When reaching prospective customers, a business will put together a plan that outlines the goals and objectives of a marketing campaign as well as ways of achieving them. This is called a marketing strategy. When creating a marketing strategy, a business will look at brand messages, target audience, and a number of other elements that will ensure the marketing strategy aligns with the company’s targets and values.
Creating a marketing strategy is not a simple task and there is a lot to take into consideration. One of the main areas to focus on is what type of marketing strategy is ideal for the business, brand, and target audience.
There are a number of types of marketing strategies and they all have their pros and cons. None can be called the best as the ideal strategy for you depends on what you are selling and who you are selling it to.
If you are unsure of the ideal marketing strategy for you, continue reading to have a better understanding of the different types of strategies.
- Mass marketing: Instead of a small or medium scale marketing campaign, some brands like to go all out with their marketing campaigns. Mass marketing makes use of big data to give them insight into advertisement placement and target audiences.
- Relationship marketing: Regardless of the terms used for either party, marketing strategies look at the seller and the buyer. A relationship marketing strategy will look beyond the transactional nature between the buyer and seller and build a relationship between the two. This can go a long way in building a loyal customer base.
- Loyalty marketing: A business may track a customer’s transaction history to personalise a marketing campaign in order to grow and retain customers. This is called loyalty marketing.
- Brand lover marketing: When creating loyalty among customers, there is a sense of belonging a business can play around with. Brand loyalty plays a huge role in marketing and a marketing strategy can make use of this to make a customer feel connected to a particular brand. This is called brand lover marketing.
- Call-to-action marketing: Sometimes a marketing campaign does more than telling the customer to purchase a product. Call-to-action marketing prompts a potential customer to click on a banner or share a post as a way of directing them to an online store.
- Word-of-mouth marketing: Oral communication is key in the world we live in and word-of-mouth marketing makes use of this. Here, your brand or product goes to the target audience not through direct marketing campaigns but from person to person.
- Personalised marketing: When a brand launches a limited edition product with names or doodles on the label, customers can get their hands on a unique and personalised product. This is called personalised marketing.
- Cause marketing: It is highly likely that you have come across campaigns where for every product you purchase, one is given to a low-income or marginalised community for free. This is called cause marketing and involves finding a cause that your company as well as customers care about.
- Undercover marketing: If you see an advertisement with an unfamiliar tagline or a hint at what the product might be, your curiosity will be awakened. You may watch out for more advertisements and the product or service itself. This is what a movie trailer does too, and undercover marketing is a great way of attracting people’s attention.
- Offline marketing: Digital and social media marketing are immensely popular but traditional methods continue to play an important role in marketing. Brands may use offline marketing with new technologies for better customer experiences.
- Transactional and promotional marketing: Transactional marketing is where a business encourages sales through coupons, discounts, and sales events. Promotional marketing, on the other hand, makes use of contests and sampling to stimulate a customer towards a purchasing decision.
- Seasonal marketing: If you operate a gift delivery service, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas are seasonal celebrations you can centre your marketing campaigns on.
- Guerrilla marketing: This is where a business uses unconventional and inexpensive ways to promote a product or service. Art instalments and flash mobs in a public place are different guerrilla marketing strategies.
These are the different types of marketing strategies and a business may use a combination of them to promote a product or service. When picking the best strategy for your brand or product, select one that sends the right message and reaches your target audience.