It is excusable to think of marketing as exclusively products and customers (or consumers). After all without them, marketing forfeits its underlining principles. Consider the following guide for developing an effective marketing strategy:

Often the misguided knowledge of marketing strategy stems from inadequate understanding of strategy perhaps caused by the multiple frames of the concept that exists. Suffice to consider this definitive yet simplistic definition as constructed from management studies: strategy is all about configuring organisational capabilities for achieving superior marketplace positioning that delivers value to both customers and the organisation.

1) Understanding Marketing Strategy

Grasping this indelible rule of strategy is important. Meaning, your marketing strategy should aim at producing products and services that appeal to customers in return for burgeoning bottom-line. Hence, an effective marketing strategy is one that achieve that which it was set out to achieve.

2) Know your corporate mission and objectives

Corporate mission defines the purpose of the organisation; which market it wants to serve. And its objectives are quantitative (e.g. increase market share by 5% in the next two years) and qualitative statements (e.g. improve corporate reputation) set out to achieve organisational goals.

3) Conduct a marketing audit

Effective marketing strategies are never products of guess works though intuitive knowledge can be relevant but not without a review of the external and internal business environment of the organisation. The external business environment includes political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, ecological and legal forces that the firm interact with. For they can positively or negatively influence your business and the behaviour of customers (consumers) and competitors.

A review of the internal business environment relates to the capabilities and resources of the organisation usually summarised as the SWOT (where S-strengths, W-weakness, O-opportunities, T-threats) analysis. Suffice to highlight that the opportunities and threats relate the external environment in relation to your organisation's capabilities and resources.

Knowledge of the buying behaviour of the intended markets to serve is important. Identify a tangible, viable, reachable and profitable market segment that giving your organisation's distinctive competency can best serve.

4) Setting marketing objectives

By this stage, you're equipped with knowledge of your organisation's SWOT including the industry and macro-environment within which it operates. Focus now is on customers (consumers) and products | services. Set out smart statements such as "To capture 10% back-to school PC users in the UK market for the next six months".

5) Setting marketing strategies

Your knowledge of the company capabilities and the external environment prepares the ground to design superior marketing strategies to achieve your marketing objectives. Depending on your target market variables and marketing objectives, you configure your marketing strategies on the following dimensions identified as the 7Ps (product, price, place, promotion, people, process and positioning).

Because a marketing strategy was effective yesterday doesn't mean is as effective today. Today marketplace is far dynamic than five decades ago. As a result, your marketing strategies have to be more responsive to changing consumer needs and competitive forces. Marketers have renewed focus on service and product innovations and streamlining the value-chain activities between customers and product makers.

Learn more about this author, Berlin Asong.
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