PLAN YOUR WORK, WORK YOUR PLAN: QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN CREATING YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY.

As the time for marketing strategy planning approaches, it's time to do the thought work and put the effort into reviewing the past year and consider what is relevant for the future. Strategic thinking can be hard and time-consuming. With so much innovation and hype in the digital marketing and creative world, it can be difficult to keep up. New marketing technologies come with learning all about the new emerging platforms and tools. With limited resources and smaller marketing teams, finding the time to understand and implement all of these strategies can be a challenge.

The answer to this is to allocate your energy to collaborate and free up your time to focus on what’s important – your role as a strategic marketer within the company you work for and the brand/s you promote. Amidst this rapid pace, I would like to share some trends and successes we have been recently working on at D+M. This will be helpful for your FY23/24 planning. As part of your strategic thinking, ask yourself these questions:

1. What are the current problems?
2. Do you understand your core customer and the targeted segments?
3. What is the real human need?
4. Do you have a good story to tell. How do you tell that?
5. Is the strategy achievable and rational?
6. Do you have a holistic digital marketing approach?
7. Do you have an omnichannel framework?

It's important to ask these questions to help with focused strategic thinking and avoid jumping onto the latest trends and technologies, which can be tempting but may not be relevant or appropriate. Let me dive into each of these questions.

1. What are the current problems?

As you approach your strategic planning, it's a time to identify and define the problems you're trying to solve. Your marketing strategy should be solution-focused, not just a collection of tactics. Define the challenges and obstacles that you're trying to overcome. A clear understanding of the problems helps you develop a better solution.

2. Do you understand your core customer and the targeted segments?

Understanding your segments will enable you to differentiate your marketing strategy and messaging to better resonate with your target audience. It will also help you identify new opportunities for growth and innovation. For example, if you find that a particular segment of your audience is interested in the environment, you should tailor your strategy to highlight the environment within your communication to better resonate with that segment.

3. What is the real human need?

Leveraging the foundations to invest, create, and build a stronger community by utilising culture, creativity and human connection is key to any marketing plan. The approach should not overlook the real human need. Investing in these foundations will lead to authentic relationships. The approach will generate positive talkability and provide an opportunity to build a stronger relationships and engage with customers.

4. Do you have a good story to tell. How do you tell that?

Your story is your differentiation and this will set your brand apart from the competition and establish a unique identity. You need to be able to tell a good story and communicate it effectively and concisely. This message is an opportunity and should be reinforced in the digital and physical world, resulting in experiences that are memorable because they are engaging, entertaining, and inspiring.

5. Is the strategy achievable and rational?

Ensure that your marketing efforts align with your business goals and don't be distracted by trends or new technologies that may not be relevant. The process of small steps to grow, strengthen, and improve, with rational marketing efforts and strategic initiatives will help grow and thrive in the marketplace to strengthen your position. Catering to the core immediate requirements that are achievable, will pay dividends over time to survive.

6. Do you have a holistic digital marketing approach?

To maximize the impact of digital marketing, your plan needs to take a holistic approach. This means expanding into appropriate channels and adapting processes within those platforms that are relevant to your brand. This provides a cohesive framework to achieve marketing objectives that consider all digital touchpoints, SEM, SEO, social media platforms, influencers, and affiliates. This approach will extend into meaningful, two-way interactions with consumer segments in the future.

7. Do you have an omnichannel framework?

Omnichannel experiences aren't just a nice-to-have, they're a must. To transform the interaction between the business and it’s customer segments into a positive, stress-free, and seamless experience, you need to gain an understanding of the customer journey. This can help build a robust omnichannel framework that prioritises ease, consistency, and accessibility. By adopting an effective e-commerce strategy, this can lead to an increase in engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty, as well as an improvement in the overall customer experience.

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With over 30 years of experience in the industry, I understand the importance of staying curious, asking questions and keeping up with the ever-evolving digital and creative landscape. At D+M, we have been building strong and recognisable brands and campaigns for 24 years, and our commitment to our partners is unwavering. We invest the time, research, and effort into creating a bespoke approach that is tailored to your unique needs. By partnering with us, you can focus on your core business while leveraging our expertise and experience in digital marketing and creative to stay ahead of the curve to remain competitive. Let’s work together to achieve your marketing goals.