Products and services benefit no one if nobody is buying. Indeed, few businesses succeed without a marketing strategy — a plan to get people to buy what a company offers, and to keep them coming back for more.
Strategic marketing involves outlining exactly how a company or organization can reach its sales goals, from identifying products and customers to creating strategies to reach those customers with product information.
Key Elements of Strategic Marketing
Strategic plans should identify not only likely customers but also the methods of reaching them, including types of messaging and the intended marketing audiences. Plans should define what constitutes success and clarify who is responsible for each part of the strategic marketing plan. A marketing plan also should be flexible and accommodate alterations based on what is or is not working, as well as changing market technologies and environments. A marketing plan should also identify each type of marketing channel that the organization intends to use.
Marketing is a changing field. The way consumers now seek out information about products has shifted to keep pace with new developments in social media and content consumption. Similarly, the way businesses now find interested consumers has given rise to new strategic marketing techniques and questions. Savvy marketers connect with target markets via social media, where they create interactive relationships rather than simply showcasing their products. Data mining gives marketers increasingly larger volumes of data about consumers’ preferences and lifestyles to create targeted marketing messages. Further, the interconnectivity of networked products at work and home creates intersections of content that marketers can use to advertise lifestyles rather than individual products.
Aspiring marketers need to be familiar with the latest interactive technologies so they can meet customers where they are. Marketers need to know more about the tools customers use to find their products than do the customers themselves.
Learning About Marketing in an Online MBA Program
One way to learn more about strategic marketing is to study it in an online MBA program. Students in the online MBA program at the University of Southern Indiana’s Romain College of Business, for example, learn about strategic marketing by completing practical, real-world case studies in the major elements of effective marketing strategies.
Working toward an MBA in an online program can be a cost-effective way to broaden your credentials while, in many cases, continuing to work. This means you can keep your job and study when it is convenient to your schedule, which minimizes interruptions to your existing personal and professional obligations.
Job Outlook for People With Strategic Marketing Expertise
A 2015 survey of employers by McKinley Marketing Partners found that job growth in marketing should remain high, especially for professionals with digital marketing skills. Strategic marketing is a key part of the modern business world, and the demand for people with expertise in the field remains strong. Learning about marketing strategy through an online MBA program can be one way to gain the expertise you need to advance your marketing career.
Learn more about the USI online MBA program.
Sources:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241953
http://www.akadvisorypartners.com/files/Creating-a-Successful-Marketing-Strategy.pdf
