Marketing Strategy (2021) is a comprehensive guide that decodes the intricacies of crafting and implementing effective Marketing strategies. It introduces the reader to a practical framework known as STRATEGY, exploring each component through real-world examples and actionable insights. From setting smart objectives and understanding target audiences, to measuring performance and conducting post-mortem analyses, it provides a roadmap to marketing success.

Recommendation

Too many marketers prioritize quick-win tactics over long-term strategy and vision, says Jenna Tiffany. Apply her eight-step framework to trigger sustainable growth and success, and embrace an attitude of continuous improvement and development. Gleaning insights from sources ranging from market research to interviews with leaders at companies such as Google and Mailchimp, Tiffany aims to empower marketing teams to help their organizations strategically achieve their objectives and better connect with target audiences.

Take-Aways

• Create an effective marketing strategy in eight steps.
• 1. Scenario: Establish your business’s current situation.
• 2. Targets: Clarify your objectives and milestones.
• 3. Reach: Leverage the power of data to better position your product.
• 4. Awareness: Engage customers to create positive brand perceptions.
• 5. Tactics: Connect on a human level with consumers via your marketing channels.
• 6. Execute: Implement your strategy with consistency and precision.
• 7. Generate: Track your performance and measure success.
• 8. Yield: Conduct a post-campaign analysis (PCA) and commit to continuous learning.

Introduction: Make your marketing campaigns count.

Imagine launching a marketing campaign with high hopes, only to see it underperform. Or spending hours poring over customer data, yet struggling to translate it into actionable insights. Such scenarios are common in the world of marketing.

That’s where this Blink comes in. In it, we’ll introduce you to a practical and data-driven approach to crafting and implementing marketing strategies, known as the STRATEGY framework. This sequential guide will help you navigate every stage of the marketing process, from understanding your target audience, establishing clear objectives, and developing a keen understanding of your customers, to driving awareness, choosing the right tactics, and, finally, executing your plan efficiently.

As a marketing professional or student, you’ll find here the practical solutions you need to overcome marketing challenges and succeed in today’s saturated and competitive market.

Understanding strategy

Think of a successful marketing campaign as an exciting journey. Your well-planned strategy is your compass, guiding your way. And your tactics are the dependable vehicles helping you reach your destination.

Both components are necessary. Imagine launching a promotional campaign, such as a holiday discount, without a robust strategy in place. In today’s increasingly saturated market, such an effort would just get lost in the crowd.

Our world has gone digital, and mobile technology has dramatically reshaped public expectations. Consumers’ patience has dwindled. Now, people expect instant gratification and highly personalized experiences. Furthermore, customers’ budgets have been cinched tighter in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. So it’s even more crucial that your marketing campaigns be sharply focused and timely, have an impact, and consistently convey your brand’s message.

Well-recognized brands haven’t achieved their status by accident –⁠ they’re backed by exceptional marketing strategies. Just look at Apple and Google. Their names are practically interchangeable with technology and innovation. Compare that to a brand like Nokia, once a market leader but now relegated to the sidelines.

Brand success or failure often comes down to strategy. The author’s STRATEGY framework encapsulates this concept in a digestible, sequential approach. It stands for Scenario, Targets, Reach, Awareness, Tactics, Execution, Generate, and Yield, representing the key elements that constitute a Marketing Strategy. This simple yet effective framework provides a step-by-step guide to crafting a compelling marketing strategy.

Considering the scenario

In marketing, gaining a competitive advantage is one of your major quests. This is where the first element of the STRATEGY framework comes in: the Scenario. This is where you take stock of both the internal and external environments within which your business stands.

When it comes to understanding the internal dynamics of your business, a handy tool is the SWOT model. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. What does your company do best, and where could it improve? What opportunities could you capitalize on? Or what kinds of threats –⁠ such as an increase in competition –⁠ could affect the company’s success? By analyzing each of these elements, you get a clear picture of the factors that could influence your strategic direction.

Next up is understanding the wider, external context within which your business exists. The PESTLE model is the tool to use here. This acronym represents Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. By considering each of these elements, you’re better equipped to understand the broader forces that could shape your marketing strategy.

Nike offers a striking example of a brand that successfully navigated its macro environment. In 2018, they appointed Colin Kaepernick, known for protesting against police violence toward Black Americans, as their US figurehead. Aligning with Kaepernick’s profound message at a highly politically charged time earned Nike enormous success. Conversely, Pepsi’s infamous ad featuring Kendall Jenner faced backlash due to its lack of understanding of the social and political climate.

Once you’ve conducted these analyses with the help of SWOT and PESTLE, the key is to synthesize your findings into a digestible form. A well-organized summary will provide the backbone for your marketing strategy, streamlining the subsequent steps of your strategic journey.

Setting targets

Next up in our journey through the STRATEGY framework is setting Targets. This is the stage at which you define your objectives. A good objective serves as a yardstick for success or failure, providing clarity and focus for your team and stakeholders alike.

To craft effective objectives, the SCALE framework provides invaluable guidance. This nifty acronym breaks down the core attributes that every objective should possess: Strategic, Considered, Audience, Lift, and End.

The Strategic facet ensures that your marketing objectives are clearly defined and purposeful. Maybe your mission is to dispel misinformation about your product, or perhaps you want to captivate a new audience segment. The main thing is to have a concrete goal.

Next, Considered objectives are all about staying grounded in reality. Your targets should be ambitious, yes, but also realistic. For instance, aiming to skyrocket sales in the midst of an economic downturn might not be a smart move.

The Audience element is just as it sounds. Your objectives should always keep the target audience in mind. After all, you’re crafting this strategy for them. Track your campaign’s progress carefully, monitoring whether you’re pulling in the right crowd.

Now let’s talk Lift. This is about taking your key performance indicators, or KPIs, and breaking them down into manageable milestones. Whether you’re tracking new leads, web visits, or conversions, establishing weekly or monthly targets helps to keep your strategy dynamic and agile.

Finally, End serves as a reminder to set a clear deadline. A definitive end date not only keeps everyone on track but also fosters a sense of urgency and momentum.

An illustrative example of the SCALE framework in action comes from the author’s process of writing her book. The Strategic objective was to write a marketing book 78,000 words in length, planned out as a chapter per month for 39 weeks. The Considered goal was a realistic 2,000 words written every weekend. The Audience was the first round of readers – namely a proofreader and marketing colleagues. The Lift was the weekly target of 2,000 words, while the End was set as the book’s launch in May 2021.

In this way, by harnessing the power of the SCALE framework to set your targets, you can chart a focused, realistic, and timely path to your strategic marketing objectives.

Reaching your customers

Getting to know your customers is a critical step in the STRATEGY framework –⁠ the Reach stage. The better you know them, the better you can tailor your products and services to their needs, leading to increased conversions.

One way to acquire a deep understanding of your customers is through ethical data collection. Options include questionnaires and preference centers, which offer transparent and respectful ways to gather data. Coupling this with market research, like focus groups, interviews, and surveys, or secondary data like trend reports and sales data, can provide comprehensive insights into your customers.

Understanding customer segmentation is another crucial factor. By dividing your target audience into smaller groups based on location, demographics, interests, and behaviors, you can tailor your marketing efforts to each segment’s unique needs. This approach can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

Creating “personas,” or customer profiles, is a great way to help with this. Personas are fictional representations of potential customers. They include details like age, where they live, how they shop, and what they’re interested in. Use these personas to position your product or service, matching it to what your customers want.

Finally, keep an eye on your competitors. Understand how they position themselves, and use this knowledge to spot chances to stand out in the marketplace. You could sum up your unique position in one sentence. This clarity helps set your business apart.

Planning with awareness

Now that we’ve understood our customers, we move on to the Awareness step in the STRATEGY framework. Here, we focus on driving a response, reaching our audience, and positioning our message accurately.

One way to ensure that your marketing strategy is balanced is to use the marketing mix, otherwise called the 7Ps. These are Product, Place, Price, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence.

Let’s consider Promotion. This involves sharing what your product or service is, how to use it, and its benefits to the customer. You’ll want to use different marketing channels to get your message across, including ones that target a wide audience, like radio and TV, as well as ones that target a narrower group, like email marketing and social media.

Take Process as another example. This part of the marketing mix refers to the systems and procedures that a customer encounters when purchasing your product or service. This could involve the transaction process on your website, the web design, or the customer service process. Take Amazon Go’s supermarkets. These stores don’t have checkouts; instead, shoppers use their smartphones to add items to their baskets, and payment happens automatically when they leave the store. This process is efficient and saves the customer time.

At every stage of the process, always keep your target market at the heart of your planning. In this way, you ensure your efforts align with your audience’s needs.

Deciding on tactics

As we move along our STRATEGY framework, we arrive at a pivotal point –⁠ determining which tactics to deploy to reach your target audience. At this stage, it’s crucial to align your tactics with the values of each segment in your audience. This will ensure maximum resonance and engagement with your messaging.

First, it’s important to recall the difference between a marketing channel and a tactic. A marketing channel is a path you choose to promote your product or service, such as social media, email marketing, or TV advertisements. A tactic, on the other hand, is how you use this chosen channel.

Now, there are myriad marketing channels at your disposal, both digital and physical. Let’s zoom in on social media as a key example.

A staggering 3.8 billion people use social media globally, but the usage and of preference for social media platforms can vary greatly among different segments of your target audience. For instance, Facebook’s monthly user base consists of 2.5 billion users, predominantly males aged 25 to 34 years old. On the other hand, Pinterest has 322 million monthly users, 72 percent of whom are female, primarily aged between 25 and 34 years old. Such disparities highlight the importance of choosing the right platform to reach the right audience.

One effective way to leverage social media is to identify and collaborate with a “micro-influencer.” These are individuals who may not boast millions of followers but hold significant sway in their niche areas. For example, a parent with a blog popular among other parents could provide a lot of value to a brand that targets a similar demographic.

So remember: when picking marketing tactics, always keep your target audience front and center.

Determining the execution

Delving into the next part of the STRATEGY framework, we now focus on the who, what, and when of implementing your all-encompassing marketing strategy. It’s about meticulously planning out the resources, budget, timing, and the approach to measuring your KPIs.

A crucial element to remember during this phase is consistency. If your messaging oscillates in tone or style, it can confuse your audience, causing a misfire in your marketing efforts. For example, a lack of a clear target demographic in the marketing messages of Marks & Spencer clothing resulted in confusion and underperformance.

Also, remember to roll out your tactics strategically, paying particular attention to the customer journey. A customer journey traces the path a customer takes from first identifying a problem to finally making a purchasing decision.

For instance, consider a scenario in which a customer’s car needs repair. She searches online for a solution, comes across a company, signs up for emails, compares this company to others, and finally decides to go ahead with their services. At almost every stage in this journey, a timely email or push notification could sway her decision.

Appropriate KPIs can serve as invaluable guides during each phase of the customer journey. For example, when your aim is to increase the customer’s awareness of your brand, you might use marketing tactics such as landing pages, email newsletters, or YouTube videos. Relevant KPIs might include email marketing subscribers or content downloads.

As we piece together all of these insights, we are gradually painting a comprehensive picture of what a successful marketing strategy looks like.

Generating results

At the Generate phase of our STRATEGY framework, you’re now assessing whether you’re on the right path to your set objectives. This is the time to get constructive feedback, explore your results, and ascertain the responses you’ve received.

It’s vital to gather data from multiple channels. For instance, website analytics could be a gold mine of information. Or you can track visits to exclusive URLs that people can only access if they’ve interacted with your offline marketing.

Let’s consider that your goal was to boost the sales of a certain product for a specific customer segment. Your yardstick would be revenue generation and the number of sales in contrast to the objective you initially set.

Also, take a closer look at the quality of the traffic you attract. Do visitors spend considerable time on your website, or is the bounce rate worryingly high? If it hovers above 40 percent, it’s time for some investigative work.

Now, to transform raw data into valuable insights, consider this four-step plan. Start by defining your benchmark. Following that, set objective KPIs, such as conversion rate, engagement score, and click-through rate, to track performance. Make sure your approach to measuring performance remains consistent over time, or document any changes made. Finally, ensure you align your insights with your objectives to make certain your time and effort are invested in the right areas.

Remember, regular monitoring and measuring of performance is crucial. It equips your marketing team with the ability to make quick adjustments when things don’t go as planned.

Analyzing yield

The finale of the STRATEGY framework, the Yield phase, is all about analyzing outcomes and learning for the future. The endgame of any well-crafted marketing strategy is to evaluate whether the set objectives were achieved and by what margin. To figure this out, consider KPIs and year-on-year (YOY) results, both crucial metrics that will help you understand what worked, what didn’t, and why.

Consider the example of British Gas. In 2013, the company invited its Twitter followers to ask questions of its customer services director about a recent 9.2 percent price rise. But the campaign was not well-received. Within a short time, the company was bombarded by tweets, with customers publicly expressing their outrage. The episode proved to be a PR disaster. By failing to analyze its audience’s past reactions to similar price hikes, British Gas also failed to anticipate the public outcry.

Going back to the Yield phase, one essential aspect of a strategic approach to evaluation is mapping your data against your set goals. If, for example, the goal was to boost web traffic through SEO, that’s exactly what your analysis should focus on. There are several KPIs associated with each marketing channel that can be explored to better understand their individual contributions to achieving the overarching goal.

Once the analysis has been thoroughly done, the next step is to convert these measurements into actionable plans. A post-campaign analysis, or PCA, is an effective way to do this. It involves collecting visual examples of published content and advertising, such as screenshots of email marketing campaigns, and conducting a critical review. The aim is to be brutally honest about the aspects that didn’t work or could have been more efficient.

A PCA also involves answering three critical questions: What strategies will you repeat? What will you change? And what will you stop doing altogether? These answers will ultimately shape your future marketing strategies, ensuring you’re continually learning, growing, and refining your approach based on real data and results.

Summary

Create an effective marketing strategy in eight steps.

An effective marketing strategy ensures the success of your tactics, helps you glean valuable data insights, builds trust with target audiences and improves your overall performance, boosting your KPIs and ROI. Your strategy is a map you follow to your desired destination. Your tactics are the vehicles that carry you forward. Your strategy embodies the “who, what, where, why and when” of your marketing plan; your tactics reflect the means you employ to execute your strategy – the “how.”

“The lack of focus on strategy and increasing focus on quick-win tactics without a clear plan in the world of marketing has been a constant battle throughout my career and I highly suspect it will be the same for you.”

Create a winning strategy using the “S-T-R-A-T-E-G-Y framework”:

1. “Scenario” – Reflect on your business’s current context and situation and potential factors that could affect it.
2. “Targets”– Clarify your desired outcome and goals.
3. “Reach” – Identify your target audience and how can you best connect with them.
4. “Awareness” – How will you boost your target’s awareness of your brand?
5. “Tactics” – What tactics can you leverage to achieve your desired outcomes and how will you apply them?
6. “Execute” – Define how you plan to execute your strategy and the skills, resources and tools you need to do so.
7. “Generate” – How will you track your performance and measure your response and results?
8. “Yield” – Which KPIs will you use to improve your strategy and inform your next campaign?

1. Scenario : Establish your business’s current situation.

Reflect on your company’s internal – micro – environment and the factors influencing your organization on an external – macro – level to establish your current context. Your micro environment might include your organization’s financial stability or supplier relationships; your macro environment refers to broader influences, such as current events and the economy.

Employ a SWOT analysis to your existing marketing activity, any limitations holding back your marketing efforts such as, for example, skills gaps, and possible strengths to leverage.

Conduct an analysis using the PESTLE framework. The PESTLE acronym stands for six broad factors that affect organizations: Political – legislative changes; Economic – stock market trends; Social – buyer behavior; Technological – new technologies; Legal – impending and existing regulation; and Environmental – your organization’s ecological footprint.

“Analyzing the marketing environment helps marketers to understand customer needs and wants, as well as how well-equipped their own business is to fulfill these.”

Analyze your competition via the COMPETE framework, which assesses the following:

• “Current operators” – Who exists in the same market space as your company?
• “Offering” – What do your competitors provide customers? How are your offerings similar or different? Why might people choose your product or service over theirs?
• “Market share” – Are your competitors leading or dominating the market? What share do they have?
• “Price” – Reflect on your competitors’ pricing strategy and options.
• “Expertise” – Are your competitors well-known and recognizable? How long have they been in the market?
• “Target” – Who are your competitors targeting?
• “Employees” – Reflect on the composition of your competitors’ workforce, considering factors such as, for example, the skill level of workers.

2. Targets: Clarify your objectives and milestones.

Set clear marketing objectives that align with your overall business objectives. Apply the SCALE framework, by setting objectives that are: “Strategic”; “Considered” – connected to business goals; “Audience”-specific; capable of boosting your KPIs – “Lift”; and clear about deadlines – “End dates”. This framework helps you create a system for measuring progress using your chosen metrics.

“Setting objectives is a huge step towards identifying the kind of strategy you’ll need.”

Your KPIs should include milestones for your campaign: web visits, new customers or conversions. Decide the regularity of your reporting on a case-by-case basis for each metric. If you discover a channel isn’t performing as well as you hoped it would, consider issuing reports with greater frequency to help yourself stay abreast of the situation. You might, for example, shift from weekly to daily reporting.

3. Reach: Leverage the power of data to better position your product.

As technology evolves, so does consumer behavior, focus and loyalty. Stay on top of your target’s likes and dislikes, or risk losing their attention. Consumers expect the brands they support to send them personalized, relevant content. Leverage the power of technology and social listening to create better customer experiences. This enables you to position your service or product to reflect the value your ideal customer seeks. Whenever you gather data, do so ethically and transparently, without breaking your target’s trust.

“Just as in real life, the best brand/customer relationships are based on mutual understanding.”

Get to know your existing customers by collecting data on everything from their age to purchasing behavior and interests. Connect with your audience on social media, asking them questions to better understand how you can serve them while gathering data insights from user engagement. Use data analytics to segment your target audience, gleaning insights about geographic, demographic, psychographic – personality, attitude, beliefs and lifestyle – and behavioral factors to fulfill the expectations of different customer personas. Increase your conversion rate by creating messaging to serve different groups, niche markets and individuals.

4. Awareness: Engage customers to create positive brand perceptions.

Use the “marketing mix” model to build brand awareness and execute your strategy by applying the “7Ps” – an expanded version of an older version of this model, which marketers referred to as the “4Ps”:

1. “Product” – Consider your product on three levels. Your “core product” describes the basic purpose or benefit of your product not the product itself. For example, a car’s core purpose is transportation. Your “actual product” centers around the perceptions consumers have of your product’s characteristics and quality. Your “augmented product” refers to non-physical elements of added value, such as a lifetime warranty.
2. “Price” – Choose a pricing strategy that reflects your product’s positioning and business objectives, while covering your cost per unit. Employ methods including discount pricing to sell old or excess stock and value-based fees.
3. “Place” – When considering product placement, choose the distribution channel that best serves your target audience. For example, start-ups often choose a direct producer-to-consumer approach.
4. “Promotion” – Advertise your product and communicate with your target audience, engaging in promotion that ensures they understand what you offer, why it would benefit them and how they can purchase it.
5. “People” – Consider everyone involved at all stages of your customer’s journey, whether direct or indirect, as the attitudes and behaviors of your workers have a direct effect on consumer’s experience of your brand.
6. “Process” – The processes and systems your organization employs when delivering a product to a consumer powerfully affect your customers’ levels of satisfaction on their journey. Consider factors such as whether your website is running nonstop and the time it takes to respond to customer questions.
7. “Physical evidence” – Marketing teams shouldn’t neglect the physical factors that affect your target’s experience of your product, such as the ambiance of your storefront and the quality of your signage.

5. Tactics: Connect on a human level with consumers via your marketing channels.

Marketing tactics are the methods you employ to leverage the power of your chosen channels to promote your service or product. Hootsuite suggests focusing on three areas when employing your digital marketing tactics: building consumer confidence; giving your brand a “human face”; and creating trust. Service consumers’ expectations of convenience: Digital technologies enable you to respond to users within minutes. Create meaningful relationships with consumers, who crave human connection. Be mindful of your use of AI-powered technologies, as consumers won’t connect with your brand if your communications feel robotic or lack empathy.

“Marketing tactics are the promotional elements and, in some cases, the ‘fun’ part of marketing. People often mistake tactics for marketing strategy, but tactics are the vehicles used to reach your destination.”

Whether you market content via emails, videos or websites, leverage storytelling. Don’t cut corners in your content-creation process, as the quality content consumers demand takes expertise and time. Consider inviting independent bloggers to review your offerings and share their user experience of your product with their followers. When considering SEO, heed the advice of Google’s digital strategist and marketing technologist Jono Alderson: Google designed its algorithm to ensure users connect with quality content that aligns with their interests. Understand your target audience to provide them with content that helps them solve their problems.

6. Execute: Implement your strategy with consistency and precision.

Execute your strategy consistently to ensure your target understands your message. Make sure people are aware of your organization’s purpose. Align this understanding across teams and keep your visual brand consistent in terms of graphic style and color schemes to avoid consumer confusion. Increase your brand’s value and enhance your brand equity by ensuring consumers easily recognize your brand, as with, for example, a memorable logo.

“The key area to focus on when rolling out your strategy is consistency.”

Consider your audience when establishing your brand tone of voice (ToV), then create comprehensive brand guidelines to ensure workers throughout your organization employ it consistently. Make everyone throughout your organization aware of your new guidelines to avoid promoting a hybrid of your old and new brand. Clarify each team member’s roles and responsibilities and schedule activities with a detailed action plan. Embrace aspects of Agile and Waterfall processes when managing your campaign.

7. Generate: Track your performance and measure success.

Track your KPIs and measure your lead values – or customer interest levels and conversion potential – through the prism of your desired outcomes. Measure the right data: For example, don’t measure only website traffic; assess the quality of your traffic by metrics such as bounce rate. Invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help track and analyze consumer data.

“The secret to success is determining what to measure linking back to objectives and not try to track everything.”

Brands measure consumer behavior algorithmically on digital channels using tracking pixels – code snippets embedded in a user’s digital signature. Gain user consent before collecting this data, which you can use to measure everything from the performance of your website, email marketing, paid advertising campaigns and social media activity. Run regular performance reports – daily, weekly or monthly – which include information regarding your tactics and channel traffic.

8. Yield: Conduct a post-campaign analysis (PCA) and commit to continuous learning.

Conduct a post-campaign analysis (PCA), assessing conversion rates and KPIs related to marketing, your chosen channels, social media, engagement and conversion rates. Share your PCA results with stakeholders and your broader organization.

“The analysis conducted shouldn’t hide away in a spreadsheet but should be used to inform change and future marketing activity. The value from evaluations comes from drawing insights that aid development and learnings.”

Ask: “What are you going to repeat?”; “What are you going to change?”; and “What are you going to stop?” Your PCA helps you understand your customers, assess the validity of your prior assumptions and serve your target’s evolving needs.

Conclusion

An effective marketing strategy is key to standing out in a saturated digital environment. To craft a compelling marketing approach, the STRATEGY framework can guide you, encapsulating eight critical components: Scenario, Target, Reach, Awareness, Tactics, Execute, Generate, and Yield. Each phase includes associated steps like setting targets, understanding the audience, deploying suitable tactics, and analyzing results, all of which build on one another to create a successful strategy.

About the Author

Fellow at the Institute of Data and Marketing Association Jenna Tiffany is the founder and strategy director of the digital marketing consultancy Let’sTalk Strategy.

Genres

Marketing, Sales, Entrepreneurship

Review 1

Review: “Marketing Strategy: Overcome Common Pitfalls and Create Effective Marketing” by Jenna Tiffany is an insightful and comprehensive guide that delves into the intricacies of developing successful marketing strategies. The book offers valuable advice and practical tips for marketers at all levels, from beginners to seasoned professionals.

Tiffany begins by emphasizing the importance of understanding the common pitfalls that marketers often encounter. She highlights the significance of identifying and overcoming these challenges to create effective marketing campaigns. This approach sets the stage for the rest of the book, as Tiffany presents a step-by-step framework for developing a robust marketing strategy.

One of the book’s strengths is its focus on practicality. Tiffany provides numerous real-world examples and case studies to illustrate her points, making it easier for readers to apply the concepts to their own marketing initiatives. This approach helps bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that readers can implement the strategies effectively.

The author covers a wide range of topics, including target audience identification, market research, branding, messaging, digital marketing, and more. Each chapter is well-structured and provides clear explanations, making it easy for readers to follow along and absorb the information. Tiffany’s writing style is concise yet engaging, keeping the reader’s attention throughout.

One standout feature of the book is the emphasis on data-driven decision-making. Tiffany highlights the importance of using analytics and metrics to measure the success of marketing campaigns. She provides guidance on selecting the right key performance indicators (KPIs) and leveraging data to optimize marketing strategies. This data-driven approach ensures that marketers can make informed decisions and continuously improve their efforts.

Another noteworthy aspect of “Marketing Strategy” is the inclusion of practical exercises and worksheets. These resources allow readers to actively apply the concepts discussed in the book, encouraging hands-on learning and enhancing the overall learning experience.

While the book covers a wide range of marketing topics, some readers may find certain sections more relevant to their specific needs than others. However, Tiffany’s comprehensive approach ensures that there is valuable information for marketers across various industries and sectors.

In summary, “Marketing Strategy: Overcome Common Pitfalls and Create Effective Marketing” by Jenna Tiffany is an excellent resource for marketers looking to enhance their strategic planning and execution skills. The book provides a comprehensive framework, practical examples, and valuable insights that can be applied to various marketing scenarios. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced marketer, this book offers valuable guidance that can help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of marketing successfully.

Review 2

Here is my review of the book Marketing Strategy: Overcome Common Pitfalls and Create Effective Marketing by Jenna Tiffany:

Marketing Strategy is a practical and comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to create an effective marketing strategy for their business. The book covers the essential steps of developing, implementing, and evaluating a marketing strategy, as well as the common pitfalls to avoid. The author, Jenna Tiffany, is an award-winning marketing strategist and founder of Let’sTalk Strategy, a marketing agency that helps clients achieve their goals.

The book is divided into 10 chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of marketing strategy. The chapters are:

• What is strategy? This chapter introduces the concept of strategy and its role in achieving the long-term vision of an organization. It also explains the difference between strategy and tactics, and the benefits of having a clear and consistent strategy.
• Establishing the current situation. This chapter discusses how to analyze the internal and external environment of an organization, using tools such as SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces, and competitor analysis. It also explains how to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of an organization, and how to use them to create a SWOT matrix.
• Setting objectives. This chapter explains how to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives for a marketing strategy, and how to align them with the overall vision and mission of an organization. It also provides examples of different types of objectives, such as awareness, engagement, conversion, retention, and advocacy.
• Researching your customers. This chapter discusses how to conduct customer research, using both primary and secondary sources of data. It also explains how to segment customers based on their characteristics, behaviors, needs, and preferences, and how to create customer personas and customer journey maps.
• Planning your marketing campaign. This chapter describes how to create a marketing campaign plan, using tools such as the RACE framework (reach, act, convert, engage), the 7Ps of marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence), and the SOSTAC model (situation analysis, objectives, strategy, tactics, action plan, control). It also provides tips on how to budget and allocate resources for a marketing campaign.
• Selecting the right channels. This chapter explores the different channels that can be used to deliver a marketing campaign, such as email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), influencer marketing, video marketing, podcasting, webinars, events, and more. It also explains how to choose the most appropriate channels based on the objectives, audience, and budget of a marketing campaign.
• Implementing your marketing strategy. This chapter discusses how to execute a marketing strategy effectively, using tools such as project management software, marketing automation software, and collaboration tools. It also explains how to communicate the strategy internally and externally, and how to manage risks and contingencies.
• Tracking the results. This chapter explains how to measure the performance of a marketing strategy, using tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Data Studio, and dashboards. It also explains how to set key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and benchmarks for a marketing strategy, and how to use them to monitor progress and identify issues.
• Analysing your strategy’s success. This chapter describes how to evaluate the success of a marketing strategy, using tools such as return on investment (ROI), return on ad spend (ROAS), customer lifetime value (CLV), net promoter score (NPS), and customer satisfaction score (CSAT). It also explains how to use data analysis techniques such as A/B testing, multivariate testing, and attribution modeling to optimize a marketing strategy.
• Common pitfalls in marketing strategy. This chapter summarizes some of the common mistakes that can undermine a marketing strategy, such as lack of research, lack of alignment, lack of differentiation, lack of integration, lack of testing, lack of innovation, and lack of agility. It also provides advice on how to avoid or overcome these pitfalls.

The book is written in a clear and engaging style, with plenty of examples and case studies from various industries and markets. The book also includes input from leading marketing strategists such as Mark Ritson, and organizations such as Mailchimp, the CIM, and DMA. The book is suitable for both beginners and experienced marketers who want to improve their skills and knowledge in creating effective marketing strategies.

Overall, Marketing Strategy is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to learn how to create a successful marketing strategy for their business. The book offers a practical and adaptable framework that can be applied to any industry or business. The book also helps readers avoid common pitfalls and optimize their marketing strategy success. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about marketing strategy or enhancing their existing strategy.