Marketing Strategy vs. Tactics

Click here to schedule your FREE consultation from Interactive Marketing

Home > FREE Marketing Tips > Marketing Strategy vs. Tactics

How To Increase The Effectiveness Of All Your
Ads, Brochures, Sales Letters, Promotions, And
Website To Get More Sales And Clients

Learn How To Generate More Sales And Profits
Without Having To Increase Your Marketing Budget

Smart business owners are getting more results from their marketing budgets and saving money by increasing the effectiveness of their current marketing materials.

How? By adding STRATEGY to their marketing tactics.

Before you begin to implement any new advertising, marketing, or sales tactic, you should know the practical, step-by-step methods you can use to increase your sales and profits from the marketing you are currently conducting.

Why is this important to your business? Because...

99% Of Your Company's Success Or Failure
Comes Directly From Your Ability To Attract, Keep,
And Effectively Market Yourself To Your Customers

As you know, it is not always the company with the highest quality products and services that are the most successful. The companies who are the most successful simply have the following skills mastered... they know how to MARKET AND SELL their products and services better than their competition.

How To Make Your Marketing Work
2 To 4 Times Harder For You

If you want to make your marketing work harder for your business, and expand your clientele and market share, add STRATEGY to your marketing tactics.

Let me explain the difference between STRATEGY and TACTICS when it comes to your marketing. "Strategy" is the overall impact, the ultimate position that you would like to have in the market. "Tactics" are the things that you do to achieve that position such as your advertising, direct mail, website, etc. The question becomes, do you have an ultimate position in mind?

Here Is An Example:

Open your Yellow Pages in your phone book, or look at the ads in your local newspaper, and you'll find that most businesses market their products or services using basically the same old tired and worn-out messages such as "We offer the best quality, service, or price". For example, a CPA firm may essentially say the following...

"XYZ Accounting Services, Inc.
Providing quality accounting and financial services."

So what? What's in it for me? This method of marketing is highly tactical. It used to work in the past (maybe in the 1950's), but in today's highly-competitive market, to cut through the clutter, you'll need a more powerful message to attract new clientele.

Be aware that the ultimate goal of your marketing is to cut through the clutter, separate you from the competition, and then eliminate your competitors. To accomplish this goal, your marketing must make the argument for your company and product much like the way a lawyer presents a case to the jury. You must articulate your "Ultimate Strategic Position" (USP) and set the "buying criteria" so that your company and products/services are the only logical choice.

For example, the following are examples of companies that have strategically set their market's "buying criteria" to make them the most logical choice...

"The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever so you can rest medicine." (Nyquil)
"When your package absolutely, positively has to be there overnight." (Federal Express)
"Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's less." (Domino's Pizza)

These are examples of companies who have such a distinctive and great reputation that you can name the company just by hearing their slogan. Furthermore, these companies have actually set up a buying criteria that positioned their product as the most logical choice to the consumer. Meaning, before Nyquil established their reputation, there was no clear cut nighttime, stuffy, sniffling, achy, fever so you can rest medicine.

This is smart marketing! Did you know that Domino's slogan is estimated to be worth over a BILLION dollars to that company? Can you see how using an "Ultimate Strategic Position" (USP) and "setting the buying criteria" will position you as the most logical choice?

Great. Let's continue...

How To Add Strategy To Your Marketing Tactics

To thrive in today's market, your marketing needs to include compelling, powerfully written messages that generate curiosity, deliver benefits, and get a response. Your marketing needs market data, facts, and statistics that deliver credible evidence that dramatically improves your position in the market, and offers a logical progression of facts that draw prospects to only one conclusion... to buy from YOU. If your marketing isn't accomplishing this, then it's simply not working correctly for you.

By now you may be wondering what format your "strategic marketing" should come in?

Good question. I'll answer that in a minute, but first be aware that when it comes to making a decision to purchase your type of product or service, your market has a "pyramid of buyers"...

Your Market's "Pyramid Of Buyers"

In your market, there is a "pyramid of buyers" in 5 categories. For example, a CPA firm's market and "pyramid of buyers" may look similar to this:

3% are dissatisfied with current provider and ready to BUY NOW.
7% are open to switching but haven't made the DECISION to do so.
15% haven't even THOUGHT about it, but might be persuaded.
25% Not interested. THINK they are fine with current provider.
50% Definitely NOT interested. Perhaps their brother is a CPA.

So how do you effectively market to ALL LEVELS of the pyramid (except the 50% who are definitely NOT interested)?

Instead of marketing with typical sales "pitches", get more from your marketing by EDUCATING your prospects and clients with the following information...

Market data that will dramatically improve the position of your company.
Market information that will support the need for your company.
Current trends that make your product way more important to your prospects and clients.
"Wow" them with interesting 3rd party facts, and statistics that get your company noticed, remembered, and referred.
Use "PAIN points" that motivate your prospects to buy faster and more - PAIN outsells GAIN by 10 times.
Use a "Smoking Gun" - The one thing that TOTALLY proves your point.
Set the "buying criteria" for purchasing your type of product and why your company is the best choice.
Give them a logical progression of facts where prospects draw the conclusion to buy... from YOU.
Give success stories, testimonials, and even failure stories (from people who did not use your products/services).

Formats For Delivering Your Strategic Marketing Message:

OK, now let's get to the format for delivering your strategic marketing messaging. The first thing to do is conduct research and build a compelling story based on your company's expertise. Your "story" will EDUCATE your prospects and clients, instead of sending them "sales pitches".

We do this because statistics show that educating (rather than "selling") is the most powerful way to motivate someone to take action. So, this educational story is the very foundation, the very essence of ALL your marketing tactics such as your...

Advertisements
Direct mail
News releases
Referral systems
Sales presentations
Telephone sales scripts
Website
White papers (Free educational reports)
And more

Here are just a few specific examples...

1) Your Presentations

If your company uses face-to-face presentations to sell to consumers or business executives, don't describe this as a "presentation". Why? Because this sounds like a sales pitch! Instead, position it as being educational to increase your results:

For consumers - title it a "Consumer Report"
For business decision-makers - title it "Executive Briefing" or “Industry Report”

2) Your Advertisements, Marketing Materials, and Website

Increase the effectiveness of your ads, marketing materials, and Website and by offering ADDITIONAL INFORMATION that is positioned to be both educational and highly credible, such as a "consumer report" or "industry report". Here is an example of a title for a special report for a CPA firm...

SPECIAL REPORT:
Statistics Show That Small Business Owners In The United States
Over Pay Their Taxes By $200 Billion Dollars Each Year.

This Special Report Sponsored By [CPA firm name] Shows You The 5 things EVERY Business Owner MUST Know To Avoid These Costly Mistakes, And To Thrive In Today's Economy.

CONCLUSION:

Adding strategy to your marketing tactics can be a powerful technique that will dramatically increase your sales, and profitability without having to increase your marketing budget.

Start Today...

Option 1:
Sign Up For Your Free Consultation. Learn how you can get more results from your current marketing budget. Optimize your web site to and increase your leads, sales, referrals, and profits. Click Here For More Info

Option 2:
Download Your FREE Web Site Optimization Guide. Our free web site optimization guide illustrates the top 5 strategies that will enable you to significantly increase your web site sales and leads. Click Here For More Info

For more information about Interactive Marketing and the web site traffic building and conversion rate optimization services we offer, call us at 866.279.5785 or fill out our form for a FREE consultation.

Interactive Marketing, Inc.
61236 Brittle Brush Street • Bend, Oregon 97702
Toll Free: 866.279.5785
Tel: 503.246.1375
Fax: 503.336.5176

marketing strategy vs. tactics

How To Increase The Effectiveness Of All Your Ads, Brochures, Sales Letters, Promotions, And Website To Get More Sales And Clients Learn How To Generate More Sales And Profits Without Having To Increase Your Marketing Budget