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What Is Strategic Marketing?

Terry Masters
Terry Masters

Strategic marketing is a consumer-based approach to product promotion that identifies market segments and attempts to make them more profitable by providing superior value. It uses many of the same theories and approaches as strategic management. This type of marketing often results in a written strategic marketing plan that is developed from extensive market analysis.

The concept of strategic marketing is a direct time value approach to planning. Marketing in the corporate context was traditionally tactical. Resources were rallied in response to changes in the sales landscape on a current, even day-to-day, basis. Tactical marketing was competitor-driven, and promotional strategies and advertising campaigns were designed to capitalize on perceived weaknesses of the competition in a certain market or to emphasize a product’s comparative strengths.

Marketing coming from a strategic perspective usually takes a long view of the market.
Marketing coming from a strategic perspective usually takes a long view of the market.

Marketing from a strategic perspective takes a long view and extends the marketing process beyond what was traditionally viewed as the engagement window. It is planning from the customer perspective by analyzing what drives the purchase decision. The analysis of the decision-making process starts well in advance of the actual buy. Strategic marketing takes the process back to the initial market segmentation, looking for consumer clusters that not only have a need but can also drive the company’s overall direction.

The process of creating a strategic marketing plan starts with a team that does a thorough analysis.
The process of creating a strategic marketing plan starts with a team that does a thorough analysis.

Long term planning often results in a written plan, and this is likewise true with the strategic marketing plan. The strategic mindset usually includes segmenting the market, defining the market’s potential, and developing a targeted, consumer-based strategy. This way of approaching marketing takes many of its underlying theories from the study of strategic management, which analyzes management structure and decision-making from the perspective of the employee rather than that of the corporation.

Strategic marketing looks at how to get products into the hands of target demographics.
Strategic marketing looks at how to get products into the hands of target demographics.

The process of creating a strategic marketing plan starts with a working team that goes through a thorough analysis. This team does the research and completes a situational analysis that allows it to create the parts of the plan. It identifies marketing objectives that match customer needs and brainstorms strategies to meet those objectives.

Typically, the strategic marketing plan that results from the working team’s efforts will include product development, marketing communications, sales development, and customer service. In fact, each of these section should be treated as a mini plan-within-a-plan, and will have a sub-list of sections that are ordinarily expected in this type of document. Developing a long term, strategy-based plan will help a company avoid wasting marketing resources or missing valuable opportunities.

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Discussion Comments

hamje32

@MrMoody - Sometimes you know what people want by studying certain demographic or buying characteristics.

For example, people who listen to talk radio a lot may be interested in investments or home business opportunities.

You can also buy mailing lists, which are targeted lists of people with specific buying interests. I tend to frown on mailing lists because they usually promote junk mail, but they are still used.

You can find local list distributors in your area that will sell you lists of people in just about every market segment you can imagine.

MrMoody

What do people want? That is the question, and it seems to be the driving force behind the marketing strategy that the article talks about.

In order to answer that question, I can think of no better practice than to simply ask people what they want.

When I first started offering software consulting services, I started networking with my circle of friends. I would ask them if they needed a web developer; sometimes they would say no, they needed someone who could create a basic spreadsheet application, or build them a simple database to manage their finances.

Instantly, I knew what they wanted – so I tailored my services accordingly. That’s not to say that people don’t need web design. It does mean that at any given point in time, you should be flexible to meet people where they’re at; that has served me well.

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    • Marketing coming from a strategic perspective usually takes a long view of the market.
      By: NAN
      Marketing coming from a strategic perspective usually takes a long view of the market.
    • The process of creating a strategic marketing plan starts with a team that does a thorough analysis.
      By: WavebreakMediaMicro
      The process of creating a strategic marketing plan starts with a team that does a thorough analysis.
    • Strategic marketing looks at how to get products into the hands of target demographics.
      By: design56
      Strategic marketing looks at how to get products into the hands of target demographics.
    • Strategic marketing focuses on how to make products stand out from competitors.
      By: michaeljung
      Strategic marketing focuses on how to make products stand out from competitors.
    • Strategic marketing professionals look at which publications to place advertisements in.
      By: matka_Wariatka
      Strategic marketing professionals look at which publications to place advertisements in.
    • Strategic marketing might use a variety of platforms to reach customers.
      By: bloomua
      Strategic marketing might use a variety of platforms to reach customers.