Strategic marketing planning is a powerful method which will help an enterprise to focus its limited resources in the most effective ways to boost sales and reach a sustainable competitive edge. This highly innovative and dynamic approach is based upon the understanding that people buy what they are interested in, when they are interested in it – and then act on that interest when the product or service is available. So if a firm can determine these basic facts about their customers’ interests and needs, then it can establish a plan for marketing to those customers, and develop a strategy for delivering those messages with the greatest effect. As one of the foremost management principles, this approach is very much focused on offering an optimal return on investment. With this effort, firms can benefit by:
Strategic Marketing Plans should be built upon a solid foundation of business objectives which are related to product or service quality and competitive positioning. It should be organized around the identification of key opportunities which a firm must exploit in order to realize its competitive position. The main goal of strategic marketing is to gain a foothold in a targeted customer base, build loyalty and credibility with this target customer base and maintain that credibility and loyalty over time. By being able to perform these three critical processes, a company would stand a good chance of retaining its existing customers while attracting new customers who are more inclined to purchase from a firm which offers a superior product or service.
Strategic marketing strategy takes the input from several different areas to come up with a unique marketing approach and a strong sense of direction. These include creative strategy development, measurement of strategic outcomes and customer insight. While a marketing communication plan may contain many elements, it basically revolves around the integrated management of the message, the customer, and the resources. There are four primary components of a marketing strategy which include: strategic planning, in depth marketing analysis, a marketing research plan and the implementation of the marketing plan.