What is a marketing strategy and how it can transform your business 

Key takeaways: 

• You need to identify details like buyer personas, budget allocation, SMART goals, and KPI monitoring to create an effective marketing strategy. 
• Real world examples like Wendy’s social media campaign demonstrate how an effective marketing strategy can bring huge ROIs. 
• Different channels provide opportunities to craft different marketing strategies. 

What if you had a blueprint to consistently attract and engage your target audience? That is what a marketing strategy can accomplish. An effective marketing strategy can deliver key brand messaging to your target market and direct them to your products and service that most resonates with their needs and values. As the best-selling author and successful American entrepreneur, Seth Godin once said, “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”   

Below, we’ll define a marketing strategy and illustrate a step-by-step guide for building one and integrating it into your business plans. We’ll also highlight how Wendy’s created an effective social media marketing campaign to boost profits and become one of the most prominent fast-food chains. 

What is a marketing strategy? 

A marketing strategy is an overarching marketing plan that involves aligning your products and services to the interests of a target audience. Creating an effective marketing strategy requires properly defining three factors: 

• Target audience. A specific group of customers will most likely purchase your goods and services. These are the people who most resonate with your company values and messaging. 
• Value proposition. Your value proposition is a concise statement that clearly defines your company’s unique benefits. It addresses why customers should value your company over the competition. 
• Key brand messaging. It is a concise and consistent expression of your company’s values and personality. A potent message requires following your brand message across all channels and marketing efforts. 

How to develop a marketing strategy 

Developing a successful marketing strategy isn’t a one-person job. To create a marketing strategy, you need collaboration and brainstorming between every section of your business. 

Here are the steps you need to take to build your company’s marketing strategy. 

Specify your goals 

The first step to creating a marketing strategy is to specify your marketing goals.  Marketing goals are the specific outcomes you want to achieve—whether it’s boosting traffic, growing your audience, or increasing conversions. Without one, you won’t have metrics to measure whether you effectively pulled off your marketing strategy. 

The SMART framework can help you build marketing goals for your overall strategy. Using the framework can give your goals a structure, avoiding any guesswork and ensuring that your marketing strategy has a concrete objective to accomplish. 

SMART goals need to fulfill these five conditions: 

• Specific. Goals should be clear and leave no room for ambiguity. 
• Measurable. You need to be able to track the completion progress of your goals. 
• Achievable. Goals need to be realistic and achievable within your set timeframe. 
• Relevant. The goals should relate to the overall priorities of your business. 
• Time-bound. You should have a set deadline for completing your goals. 

Build your customer profile 

Identifying your ideal customers can give your marketing strategy a proper direction. Any product or service has an ideal customer to serve. 

Building a customer profile entails identifying the characteristics and preferences that influence your customer’s decisions. Here’s what you need to do to craft customer personas that will inform your marketing strategies: 

1. Demographic information 
   • Age. Identify the relevant customer age range that resonates with your products and services. 
   • Gender. Take note of whether specific genders prefer your products. 
   • Location. Identify geographic locations where most of your customers reside. 
   • Income. Pinpoint how buying power affects customer decisions, and adjust your pricing decisions based on data.
2. Psychographic data 
   • Interests. Leverage customer interests to better position your products or adjust product messaging. 
   • Values. Associate your products with values your customers resonate with, such as sustainability. 
   • Pain points. Create products and services that address customer issues. 
3. Buying behavior 
   • Triggers. Identify what causes your customers to consider purchasing a product, such as life changes, discounts, holidays, etc. 
   • Decision-making process. Understand how your customers decide which products they prefer.  
   • Channels. Research which channels customers prefer using when shopping. 

Create your brand values and messaging 

Your brand needs to connect to your target market beyond selling a product. You need to answer why your brand is worth believing in and what sets it apart from the rest. Powerful messaging builds a strong emotional and rational connection between you and your audience. Consistently and outwardly portraying these elements builds customer loyalty and a reason to believe in your brand over the competition. Here’s what you need to do to create powerful values and messages: 

• Develop your unique selling point (USP). Explain what you do, who your products and services are for, and why you are worth using over the competition.
• Create a tagline or slogan. Craft a catchy one-liner that sums up your brand. For example, Nike’s “Just do it.” 
• Tell your brand story. Use an about us page to tell the story of your business. Elaborate on your vision, mission, and origins. 
• Keep a consistent tone. Use a personality that resonates with the audience and keep it consistent in each marketing material.  

Set a budget 

Assign funds to support your marketing strategy’s goals while aligning with the overall priorities of your business. Here’s how you can assign a budget from your marketing strategy: 

1. Review business goals and marketing objectives. 
   • Alignment. Ensure your team fully understands your financial targets and strategic priorities. 
   • Marketing needs. Identify which marketing efforts are most crucial to achieving your objectives.
2. Analyze historical data. 
   • Historic spend. Examine past marketing budgets. See what worked and what didn’t and adjust the budget accordingly. 
   • Industry standards. Study data within your industry. Work within similar parameters for how much the sector allocates its marketing budget. 
3. Break down costs. 
   • Fixed vs. variable. Note the different ongoing and variable expenses, such as subscription fees (ongoing) vs. pay-per-click ads (variable). 
   • Activity-specific line items. Allocate budgets to specific marketing campaigns to maintain transparency and ROI tracking.
4. Plan for failure. 
   • Set buffers. Separate a small portion of the budget (5-10%) to account for unexpected costs or sudden opportunities. 
   • Keep flexible. Embrace adaptability. Look for opportunities to pivot and increase your investment if you see great returns or pull out if your efforts are floundering. 

Select marketing channels 

Marketing channels are the platforms businesses use to communicate with their target audience. For instance, in the past, door-to-door salespeople were effective channels for advertising a company’s products or services. Today, businesses leverage social media channels like X or Facebook to keep in touch with their customers. 

Choosing the right mix of channels can effectively reach and engage your ideal customers. 

Here’s what you need to do to identify the proper channels for your marketing strategy: 

• Align with goals. Specific channels can more effectively achieve your goals. For example, TV ads can increase visibility, while social media campaigns can encourage more engagement. 
• Know your audience. Different demographics consume media in their own ways. Use a channel that your customer personas resonate with. 
• Maintain an omnichannel appearance. Your marketing strategy needs to have a seamless user experience across different channels. For instance, when a customer clicks your ad on Instagram, they’re redirected to your homepage and receive a follow-up email regarding the interaction. A diversification strategy across different channels can enhance the impact of your overall marketing strategy.  

Measure key performance indicators (KPIs) 

KPIs are quantifiable metrics you can use to determine whether a marketing strategy is succeeding or not. Keeping track of KPIs helps you make data-driven decisions on where you can optimize your efforts. 

Five types of KPIs help gauge your success: 

• Awareness metrics. Reach and impressions. 
• Engagement metrics. Likes, comments, and shares. 
• Conversion metrics. Leads generated, sales, and conversion rates. 
• Retention metrics. Repeat purchase and churn rates. 
• Financial metrics. Return on advertising spent (ROAS), marketing ROI, and profit margins. 

You can measure your KPIs through the following process: 

• Tie them to your goals. Use KPIs that measure and align with the SMART goals you specified. 
• Use relevant data sources. Leverage tools like CRM software, Google Analytics, and market research to monitor each KPI. 
• Monitor frequently. Track progress weekly or monthly based on campaign goals. 
• Establish benchmarks. Compare KPIs with the industry average. Also, aim to innovate while maintaining achievable KPIs. 
• Optimize. Adjust targets and marketing tactics as the marketing strategy evolves and progresses. 
• Communicate findings. Make KPIs accessible to the entire team to help guide their day-to-day activities. 

Types of marketing strategies 

Businesses tailor different marketing strategies to appeal to various audiences. One strategy may leverage an influencer to reach an intended audience. On the other hand, you can use email to cast a wide net and try to convert the largest number of customers possible. 

Here are the most common marketing strategies that companies rely on: 

• Content marketing. Distribute value-added content, such as blogs and video series, to gain customer loyalty and attention. 
• Social media marketing. Leverage social media to distribute content while allowing your target audience to engage with your brand. 
• Search engine optimization (SEO). Focuses on optimizing websites and content to rank better on search engine result pages (SERPs). A high SERP rank for keywords that align with your marketing strategy provides a better user experience and attracts organic traffic. 
• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Involves using social media and search engines to display ads you only pay for when users click them. It helps provide immediate visibility while having a flexible budget. 
• Email marketing. Uses targeted emails that aim to convert prospects into customers. A strong, segmented customer persona can help tailor a powerful, targeted message that guarantees results. 
• Influencer marketing. Partner with an online personality (e.g., a YouTuber, TikTok creator, or Vlogger) to leverage their audience. Use sponsored content to raise awareness of your brand with their audience. 

You can learn more about the different types of marketing strategies from our blog on differentiating between SEO and PPC. 

How Wendy’s created an effective social media marketing strategy 

In 2017, Wendy’s had a brand resurgence by leveraging an effective social media marketing strategy. Using  their X profile (formerly Twitter) they engaged with their customers using humor and meme-driven content. In fact, they weren’t afraid to push the envelope by engaging with different fast-food brands. 

All in all, their efforts achieved the following goals: 

• Their X followers increased by one million from the previous year. 
• Their unique engagements increased by five to 10 times per tweet. 
• Following their social media campaign, Wendy’s net worth increased by 61% in 2018. 

Wendy’s success came from understanding its Gen Z and millennial audience, who respond well to bold, humorous content. It goes to show how a well-thought-out social media marketing strategy can garner huge returns. 

Leverage Web.com to craft an effective marketing strategy 

An effective marketing strategy requires an in-depth plan that tackles buyer personas, budget allocation, a diversification strategy, and more. A well-crafted and strong marketing strategy can set your company up for success, as Wendy’s did by increasing market penetration and overall customer awareness. 

Build an effective marketing strategy today by leveraging tools from Web.com. Through tools like our email services, you can craft a marketing strategy that will take your brand to the next level. 

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