Happy Tuesday folks!
Do you know the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan?
I’ve started talking about this quite a bit… maybe because of the time of year, last minute mapping for 2024 has caused quite a stir in the world of brand marketing!
As a crucial function of any business, marketing is often thought upon as fantasy. A mysterious and complicated evil that must be conquered.
But should it be that complicated?
It doesn’t have to be.
So make 2023 the last year you puzzle over your annual marketing plans with my advice below.
So how do we do it?
I find the best way to conquer your marketing is by stripping it right back to its bones. Forget about TikTok’s, email campaigns and blogging - for now.
Start with breaking down the core of your business. AKA, the marketing strategy.
A marketing strategy is a long-term plan that outlines the overall goals and objectives of a business. It involves identifying the target audience, analysing the competition, and defining the value proposition. A marketing strategy provides a roadmap for achieving the company's goals, and it's not limited to a specific time frame. It's a comprehensive plan that guides the marketing efforts of a company over several years.
For example: you are a skincare brand, offering clean beauty for 35+ year olds in the UK. Your product is luxury, and so is your price range - but you do not focus on anti-aging. You are aiming to be placed alongside luxury and designer brands in key British department stores. You want to challenge the beauty industry to embrace aging, whilst caring for your skin.
Just using this short excerpt of audience and purpose, you have started to build your strategy.
And this is when you can start to remove the channels, partnerships and tactics you won’t use and create your marketing plan based on where your audience is and what you want to communicate.
A marketing plan is a short-term action plan that outlines the specific tactics and activities that will be executed to achieve the marketing objectives. It's a tactical plan that includes specific timelines, budgets, and KPIs. A marketing plan is usually developed annually or quarterly and details the marketing activities that will be executed to achieve the marketing strategy's goals.
And that’s it. Bitesized and easy.
If you are starting a fresh strategy try following this:
- Detail your current customer and your target market - what is the difference?
- Map your competitors and customer distractions
- Research your market, opportunities and scalability
- Outline your purpose, values, mission and vision
Before the year ends, let’s talk. We can map out your strategy and create a 12 month marketing plan to help you achieve your goals.
You can catch me over on sarah@bemorefox.co or DM me on LinkedIn.