STRATEGIC MARKETING

Most companies believe strategic marketing to be the process of marketing with a plan.

Most companies believe strategic marketing to be the process of marketing with a plan. Here at MindStorm we have a very aggressive definition and approach to the subject.

We believe Strategic Marketing is the act of promoting and selling products or services to prospects, who offer the highest potential profit to your company, in the most efficient and effective way possible. Strategic Marketing also identifies the competitive advantage your company has in the marketplace and uses any and all of its resources to exploit that advantage positioning you as the leader immediately.

Most companies are tactical and rarely engage at a strategic level. An example of this can be described in the scenario below.

Company A uses 4 different marketing tools to promote their company. The tools are:

• Direct Mail
• Press Releases
• Cold Calling
• Email

Company A

• The marketing department sends out direct mail pieces hoping that prospects call into the company to get more information.
• The PR team regularly sends out press releases hoping that the firm gets some free press.
• The sales staff calls businesses who have never heard of or heard from Company A and tries to create interest.
• As they collect email addresses from prospects, marketing sends out email offers to get the customer to buy.

These methods are not terrible and occasionally Company A will get customers to trickle in. Different departments will pull in different customers at different times- never will any drive massive business to the company.

Company B will use those same methods, but they will be used strategically- in coordination with each other with the same strategic outcome in mind.

Company B

• The marketing department sends out direct mail pieces hoping that prospects call into the company to get more information.
• The PR team strategically sends out press releases based on hot topics that are affecting the industry. The release is more focused on the industry and the people affected, not on the company touting how great they are. After detailing how crucial this problem is, only then does Company B offer the solution. The solution is Company B’s new service. This one little technique gains massive coverage and creates a buzz in the industry with the announcement of this “save the day” service.
• The marketing department sends out a direct mail piece to a very targeted list of prospects who would be considered the “best buyers”- hottest prospects that will yield a great profit once they become clients. These prospects have delivered a package that contains an offer they cannot refuse. An offer that solves their toughest challenges and the ability to get started with no cost. Along with this free trial offer is reprints of all the publicity Company A had gotten. These reprints show the company’s legitimacy and combined with the free offer gets triple the normal response rate.
• The sales people are not calling random businesses cold, they are calling the same targeted list that was just mailed the hot new offer. Now the sales team is not being hung up on constantly like before because now they are calling a warm list of prospects to discuss the information that was sent. Salespeople are able to answer any questions that the prospects have and cultivate the sale immediately.
• For those who the sales people were not able to get in touch with, an email is sent out to remind them about the offer that will expire soon. The prospects who were interested but not ready to make a purchase will be on a drip campaign where emails will be sent to them over time so that a relationship is established and the company stays on top of their mind.

This is a simple 4 tactic approach but can you imagine what we can create if we implemented:

• Article Marketing (Directories)
• Retargeted Online Display Ads
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• YouTube Marketing
• Blogging
• Post Card Campaigns
• Flyer Campaigns
• Guerilla Marketing Techniques
• SEO
• Radio Advertising
• Television Advertising
• Viral Campaigns
• Writing for magazines
• Guest blogs
• Research reports / whitepapers
• Social Media Marketing
• Referral Programs
• Affiliate Marketing
• Writing a book
• Raffles
• Surveys
• Sponsorship Programs
• Speaking Events
• Networking Events
• Plus many more!

Imagine leveraging all these different avenues to create a strategic marketing campaign that is running on autopilot. That is what we can create for you.

Call us to discuss how we build a machine that creates more business than your sales team knows what to do with. (More on that later!)