5 questions to ask yourself before creating your Marketing Strategy

Where do you start when you want to develop a comprehensive Marketing Strategy?

Despite the advances that Marketing has had, it continues to be a common challenge for many companies, especially with the number of channels, platforms, and tools that exist today, not to mention how demanding today's consumers have become. What is certain is that the Marketing environment is constantly evolving, and that is why it’s important to develop a Marketing Strategy, not only to effectively attract and maintain your customers, but to grow your business in a sustainable manner.

We tend to get overwhelmed with tactics, forgetting to create a framework that enables smart decision making and an effective implementation.

Asking smart Marketing Strategy questions is the fastest route to smart answers. That said, before starting to define a plan from scratch, here are 5 questions you should be asking yourself, prior to creating a Marketing Strategy:

1. Have you defined your famous "Buyer Persona"? This seems elementary, but in practice many companies make several mistakes in this regard. Maybe they know who the buyer person is, but they don't direct the messages to the people who actually use the products. Or they think they know who is buying from them, but they are not entirely sure, making segmentation errors. When you analyze and determine not only who your current Buyer Persona is, but who your ideal Buyer Persona is, that is when you can direct your Marketing Strategies efficiently, and also consider: where and when they consume information, what they think, what they see, who they listen to, who influences them, and what their needs are (better known as the Empathy Map).

2. Do you know who your product or service is competing with? Many times, we believe that whoever sells the same product or service is our only competitor. However, that is far from true. Other companies that cover the same needs, but offer another product or service, are also your competition. There are also companies that used to sell the same product or service as your company, but that have innovated and rather make your offer look obsolete. It is important to know who your competition is, what they do, how they do it, how they differentiate themselves, and have them continuously monitored.

3. Have you thought about your value proposition? As in life, a company must be able to know its product or service well, explain what it is for and why it is important to the customer. The funny thing is that many companies are not able to explain what their value proposition is. A well-defined value proposition, customized for the Buyer Personas (or target audience), allows you to focus efforts, differentiate and offer value. Every brand is born with a purpose, which is not to make money, but to help people. Every brand, therefore, has an implicit “what for”. That “what for” is your value proposition. The reason that makes your existence relevant.

4. Have you defined objectives and goals? It seems simple enough, but it is often overlooked. Before executing, define your north. It is very difficult to improve if progress is not measured. Start with a 90-day Plan. It doesn't have to be extensive at all, rather it should be precise and concrete - and adjust as you go. Ideally using the SMART method: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based. This will allow you to stay focused when brainstorming, creating concepts or campaigns, and executing various tactics. This will also make it possible to differentiate between success and opportunities for improvement.

5. Finally, have you defined what resources you need to carry out your Marketing Strategy? I am not only talking about a budget, although that is important, but the Team that you will require. The main reason big ideas and strategic plans don't get executed is because no one thought about who was going to do the work. Take an inventory of the people inside and outside your organization who can help you implement your plan. Be creative. Consider outsourcing your Marketing services, incorporating expert experience.

It seems pretty simple, right? Strategy is the foundation. Without a good foundation, tactics can crumble. That is why it is important to build the Marketing Strategy correctly and develop it intelligently.

A Marketing Strategy takes even more relevance in our "new normal". Companies have had to rethink their strategies, in an Era where: customers are staying at home, social distancing is necessary, and where an unpredictable environment exists.

Marketing Strategies can help increase effectiveness and efficiency. And companies that are most flexible and fastest to adapt to the new reality, are the ones that will have a greater advantage in the market and will become industry leaders - that others will have to follow. Having said that, Marketing is essential when positioning your brand in the market. It brings more business, new customers and also, creates and reinforces brand loyalty.

In recent months, Novacomp has seen a growing need to offer Marketing services, complementary to the services it already offers its clients in software development, maintenance and testing, amongst other IT Outsourcing and Nearshoring services. These offerings will come to complete our Portfolio, through digital teams, specialized in various Marketing branches, generating of unique digital Marketing experiences.

Therefore, we are pleased to announce that Novacomp may be the answer to question number five (5), as it now offers Marketing services, divided into the following categories and sub-categories:

MARKETING

Strategy

• Planning

• Project Management

Design

• Branding

• Graphic Design

• Web Design

Web Development

• Front-End

• Back-End

Digital Marketing

• SEO

• SEM

• Data

• Content Creation

Data Analytics

• Reporting

• Social Media Management

UX-UI

• Service Design

• User Interface (UI) Design

• User Experience (UX) Design

• Motion & Interaction Design

• User Testing and Accessibility

So, let’s go back to our initial question:
Where do you start when you want to develop a comprehensive Marketing Strategy?

The answer is simple: with Novacomp

Through the Planning service, we can help you define your comprehensive Marketing Strategy. Solving the first four questions that we asked at the beginning of this Blog. This disciplinary approach seeks to generate insights. We sit down with you and your team to research the current situation of your product or service, and that of your company, identifying the specific need. We investigate the competition creating a benchmark. Together we develop your value proposition and identify your Buyer Personas, and then of course develop the Marketing Strategy, establishing goals and objectives - and the exact plan to achieve them.

We invite you to learn more about our Marketing services: www.crnova.com/en/services-marketing and see how we combine our talent and creativity, with your vision and inspiration, to offer you: cutting-edge solutions and an unmatched digital experience.

We are the perfect combination between Marketing and Technology!