Why your Q4 Marketing Strategy is Important for Finishing the Year Strong

When you are marketing your products or services, the last thing you need is to waste time and resources. To avoid this, it’s beneficial to craft an intentional, sales-focused marketing plan to help you reach your goals quicker. Building an effective market plan is an important step but many founders feel resistant about doing it. Perhaps this is because there are so many unknowns when you  are growing your business. Of course, you're not going to be able to get everything perfect all the time, but being intentional and consistent about every action your and you team makes is a great way to gain traction quickly. When you start with a plan, even if it's not perfect, you gain the opportunity to iterate and strengthen that plan as you grow.
 

So let's get started...

What is a Sales-Focused Marketing Strategy?

A Sales-Focused Marketing Strategy is the way in which a company builds a marketing department with measurable ROI. It is your tactical action plan that outlines the steps necessary to succeed. It also keeps key business units aligned on the same plan, helping you to effectively iterate and improve on your process and product. 

What isn't a Sales-Focused Marketing Strategy?

A Sales-Focused Marketing Strategy isn't your sales plan or marketing tactics. It is a nuanced understanding of what customers you are going after, why that customer segment, and exactly how you will acquire them. It is a plan that acts as a starting point to develop your long-term growth vision.

A Sales-Focused Marketing Strategy 

1. Get Clear on Why Your Company Exists

• In Simon Sinek famous TedTalk, Start with Why, he explains that people don't buy what you are selling-- they buy WHY you're selling it.  Can you clearly define the problem you are solving and why your company exists?

2. Define your Market

• In order to effectively market your business, you need to understand some basics about your "sandbox."  Take time to research things like the total addressable market, the pain points of your target client, and current/future trends that might affect your business.

3. Comp Analysis

• Are you clear on who your competitors are? It is really helpful to understand who you are up against as all markets become more and more saturated. Go through your competitor's sales funnels, and buy/test their products. Understand how you can be better.

4. Messaging

• Exactly how does your product/service solve the pain points for your target client? Develop a Value Matrix to get clear on this and help your marketing/sales teams sell better and handle objections accordingly.

5. Create your Marketing Plan

• Now, for the juicy part, creating your actual marketing plan, or as I call it, your 24/7 Marketing Flywheel. Your Marketing Flywheel is the strategic action plan that keeps your pipeline ever-flowing with people who are ready and excited to buy with you. It is a 6-step process from getting a client to know your brand to becoming a raving fan. Once your 24/7 Marketing Flywheel is established, you need a solid team to help you execute each stage. This is when you transition into the CEO and Leadership position that sets you up for real growth and success.

6. Team

• Building a strong marketing team doesn't necessarily require a huge budget. Prioritize building out your marketing flywheel and then iterating and improving each stage.

7. Track, Test, & Improve

• The last and final step is to just get started!  Then track your metrics along the way to iterate and improve the process.  And listen, you're probably not going to get it right the first time. And that is okay.  This is all part of the journey!
  
  

Truly effective marketing programs are uncovered through action. Realize that it is all a process and a necessary one.  It is going to take a few tries before you nail your communication.  It's going to take time to truly understand your users/clients before unlocking the content and product features they need. Don't get discouraged if you don't see traction right away.  Return to this process, again and again, to improve on your assumptions and, as Y-Combinator likes to remind us, "Always be launching."

Are you ready to move into action?  Download your FREE Sales- Focused Marketing Strategy Guide to help you get started.

Take a listen! 👇🏻

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