcast marketing messages worldwide, without consideration of factors like cultural differences, and how they affect values. Understanding where your brand is trying to acquire customers, and from what industries, will allow you to optimally segment your communications. In an era where we encounter an average of 5,000 marketing messages a day, targeted communications are crucial for your messaging to even be noticed at all.

4. A SEO and Conversion-Optimized Website

Your website is your company’s calling card. 89% of modern consumers use a search engine for product research or purchase decisions, and 91.5% of these queries will land on a website that’s ranked on the first page of results. If your website isn’t a prominent presence in search, you’ll struggle to capture prospect attention and generate leads online. 96% of first-time visitors to your company website aren’t ready to buy, which is why it’s crucial that your site also offers conversion-optimized landing pages to capture lead contact information.

5. Integrating Your “All-bound Marketing”

Much of the meteoric growth of inbound marketing is due to the fact it’s often cheaper, according to marketing technologist Dan Stasiewski. While radio, television, and print advertising are down, they’re not obsolete, and failing to integrate these channels can cause you to miss out on critical opportunities to connect with your leads and customers.

Integrating your inbound and outbound marketing efforts into a single, cohesive strategy can allow you to “accelerate ahead of those who think they are at the crossroads, choosing one direction or the other,” writes agency CEO Jeff Kalter. Communicating via a combination of traditional and newer marketing methods can strengthen your ability to nurture leads into customers.

Studies have found that it takes an average of 7-12 touches to turn a lead into a customer. Incorporate your marketing communications across channels, from blogging to direct mail, to ensure your education and outreach messages are both logical and linear.