Internet Strategic Marketing Plan - Why You Need One

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A dairy company decided to run an exciting promotion that they hoped would increase sales dramatically. Inside some of their small milk cartons they placed a device that made a MOO sound when the carton was opened. If the consumer had that carton, they would be a winner. Cheap CSGO Accounts The promotion was going along just fine until one of the cartons was opened on an airplane and the "lucky winner" looked inside and saw wires. Panic ensued and the plane was forced to make an emergency landing. The dairy company was held responsible for all the costs associated with the emergency and had to pull the promotion from the market immediately. What started as a great idea, ended up in disaster for the company.

So, what went wrong?

Quite simply, the company designed the promotion without taking into consideration a number of external factors that, if well thought out ahead of time, would have helped them prevent this disaster from happening. For example, if they would have considered exactly where their small cartons were being distributed, they would have realized that placing that kind of promotion in the hands of airline passengers may have some quite logical and terrifying consequences.

In this example, the company was guilty of simply adopting a tactical marketing approach and did not look at the strategic implications like they should have. A strategic marketing approach would have prevented this disaster from happening.

In this article I will show you how marketing is a strategic task, and should not be driven by tactics and tools. I will show you how, if you do marketing at a tactical level, you could be wasting money (and potentially losing money like the dairy company mentioned above) and being less effective. People often say "marketing is expensive". I agree with that assertion if that marketing is not well thought out and planned ahead of time. Often a great idea is just that - a great idea - but when the rubber hits the road and reality sets in, that great idea needs to have more than just creativity. It needs a dose of honest reality as well and that comes from looking at the potential pitfalls through strategic eyes.

What you should be looking for - maximizing your opportunities

Marketing is all about choices, and making the right choices give you the ability to maximize opportunities. It is all too simple to pick a marketing tactic in isolation and to implement it without weighing up the options of "what else can we do?"

Small and midsize companies are particularly guilty of this because they often do not have the time or resources to evaluate all the potential choices that are available. They simply go to the tried and tested "oldies" - brochures, business cards, website etc - and feel that as long as they've spent their money on these marketing tools, then they are OK. What they fail to understand is that they are placing themselves in the most dangerous place in the mind of their potential customers: "ME TOO-ville". They will look and feel like everyone else and that makes them vulnerable.

So how do you break out from "ME TOO-ville". Well it's quite simple: change your way of thinking. Start looking for the opportunities that are not being satisfied, rather than being a copycat.

What marketing is not - the tactics and the tools

At home I have a toolbox. It is filled with all the latest gadgets, widgets, devices that enable me to fix things around the house. So, my toolbox is overflowing with all the best tools in the business - then why is my house in such a state of disrepair? It's actually quite simple; just because I have the tools does not make me a handyman. And if I was handy, would I really be able to fix those electrical and plumbing problems that require a little more knowledge, all because I have a full toolbox. Absolutely NOT.