Many of our clients, from luxury retailers to non-profit organizations, come to us for ideas on how to grow their market share and shine above their competition.

It’s easy to jump right into tactics, and start piling up creative ideas (that’s the fun part); but first, we need to collaboratively create a well defined, consumer-centric, marketing strategy. If you are not sure which strategic path to take, a useful exercise is to create a high-level chart that allows you to compare lanes – and, decide which one to stick to. This chart is consumer-centric – which means we are viewing all of our brand and product knowledge (from SWOT’s to schematics) through a consumer lens. Each lane will form a high-level construct that compares strategies against key questions.

Similar to ones we have used before to help our clients, here is a sample of what this chart can look like – for illustrative purposes, we put in data for a fictional automotive company.  

So, what is the best way to get organized, and start pulling together all the elements you need in order to choose which lane is best for you? Here is a process that we have created, to help our clients.

Bring your best employees together to brainstorm:

Your employees have the hands-on day-to-day knowledge that can help form a strategy that can be implemented. Their ideas and feedback will not only provide an operational view of success; but also start firing up the process of internal buy-in — a vital component of how the strategy will be accepted and absorbed by the organization. Choose a small group – one that represents the cross-functional structure of your marketing team. And, give your employees a small homework assignment prior to the brainstorm meeting to get them into high-level marketing thinking. For example: you can ask them to translate the organization’s value proposition to their team’s work. Or, jot down a few ideas on how the organization can better exemplify the value proposition and brand to customers. You may want to consider hiring a moderator – this neutral party will be useful if you feel that your employees won’t give their honest feedback, or if your corporate culture is more vertical and siloed. Even the best employees can feel intimidated to share opposing ideas directly with senior management. Additionally, moderators are great at keeping everyone on track and focused – ensuring you are using your time and your employee’s time efficiently.

Nail down the core three

Collaboratively decide on the first three columns, as those will set out the structure and flow of all strategies. Keeping the consumer lens in mind, the key headings we would suggest, are:

OBJECTIVES

What do you really need to gain, for your organization to thrive? Give each priority a lane, so you can then compare which is the most important to tackle first. Remember, for your goals to be useful, they must be specific and clearly defined. Use SMART goals to guide you – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

There may be certain market segments, which are easy to access, and can be leveraged for quick profits. And, there may be altogether different segments, which can be developed to realize potential despite barriers to entry. A careful choice has to be made by the organization to fully understand which audience the marketing strategy is being developed for.

WHAT DO THEY NEED?

This column is focused on serving the needs of the specific audiences/consumers identified. In order to do this, you have to identify your target audiences’ interests, as well as their pain points. Explore customer expectations and validate if your value proposition is meeting their needs – if not, your team needs to adapt or evolve the value proposition to match those expectations. Conversely, you may see that your product may not meet the expectations of pain points of your target group, and perhaps the chosen audience needs to be reconsidered.

Create headings for the remaining columns

There is no fixed number – so, create as many as makes sense to your team. To make each lane actionable, consider using TIMING and KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI’s) so each lane is rooted in business realities. If possible, forecasted costs would be advisable as well.

Create a lane for each strategy

‍Start brainstorming – filling out each lane. Different objectives and different consumer groups will lead to different approaches for each lane.

Prioritize and decide

Take a discerning look at your lanes, and decide where you want to focus your energy and resources. Put your decision into action, assigning deadlines and responsibilities.

We used this approach with our client – Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit – when they wanted to open up the club to new types of consumers. This process helped them identify and choose a marketing strategy that would best exemplify their unique value proposition, while appealing to a lucrative target audience.

Following a process to determine lanes and choosing a lane to invest in can be helpful to attain organizational goals – even in an agile environment. Moreover, your organization can gain a competitive edge, by aligning your objectives to profitable consumer segments.

We’re here to help, you! Our talented, imaginative, generous, phenomenal group of originals can help you align your brand with your strategic goals. Contact us to discuss how we can take your business to the next level.