7 Top Tips to Design a Marketing Strategy For Marketing Success

Have you noticed that a business plan asks for a marketing strategy? A marketing strategy consists of a series of ongoing activities you plan to implement over a period of time to accomplish a particular aim in your business.

By designing a marketing strategy you take your business to a whole new level of preparation. Here are 7 top tips to help you design a marketing strategy to build your business.

Planning your marketing strategy lets you know the actions you will take on a regular basis to keep your business growing. Most people think of marketing as something that is done on an occasional basis without a real plan, usually when it seems convenient. For example, you might have a Twitter or Facebook account. When you feel like it, you make a tweet or put a post on Facebook. But with a marketing strategy, you pre-plan when you'll do these activities on a regular and consistent basis if it feels convenient or not.

1. Overall Aim. Start by determining the overall aim you need to reach through a marketing program. Do you intend to increase visitors to your website or storefront? Do you need to increase the amount of programs or services you promote? Do you need to increase the income for your business? Do you need to do all of these things?

2. Select the time period. Over what period of time will you pursue these goals? Designing a year-long marketing strategy gives you a nice period of time to generate a plan of action. It gives you time to create consistency in placing your business name in front of the public which will only build your business.

4. The Message. With the target market identified you can generate a marketing message that makes them pay attention to your business. Design an overarching slogan or theme for your marketing program that enhances your brand and places you in a positive position in the mind of the target consumer.

3. The Target Market. A specific target market is needed to effectively design a message that speaks directly to the heart and mind of your consumer base. If you don't know who you are marketing to you waste time, funds and effort trying to promote to everybody which is an impossible task in business.

6. List Periodic Activities. Next identify the activities you will do periodically such as two times each quarter, two times a year or annually. These could include a special live or Web based event, getting published in a newsletter or online ezine of a joint venture partner or writing an article for a magazine.

5. Chart Your Path. Receive a calendar for the year and chart out the important marketing activities that you will do on a regular basis each day, each week and each month. Be consistent with these regular activities. This can include writing and publishing a weekly web article or posting to your blog and social networking sites on a daily basis.

This is a simplistic way to get started on a marketing strategy. You can see that it gives you over two way to do your marketing. It also means you have to sit down, think things through ahead of time, and plan a whole year's worth of activities. You won't be caught off guard about marketing activities. You'll also start to create an ongoing presence with your target group which helps to build trust while building your business.

7. Chart Special Opportunities. Find opportunities that offer special opportunities to promote your business. For example, will you purchase a booth at a women's conference, be a speaker at a networking group, or offer a door-prize for a school fundraiser? These opportunities might come up only on special occasions or be annual events you select to participate in during this marketing year. Chart these on your marketing strategy plan.

Consuelo Meux, Ph.D. is the Infant Boomer Creativity Coach. He works with boomer women who are seeking their true life purpose. He also provides non-fiction book coaching and business coaching. Get support and Free reports at the website