Marketing strategy is different from marketing tactics. You have to know where you want to go and you have to know what it looks like when you get there. Market research and analysis plays a vital roll in marketing strategy. The information collected aids in making the correct product, competitive, and pricing decisions while minimizing your risk of expensive incorrect decisions.

1. Market Directions
Boston
marketdirectionsmr.com
617-323-1862
mary@
marketdirectionsmr.com
Marketing
Strategy to
Execution
Market Research is the foundation of the mar-
keting planning process. You need to under-
stand your customer, your environments — ex-
ternal and internal — assess the competition
and your digital footprint and reputation. Read
Market Directions White Paper to help you un-
derstand how to develop and execute a plan.

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ABOUT Marketing
ABOUT Market Driven
“Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing people. “ ---David
Packard Founder, HP
David Packard’s quote is not a slight against the profession, it demonstrates
the importance of marketing at the C level where marketing is embraced as
a key driver in the company’s success.
“Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation. “ ---Peter
Drucker
“Listening to customers must become everyone’s business.” ---Tom Peters
Market driven companies approach marketing from the view of the customer.
They focus on customer satisfaction, managing the customer experience,
customer retention, and customer lifetime value. Being market-driven presumes
that when customers are delighted, revenues, profits and growth will ensue.
Having a thorough understanding of market environment and consumer needs
is implicit to being market driven. What are the advantages? Research has
shown that market-driven companies:
- are 31% more profitable
- bring new products to market twice as fast
- enjoy 10-20% higher customer satisfaction levels
Market Directions works with companiesto build and benefit from a market-
driven perspective, both at the strategic and tactical level.
Being Market
Driven
Strategic
Process
Strategy
Development
Integrated
Marketing Plan
Executiong the
Plan
Measure and
Adjust

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Marketing Research
This is an imperative step to understand
external environment: the customer, the
competition, and trends that can
impact how you do business and how
customers respond to your business.
The Customer
Engaging customers with your product
or service provides you with an
understanding of their needs (expressed
and emerging). Secondary, and
primary, research to better understand
the target audience and their needs
discovers how the market is segmented
and the unique needs within each of
those segments.
ABOUT Strategic Planning Process
Excelling on one half of the spectrum, but not on the other will not allow you to reach your
growth targets.
Strategic planning leverages marketing concepts and research to better influence the
outcomes of your marketing efforts.
---------------- Strategy -------------------------------------- Execution ----------------------------

ABOUT Strategic Planning
The Competition
The competitive environment: the key
players; their value propositions and
positioning; target markets; pricing; and
how they reach customers is imperative
in understanding how customers will
value you relative to the competition. A
SWOT analysis lays the ground work to be
able to adjust and improve.
External Environment
Reviewing trends in demographics,
government regulations, technology, and
industry developments, keeps your
informed touch in order to react to
outside forces.
Digital Footprint
What is your digital footprint? What do
people discover about you and your
competition when they search? Are you
everywhere your competition is? Are you
everywhere your customers are?

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ABOUT Strategic Development
Once consumers and the marketplace are fully understood, then a customer-driven
marketing strategy can be developed. In developing the strategy, the optimal
Marketing Mix is considered, traditionally known as the four P’s. However in the age of
Modern Marketing is converted in to the four C’s of “Consumer Oriented Marketing” This
involves determining strategies with regard to:
1. Product-----------------
Consumer
• Create and provide products
and services tailored to the
needs, wants and demands
of target consumers.
o Needs--- States of felt
deprivation
o Wants--- the form human
needs take as they are
shaped by culture and
individual personality
o Demands--- human wants
that are backed by
buying power
2. Placement ----------
Convenience
• Deliver the product or service
to the customer in the means
that is easiest to them.
• Online on premise
• Make websites navigable
• Align channels to customers
buying preferences.
3. Pricing-----------------
Costs
• Consider the entire cost to
the customer, the cost of
shipping, the cost of time, the
cost of getting to the store.
• Pricing in terms of value to
the customer.
• Is pricing part of your
marketing strategy? Cost
leader or discounter?
4. Promotion --------
Communication
• Two way communication.
• Promote and communicate
where target customers are.
• Develop customer feedback
loop
• Focus on branding as it
relates to selling more
products/services.
• Create a Unique value and
selling proposition.
Customers see themselves as buying value or solutions to their problems. And customers are
interested in more than just the price; they are interested in the total costs of obtaining, using, and
disposing of a product. Customers want the product and service to be as conveniently available
as possible. Finally, they want two-way communication. Customers set up a hierarchy of values,
wants and needs based on data, opinions, word-of-month, and previous experiences. They use
that information to make purchasing decisions.

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ABOUT Building an Integrated Plan
Marketing and Sales Funnels
Transition from the strategic to the tactical. Build a marketing funnel, which depicts the process
from contacts to leads through to the various stages of the sales process, to create buyers. The
integrated plan must employ various marketing tactics and initiatives to support the marketing
objectives of building awareness, generating leads, and making the sale then, nurturing
customers to create repeat business, brand superiority and ultimately customer advocates.
Marketing Objective
An effective marketing program blends each marketing mix element into an integrated marketing
program designed to achieve the company’s marketing objectives by delivering value to
consumers. The marketing mix constitutes the company’s tactical tool kit for establishing strong
positioning in target markets.
Build Awareness Generate Leads Support Selling
Generate Loyal &
Repeat
Customers
Funnel graphics from: Changing Dynamics – The Rise of New
B2B Marketing Funnel: Cladius Cloud, Marketing Automation
Blog

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ABOUT Building an Integrated Plan
Build Awareness
• Traditional Marketing
• Public Relations
• Direct Marketing
• Digital Marketing
• Thought Leadership
Generate Leads
• How many do you need? Create goal to measure against.
• Compare and contrast to competition
• Process in place to capture leads
• Sales ready, follow-up with appropriate communication
• List building, lead campaigns, integration with d-base or CRM, marketing
automation platform.
Support the Selling Process
• Create process to follow-up inquiries.
• Personal Touch
• Drip Campaign
• Ensure Privacy
• Measure and Tract through the buying journey
Generate Repeat Business/Renewals
• Reputation management
• Follow online, social chatter
• Ask for referrals
• Ask for testimonials
• Create case studies
• Capture and funnel back customer feedback for enhancements and
innovation
The plan must detail time, budget and responsibility specified for
each item.

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ABOUT Executing the Plan
Marketing Plan Execution
Now it’s time to take everything you know about your customers, your markets, your competition
and put you plan into action that will reach the correct audience. The writing, vendor selection,
and work begins. Budget and practical limitations are the only barriers to putting a plan in place.
Consideration should be given to traditional marketing tactics along with your digital marketing.
Additionally, your approach needs to be flexible and adaptable to changing business conditions.
ABOUT Creating the Plan
Creating a Marketing Plan
An actual marketing plan is beyond the scope of this paper. This paper highlights the
strategic elements that go into producing the optimal marketing plan for your unique
business.
A Market Plan would consist of how you would generate awareness, attract and engage
customers and ultimately get them to buy. Marketing Plans consist of both traditional
marketing techniques along with digital marketing platforms.
Briefly, you would implement your strategic plan with:
• Public Relations
• Promotion--- TV, Radio, Print
• Marketing Collateral
• Direct Marketing
• Telemarketing
• Event Marketing
• Digital Marketing, Including:
 Web Content Development for Optimal SEO
 Pay Per Click Campaigns
 Blogs
 Case Studies
 Articles
 White Papers
 Email Marketing
 Banner Ads

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Create a Content Management
Calendar
Your digital marketing campaign will
consist of content--- content in the
form of website text, blogs, articles,
… etc. Strategically placing this
content in frequency and place is
paramount.
Use Project Management Tools
Collaboration with your internal
marketing and any vendors you hire to
assist is important. There are many
project management tools that
collaborate across “the cloud,” which
helps keep track of topics and content
to be published.
Create a Sales Tool Kit
• General FAQs
• Compelling value proposition
• Messaging guidelines
• Proof points
• Objection Handling Guide
• Pricing information, allowable
discounts
• Overview of competitors
• Referenceable customer list
• Marketing collateral targeted
by market segment, product
line, etc.
• Information on upcoming
promotional and other
marketing activities
This paper is mostly about strategy. How the right strategy will help you to create and implement the best
marketing plan for the right customers in the right places, who are ready buy or at least investigate your
product or service. Modern Marketing has transitioned from the manipulation of customers’ minds to serving
customers’ needs. A strategic process that includes research must be part of the marketing planning
process in order to be successful in a complex business environment.
ABOUT Measuring and Adjusting
Measure and Adjust – with a Focus on Marketing ROI
Measuring effectiveness on digital and traditional marketing efforts is paramount to adjusting as you
move forward. Create tools including daily updates, dashboards, reports. Additionally, you should
create a model that measures your marketing ROI because marketing is an integral part of the
organization’s profitability.
Furthermore, the key to success lies in flexibility, the ability to adapt your strategy to changing business
conditions. Creating the feedback loop from customers assists in remaining flexible to service their
needs and can also help innovation.

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Results from Market Research

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This paper was prepared by
Mary Malaszek of Market
Directions.
Market Directions is s a full
service custom market
research firm that helps
companies to identify and
clarify distinct marketplace
opportunities.
Together with our market
research we function as a full-
service marketing agency,
with an emphasis on strategic
planning.
Please contact Mary
Malaszek at
mary@makretdirectionsmr.com
or visit our website at
www.marketdirectionsmr.com
Market Directions
Boston
617-323-1862
©2016 Market Directions