Marketing strategy in business — with a grain of salt or seriously?
Have you ever heard of an entrepreneur running a business without a business strategy? No? No wonder - after that, for sure, the hearing quickly disappeared. It's like setting up advertising agencies that don't know the rules of how advertising works.
A business plan is the basis of the basics that no one dares to argue with, and trying to keep a brand in the market without it is like trying to sail the ocean on a ship without a rudder. You can swim — and that's pretty good! But not necessarily in the desired direction.
Therefore, you would be surprised how many entrepreneurs do without an equally important communication strategy, treating this powerful business tool with a grain of salt. I will tell you a secret: they are the same ones who, instead of taking matters into their own hands and putting the brand on the right track, are still wondering what they are doing wrong in the world of advertising.
Don't make that mistake and be smarter. Give it some time — and then harvest.
Communication strategy and marketing strategy — what can they give you?
A communication strategy, as well as a marketing strategy, means good planning of activities, helping to achieve the set goals, and, equally importantly, in accounting for them. Such a content plan makes it easy to delegate tasks and understand them thoroughly by the team. Like all branding, it allows you to maintain the consistency of communication regardless of whether you carry out promotional activities yourself or outsource them to an external cell.
Communication strategy — what is it and how does it affect brand building?
In order to fully understand the concept of communication strategy and see the bigger picture, let's first take two steps backwards.
A brand is a living organism — a network of connected vessels, the mutual correlations of which affect the final result. Just as no brand has yet been created in a vacuum and the broad context of the market matters, so the communication strategy cannot be separated from grande immagine and the business backbone of the company.
The communication strategy is derived in a straight line from the overall brand and positioning strategy. What are they?
- A brand strategy (or in other words: a business idea) is a set of the most important guidelines and action plan, according to which all the steps taken by the company are implemented - from the annual budget devoted to marketing, to the color of the company's logo. Example: for the Żubr brand, the brand's strategy is to achieve the title of the most popular beer in Poland and dominate its market segment.
- Positioning (or otherwise: differentiation), is the description of the characteristics that distinguish a brand in the market and make it attract the attention of the audience and be remembered. Example: most beers base their advertising on emotions and sharing joy, displaying the company logo with a smile in each frame, while Bison, as the guardian of the forest, focuses on taking care of its surroundings.
- A communication strategy (or in other words: content strategy), is nothing more than a plan to implement the above assumptions in everyday communication. Example: funny commercials and stories with the participation of the Bison in the role of the guardian of the forest, often referring to current events in the country and in the world.
With a set of information derived from brand and positioning strategies (such as market analysis, consumer behavior and competition, as well as from defining a philosophy of existence and a set of values, you can go one step further: to the communication strategy precisely.
It consists of two parts that have a huge impact on the whole.
- Brand personality — a way to personalize feelings by creating a human brand identity, based on an emotional connection with the customer and evoking desires in them.
- Voice & Tone — a way of communicating the brand with the world, ranging from the choice of words in the main slogan on the website, telephone contact with the customer and the footer in the email.
If you already have a thorough elaboration of the brand personality and voice & tone, get down to work on the details,
Gather all the communication channels you can think of (both online and offline) and look at them from the perspective of your business. Do they all suit you equally? Which ones should you bet more on and which less (or not at all)? What content do you need? How often should you post? And what customer needs to be addressed in this way?
Remember that every post on social media, a telephone response to a complaint or a way to show the company logo and the selection of the advertising atmosphere, is a message and testifies to your brand.
Good marketing is marketing that works
“If you're going to win, you have to adapt your strategy to the goal you want to achieve,” wrote Frank Herbert.
Easy to say, harder to do, right? Even if implementing a communication strategy in your company will require a lot of work (not only in the foundation of building a brand, but also in perceiving the role of communication on the road to success) - do not be afraid of it.
Maybe it's just time for a change?
