The objective of the marketing strategy is to produce a document that will optimise the use of your resources to achieve your goals.

The objective of the marketing strategy will also be to contribute to the overall objectives of the business.

What do you want to achieve?

• Strengths and Weaknesses together with Opportunities and Threats to the business (SWOT)
• Focused Strategy
• Your Customer Base

See also:
Useful links

The first step is to carry out an analysis of the business Strengths and Weaknesses together with the Opportunities and Threats to the business (SWOT).

List the strengths and weaknesses of your business in relation to:

• Knowledge of your market
• The position of your product
• Your reputation
• The service to your customers
• How responsive you are to changes in the marketplace

Having listed them, you should review them to identify how you can utilise your strengths most efficiently.

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Given your limited resources, you should aim to adopt a focused strategy.

Break down your market into segments and according to particular characteristics; eg. Retail, wholesale, government sales etc.

Focus your effort to service the segment where your main strengths.

Depending on your individual business, you may be able to cover all your segments by carrying out a rolling promotional cycle.

If possible, focus on a niche market, away from the larger businesses. Look how you may service the needs of your target audience. You may find additional success if you offer a specialised service and become an expert in that field.

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Risk
Your marketing budget may be limited.  Therefore, it is advisable to increase your customer base in order to minimise the potential impact of losing a major customer.

Draw up a list of potential customers and set about gaining leads and sales.

Do not rush into new markets in too short a time. Adopt a simple strategy of selling more of your existing product or modifications.

Networking
Network and seek recommendations from your existing customers. Tie this in with a good customer care policy and seek feedback from both satisfied and dissatisfied customers.


Retaining customers
It is more efficient to keep your existing customers than to attract new customers. Keep them informed, check their level of satisfaction with your product.

Little acts with a personal touch may lead your customer to have a greater affinity with you.

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• The Chartered Institute of Marketing 
  
  
• The Marketing Group
  
  
• The Market Research Society 
  Includes the download: A Newcomer's Guide to Market and Social Research

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