Do you have a marketing strategy? Take the 3-question test.
- Sotiris Spyrakopoulos
- Apr 2, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 13
Is marketing possible without a strategy?
It is. It's done every day, in many companies.
But it is not effective. Usually this practice involves a lot of improvisation, wasted resources, delays, lack of coordination, mediocre/poor results, disappointments.
3 questions will show you if there really is a marketing strategy in your company:
DOES THE COMPANY'S LEADERSHIP TEAM BELIEVE IN THE IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AND STRATEGIC MARKETING?
Developing a comprehensive marketing strategy is a laborious intellectual and creative task that requires specialized skills, knowledge, information/research, time and expense.
If a company's leadership does not truly believe in the importance of strategic planning, then they will not commit to allocating the above resources.
Without this commitment, it is unlikely that a strategy will exist, as it requires effort, time and money.
CAN WE ACCURATELY ARTICULATE THE POSITIONING OF THE BRAND (EVEN WITH THE HELP OF NOTES) ?
“Positioning” is a comprehensive statement that includes what the brand is, who it is aimed at, what it does (what problem it solves or what need it meets), how it does it better than others.
“Positioning” is a difficult statement, not at all self-evident, that most of us have difficulty formulating correctly and comprehensively, even for ourselves. Think about how you answer the question “What do you do?” (not what title you have, that’s different) or “Tell us a few words about yourself so we can get to know you”. See? Not easy!
If each and every one member of the team cannot articulate the positioning correctly and completely, then:
How will the customer/consumer understand what the brand offers?
How will the "story" be told and understood in any kind of brand communication?
How will the company develop products that make sense for the customer/consumer it has decided to serve?
How will the entire team (sales, marketing, production) focus and how will its actions be coordinated to serve the purpose of the company/brand?
DOES EVERY ACTION AND EXPENDITURE WE MAKE IN MARKETING (AND NOT ONLY) SERVE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE MARKETING STRATEGY?
If not, this may mean that:
a. We are careless in drawing up the marketing plan, or
b. We do not implement the marketing plan and we improvise more often than not, or
c. There is no comprehensive marketing strategy.
Usually the third point is the case, which is also responsible for the other two.
When this happens, direction is missing Also, the filter that determines which actions and expenses should be included in a marketing plan, which are whishful thinking and which are inappropriate and do not serve the priorities of the business or brand, is missing as well.
Take this short test of three questions on yourself and your team. If you answer honestly and the answer is “yes” three times, congratulations, you are on a very good track growing your brand. If your answer is “no” even once, then there is a real risk, but also there lies a significant opportunity for improvement in the effectiveness of the business team.
