It got me thinking…

You know when themes suddenly seem to be recurring in your life, like finding a fab new brand that you love, then seeing it everywhere? Or being told about  a book you HAVE to read by a friend, then hearing it discussed everywhere you go? Well, for me my new recurring theme is marketing strategy! I know that’s a phrase to strike dread and mental shutdown in most people so bear with me!

It started when I spoke last month at the Hampshire Business Expo on the subject of developing an effective marketing strategy  which was possibly the most nerve wracking thing I’ve had to do this year! In preparation for that presentation I put a huge amount of time and thought into the process that we, as marketing consultants, go through on a daily basis, almost sub-conciously. I even developed a nifty little graphic to highlight the points I was making! (see above). The funny thing was though, since that event I have used the graphic, and sections of my presentation notes, to talk about marketing strategy to at least three other potential clients. It’s my new recurring theme!

It seems that the consequences of the current financial downturn are not so much that business aren’t marketing, after all, how is a business to grow, or even stand still, without any marketing? It’s more to do with the fact that, because budget is so much more important, it is crucial to make sure that any budget available works as hard as possible, which is where strategy comes in.

Marketing without a strategy is like making a phone call with no idea of the person you want to talk to, where they are or what their phone number might be – how likely is it that you’re going to get through to the right person? After all, failing to plan is planning to fail (you may have heard me say that before!) and the development of an effective strategy is invaluable in making sure that your marketing plan is properly targeted, scheduled and above all optimises budget for maximum return on investment as well as return on objectives (ROI and ROO).

Presenting to all those people at the Expo might have been a challenge, but it got me thinking… what about you?

If you’d like to have a chat about your marketing strategy why not give me a call (or tweet, or email…!)