What is strategic marketing?

Strategic marketing is a crucial element for the growth and competitiveness of any company, regardless of the industry it operates in. Unlike simple sales or promotion tactics, strategic marketing focuses on defining long-term goals, deeply understanding the market, and creating lasting value for customers. Let's see what it is.

Definition and Meaning of Strategic Marketing

Strategic marketing is a fundamental process for any company that wants to effectively position itself in the market and achieve its business objectives. This approach to marketing is not limited to promoting or selling a product or service, but focuses on defining a long-term strategy to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. The marketing strategy is based on an in-depth analysis of the target market, competitors, and the needs of the target, i.e. ideal customers.

Strategic marketing differs from operational marketing in that it focuses on long-term planning and direction, while operational marketing is concerned with implementing the day-to-day activities needed to execute the strategy. In other words, while operational marketing deals with tactics, strategic marketing defines the overall vision.

Strategic and Operational Marketing: The Differences

Understanding the difference between strategic marketing and operational marketing is essential to effectively manage a company's marketing activities. Both types of marketing are crucial, but they serve different purposes and operate over different time horizons.

Strategic Marketing Plan:

• Focuses on the long term
• Includes market and target audience analysis
• Defines business and marketing objectives
• Plans positioning strategies and competitive advantage
• Deals with market segmentation and target selection

Operational Marketing Plan:

• Responsible for short-term implementation
• Includes daily activities such as promotions, advertising campaigns and sales management
• Executes the strategic plan through specific tools such as the marketing mix
• Monitors and evaluates the results of ongoing campaigns

The Phases of Strategic Marketing

The strategic marketing process is made up of different phases, each of which is essential for building an effective strategy. Let's see what the main phases are:

1. Market and Environment Analysis

This phase involves the collection and analysis of data relating to the target market, competitors, and industry trends. It is an aspect of the marketing process that primarily involves identifying opportunities and threats, strengths and weaknesses. This analysis is called SWOT analysis.

2. Market Segmentation

In this phase, the market is divided into smaller and more homogeneous segments, based on common customer characteristics such as needs, behaviors and demographics. This process is important to prepare for the final step, the definition of the target.

Many platforms already have the segmentation of the target by default. An example among many is Meta, capable of targeting in an extremely specific way users who have particular habits or interests.

3. Target Definition

After segmenting the market, the company must choose which segment to serve, specifically defining the target audience. This choice will influence all subsequent decisions, the tone of voice, the choices and much more. To help with this, you can also create Target Personas, or "models" of typical users that make up the target. In this way, you have a clear vision of the people you are addressing.

4. Positioning and Differentiation

Positioning is about determining how the company wants its product or service to be perceived in relation to its competitors. Differentiation is how the product or service distinguishes itself from others. This is a complicated step to define but essential to be able to stand out from all the other competitors in the market.

5. Marketing Plan Development

This phase is fundamental because it includes the detailed definition of the marketing mix strategies, which are divided into four main components:

1. product
2. price
3. placement
4. promotion

The product must be designed according to the needs of the target, ensuring quality and added value to stand out in the market. Regarding the price, it is necessary to establish a policy that includes the consumer's perception of value and competitiveness with respect to competitors. Placement concerns the choice of the most effective distribution channels to reach the target audience, ensuring that the product is available in the right places and at the right time. Finally, promotion focuses on the design of communication campaigns that can attract the attention of the target, using traditional and digital means to maximize the impact. In addition, this phase also includes the detailed planning of operational marketing activities, which include the practical and daily implementation of the planned strategies, ensuring that each action is aligned with the strategic objectives of the company.

6. Implementation and Control

Finally, the strategy must be implemented and monitored to assess whether the objectives set are being achieved. A series of KPIs must be established and monitored to understand whether the strategy implemented is working well or whether it needs to be modified. It is important to rely on the metrics and continue to develop tests to understand which version of the strategy is the most effective.

Strategic and Operational Marketing

Strategic marketing and operational marketing must work together to ensure that marketing activities are consistent and aligned with business objectives. Strategic marketing provides direction and vision, while operational marketing executes the activities necessary to transform that vision into reality.

Why Strategic Marketing is So Important

Making a well-defined strategic marketing plan is essential because it allows the company to:

• Achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.
• Position yourself clearly and distinctively in the market.
• Make the most of your available resources.
• Adapt quickly to changes in the market and customer needs.
• Achieve long-term business goals.

Creating a Marketing Strategy

To create an effective marketing strategy, you need to follow a structured and well-planned approach. The previous steps of strategic marketing provide a guide to develop a strategy that meets the needs of the market and brings the desired results.

Here are some key steps to create a good marketing strategy:

• Goal Setting: Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).
• SWOT Analysis: Evaluate internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats.
• Segmentation and Targeting: Identify and choose the market segments to focus on.
• Positioning: Decide how to differentiate the product or service from the competition.
• Marketing Plan: Define the specific actions and resources needed to implement the strategy.

Strategic Marketing Example

An example of strategic marketing could be a fashion company that decides to launch a new line of sustainable clothing made in Italy. The process could follow these steps:

• Market Analysis: Study of sustainable fashion market trends, competitor analysis and identification of the target audience (environmentally conscious consumers).
• Segmentation: Dividing the market into segments such as young professionals, eco-friendly families and fashion enthusiasts.
• Targeting: Choosing to focus on young urban professionals who are willing to pay more for sustainable products.
• Positioning: The clothing line is positioned as stylish and sustainable, with a premium but affordable price.

Table: Strategic Marketing vs Operational Marketing

Conclusion

In short, strategic marketing is a complex process that is crucial to the success of a company. While operational marketing deals with day-to-day activities, strategic marketing establishes the foundation on which these activities are built. Through careful planning and detailed analysis, strategic marketing allows companies to effectively position themselves in the market, satisfy customer needs, and achieve business goals. Implementing a well-structured marketing strategy not only helps achieve short-term results, but also ensures sustainable success in the long run.

If you want to grow your business, contact Ekeria for a free consultation. Tell us about your project and we will think with you about the best path to take.