Marketing strategy doesn't work: what could have gone wrong?

So you have decided to spend your time and money on developing a marketing strategy, then expect a positive result. And the result does not come or comes, but not the one that was expected. Are these marketing strategies all bullshit, or is it something else?

Let's look at some of the possible mistakes that beginners make when developing and implementing a marketing strategy.

Marketing strategy is designed to solve some urgent task facing the company. But this task is not solved by the marketing strategy itself but by the team of your company, the strategy indicates the vector of these efforts to ensure their concentration in the right direction. If the goals are too many and especially if some of them contradict each other, then a strong blow to the urgent problem will not work. Instead of a fist fingers will be spread, turned in different directions.

If the marketing strategy exists only in the minds, not formalized as a general concept and plans for its implementation with specific deadlines and performers, then, most likely, it will remain so in the minds. If you have already started to develop a marketing strategy, it's time to implement the principle of formalizing internal decisions in the management of your business.

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When we describe the general principles of creating a marketing strategy, we can use such general formulations of its goals as "increase efficiency", "take a leading position in the market". You create a marketing strategy for your particular company, so your goals must be specific. And these specific goals must be fixed on paper in the form of plans points and responsibilities of real employees of the company.

Building a marketing strategy is impossible without prior research of the market in which you work, without understanding who your competitors are. You should read about what a competitor analysis is

Suppose the first three of the above points are fulfilled: the goal is clear and specific, the marketing strategy is formalized and everything is written for each department and employee. So do not keep it to yourself, bring the plans to everyone in the part that affects it. Do not limit yourself to a general presentation, let people read the paper, understand and sign for it.

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There may be a situation that the marketing strategy as a whole or some part of it is not clear to employees. If there is no complete clarity for everybody, then how can we hope to reach the planned parameters. Make sure that everyone understands the overall task and their own role in its implementation.

It often happens that employees have a negative perception of any initiatives from above – this is a purely psychological moment. To prevent this, be closer to the team, ensure its participation in the development of marketing strategy, at least minimally. Who will reject what he helped to create?

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Any, even the best, plan will not be fulfilled if it is forgotten the day after adoption. To prevent this from happening with your marketing strategy, develop a control and feedback systems. Executors should know that management remembers the points of the plan assigned to them and it is not recommended to treat them indifferently. Remind common goals, ask about intermediate results, motivate to maximize efforts in the right direction.

Not only good marketing strategy has to be developed, it still needs to be implemented. In the process of implementation, you will be able to build effective management of the company, improve coordination between functional units, test the professionalism, moral and business qualities of specialists.

Once you have read this article, you will find it helpful to read about what a business plan is