Why Do You Need a Marketing Strategy?

A key rule

One of the key rules which our team uses in marketing is this: If it isn’t written down clearly, it doesn’t exist. But what exactly does that mean? When it comes to your marketing strategy it means that if you haven’t taken the time to write it out thoroughly in written form, then your real strategy is to fly by the seat of your pants. Because when it comes time for the rubber to meet the road, if you haven’t made clear plans that you can actually follow, you will resort to doing whatever you think is good in the moment.

You need a strategy for every action

Whether you plan to use LinkedIn or Facebook, or even emails you need a strategy for how that will work. Every action must fit into the larger picture. If what you want to do doesn’t fit what you are trying to achieve you will only end up wasting your time and energy and confusing your audience. Having a strategy outlined will keep you from going off track and will keep you moving toward your actual goals. Marketing without a strategy will waste your time, energy, and most importantly your money. And you need a strategy that accounts for all the elements of your marketing.

It will save you time

Sitting down to create a strategy might seem like it would cost you a lot of time. It will take you a few hours at least to set it up. But the time it saves you when you are in the middle of working is invaluable. Your time spent creating the strategy will enable you to handle the campaign you are building and make everything flow smoother.

You won’t have to rely on your gut instinct

Ultimately the time savings come from how it changes your decision making process. When you are making decisions in the moment, you have to slow down evaluate the problem, look for solutions, weigh your options and then make a decision. And decision paralysis in that moment can cost you hours or days of precious time. The alternative is going with a quick gut reaction that isn’t based on facts or data. And decisions like that can end up costing you a lot more than you want to pay. Having a strategy that tells you what step to take next will keep you from making decisions based solely on how you feel. You won’t have to hope that your decisions will somehow work out. You will have already put in the effort to make the best decision, and set yourself up to make the decision without wasting time.

Playing catch up prevents you from making actively positive decisions

One thing we see from many businesses is the “catch-up” game. The problem is that once you get behind, catching up is all you can seem to do. Always reacting to what is going on and trying to get to a point where you are “up to date” leaves you in a decision deficit. Your decisions are not leading towards a positive goal. You are only trying to eliminate a negative. Having a marketing strategy from the start sets you on the path to make positive decisions and pursue active growth.

What does a strategy look like when you put it together?

While what we described above describes what a strategy helps you do practically, you are probably still wondering how to put one together. Fortunately, we have just the thing to help. We have put together a free template for you to download and use. It will show you what questions to ask and how to organize your strategy so you can use it to make good decisions and create a campaign that converts prospects into buyers. If you have questions how to use the template or something related, you can sign up for a free 15 minute call to get your questions answered.