When we talk about marketing, at times, the term may sound a bit magic and mysterious. In this article, I want to shed some light on the topic.
While I have been working for SPIN Ideas, I have realized how much the marketing strategy is key for any business that wants to grow. We are at a crossroads between communication, advertising, sales, and company culture. The full SPIN methodology is a powerful tool to unlock the full potential of any business that is set to change the world and grow.
Let me share some of our secrets to help support organizations to thrive and reach people in an unprecedented way.
But first, let’s discuss vocabulary!
What is growth?
Growth is expansion, like the big bang. Growth is an unstoppable force impacting everything. This can be applied the same way in business. As business owners or CEOs, we want to be unstoppable and expand easily and powerfully in all areas.
Growth comes when all your business actions, your purpose, and your mission are aligned: when every single decision helps you to be more profitable, more sustainable, more equitable, more well-known, more attractive, and more satisfying.
Growth happens when your product fits with your clients and your market. This is how marketing guru, Seth Godin, defines marketing: “Don't find customers for your products; find products for your customers.”
Growth is like a secret formula, a magic recipe that allows you to unlock your full potential as a business.
And the key to finding this formula is your marketing strategy!
After working for so many years with so many different clients all over the world, marketing has become like a sixth sense to me. Where people only see stars, I see astrological figures. I connect the dots between all the elements of a business internally and externally and can draw lines and connections that will ultimately turn your business into a success. I can help make sure your business is aligned with your core mission. And you can do the same.
All of this sounds nice, but you may ask yourself, how can we do that?
What happens in the marketing strategy flow?
Most people believe marketing is only a supportive operation for sales. And, I must admit, I also thought so for a long time. I discovered that is only the tip of the iceberg. I would even go further, noting that marketing campaigns, advertising, and communication are the tip of the iceberg.
None of these would exist without a marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is deeply linked to the company strategy, the CSR strategy, the culture of the company, and the “raison d’être” of it. Read it again.
As all organizations have changed so much in the past decade, we can find in new organizations that strategy is not created by upper management but instead collectively with the involvement of all employees and stakeholders.
Your business strategy maximizes your competitive advantage. The competitive advantage is what makes your business unique and profitable. It is the way you create value like no other business does. Identifying your competitive advantage requires a bird’s eye view of your activities in order to spot it. The main shift is that previously, the only ones looking at a competitive advantage and strategy were those at the top. With the organization’s transformation, upper management is facing more and more abrupt changes in the business and getting more and more involved in operations. That results in less time to work on the strategy and less distance from the operations to think about the future. If you are a small business owner, this picture is even more accurate.
Marketers are using strategic methodologies to make data-driven decisions that provide insight on how to grow faster and stronger. Still, they too can get overwhelmed with operations and daily business.
Thanks to the nature of marketing itself, we still think of the strategy as we define products for customers. This involves a deep knowledge of internal interactions in the business and a deep knowledge of the market, customers, and trends making marketers the new business strategists.
Working on your marketing strategy will help you work on your overall business strategy. I know it is a crucial point for you.
So, where should you start when it comes to your marketing strategy?
You can start by defining what growth is for your company and explain the secret formula that makes your business unique.
Utilize the free DNA worksheet created by SPIN Ideas to get clarity about your identity. There are many resources on our website, so feel free to look for the tools to help you create your strategy.
After you outline your identity and audience, you will then be able to connect the dots in a creative way to highlight your competitive advantage in your market and make a difference.
If you find it hard to do it on your own, let’s have a chat to identify where you need help: the secret recipe that is only for your business and your growth. Maybe you just need assistance identifying the right partners or want some extra help implementing everything.
Do you still think you are one of the ones that do not need a marketing strategy?
If you want to accelerate your growth and change the world, you can use your marketing strategy to help you create your vision and leverage your business. It will help you expand in all areas of your business, creating a seamless flow for you and your team to fulfill the same company vision.
My name is Stephanie Mazier, and my mission is to help and support organizations to value and include marketing in their strategy as a powerful tool for growth, change, CSR, and management.
I am happy to connect and start a conversation about your industry, your challenges, and your dreams: [email protected] or https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemazier/.