Strategic Marketing Consultants

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What Are Strategic Marketing Consultants ?

Well as part of a strategic marketing consultancy I thought I should answer this question.

Having a strategy is an important part of developing a businesses and working out where you are going. Your marketing strategy is the route you will take to create customers and generate sales and therefore profits for the business.

Your marketing strategy not only states your goals, objectives and describes your routes to market but it also pulls together all of the different channels and media that can be used and ensures a consistent approach that connects, engages and converts customers which can be measured, tracked and modified for improvement.

Marketing has evolved into a very different animal to what it was 10 or even 5 years ago especially with the rapid adoption of technology, but the core principles remain the same which sadly many get wrong which only undermines their marketing and selling efforts.

Strategic Marketing Consultants Help Define Strategy

A strategic marketing consultant will help you to develop or even lay down a strategy (How To) that ultimately generates interest in your products or services, which will in-turn lead to need or desire and later enquiries or leads and finally profitable sales to meet the growth goals of your business.

Using a Strategic Marketing Consultant Will Grow Your Business

There are a number of ways that you can stimulate growth in your business which may come from new or existing products, services and markets and ultimately becomes a mix of all of them. A strategic marketing consultant will help you to determine which of these strategies is the best place to generate the desired growth and achieve the goal and objectives laid out in your top level strategy.

Existing products and services in existing markets

Here your business is looking to expand its market share (the amount of business you do in the market) to similar or the same types of customers you are already working with. This can be done by selling more to your existing customers or attracting more of the same sorts of customers. Having a clear understanding of who you customers really are and why they will buy from you is essential to gaining ground. Eventually though you may reach a market saturation point (the growth return from your efforts slows down) and you will have to look elsewhere for business.

New markets for existing products and services

New markets can be geographical regions or segments of a market. For example you may be the best supplier in Wales and decide that you can take it nation wide across the UK. Or you provide an excellent service to Lawyers and believe that Doctors would appreciate the same services. The key here is to choosing markets that you are likely to succeed in.

New products and services for existing markets

Innovation combined with sales and marketing is the corner stone of business growth. Finding ways to improve the product or service you deliver to customers to stay ahead of your competitors and to continue delivering value to your customers is an essential component. Staying close to your market and understanding changes, shift and trends or the feedback from your customers will be the starting point for stimulating the development of anew product or service.

New products and services in new markets

In this category you are working from the outside in, which can sometimes be an advantage while at the same time carrying with it a higher degrees of risk. Sound market research that can be tested and proven where the balance of supply and demand works in your favour and a clear position for your proposed development can be identified will be essential to making this effort a success. It may take time to gain the initial traction and a little tweaking to get your ideas right but basing them on sound research will provide the confidence to continue your efforts, from which the returns could be very high.

Strategic Marketing Consultants Blend Together A Marketing Mix

Once a strategy has been defined you need to look at the tools which will be used to deliver results.

The most famous of these was referred to as the 4P’s but modern references have evolved into the 4C’s.

The 4P’s consisted of product, price, place and promotion which were very much focused on the supplier and their business. The problem with this approach was it didn’t connect the business with the reason it existed, and that’s its customers.

Where as the 4C’s actually focuses on the customer and replaces the 4P’s, describing customer needs & desire, cost, convenience and communication making it a far more customer orientated approach. This is not new however, its been part of the strategy used by successful direct marketers for years before it was formalised like this and I am sure it will evolve again, but the principles will remain the same.

Strategic Marketing Consultants Build & Execute Marketing Plans

So, you’ve got all these great ideas and now you need to get started. For most businesses they are not always sure where to start and how to implement or just don’t have the time or resources to make it happen. A marketing plan is your strategy (How To) combined with things such as resources, costs and time scales (The What). In the beginning your plan may be based purely on strategy until its been tested and the implications understood and for most smaller businesses it may only ever be based on strategy until the business grows further.

Strategy is no good though with out execution and delivery. So if you don’t have the resources to make it happen, nor the ability to service the extra demand you must think carefully before moving ahead.

Strategic Marketing Consultants Deliver Results

The bottom line is a strategic marketing consultant can help to build, plan and execute like having a commercial director in your business on a part time or interim basis without the permanent staffing overhead.

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