Introducing 3 key methods for an integrated sales and marketing strategy
Marketing and sales teams have a reputation for not getting along. Working towards the same ultimate goal in different ways means there is often friction. That's why we recommend an integrated sales and marketing strategy.
We’ve all heard that when the sales are coming in it’s because the sales team is doing a great job and when the sales slow then the marketing team needs to pull its socks up. How do we fix this?
The key levers are regular and open communication, an understanding that each team needs the other in order to succeed, and well-implemented systems that help, rather than hinder performance for both teams.
[si_blog_banner_cta]
Traditionally, sales and marketing have different priorities, you can see some examples below. Of course, in an integrated approach, both teams are aware of and support each other's functions too.
…
Introducing P.R.I.C.E. - a tool to review differentiation and integration of E-commerce omnichannel marketing
There is an enormous, and potentially bewildering, range of possibilities and options available to retailers to differentiate themselves from their competitors in a multichannel world.
Why a multichannel marketing framework is needed
Selection and prioritization of investment in online retail can be a huge challenge, and so to help, when reviewing multichannel strategy with clients I have developed a framework to help based around five key factors:
Price
Range
Information
Convenience
Experience
Those five key factors, in varying priorities, define what is important for your customers in a multichannel retail experience. Together they describe your differentiation from your competitors in a multichannel world.
[si_blog_banner_cta]
In brief, the elements of P.R.I.C.E are
Price - As everyone knows, prices online are transparent prices, and having a competitive price position is an essential part of your positioning, that said, it's not the only…
The RACE Framework and PASTA model are complementary models for your marketing communications plan, one is strategic and one is operational, get started today to win more customers
Commercial as well as non-profit organizations, routinely confront these typical questions about a marketing communications plan: Do we need social media? How do we introduce our new website? What can we do to publicize our eCommerce Store? How do we introduce our new product? How will our market share rise?
These are five commonly asked questions that require marketing and communications expertise. In this article, we will address 2 complementary models for your marketing communications plan - the RACE Framework and PASTA model.
Whether it be a strategic plan, a business plan, a marketing plan, or a communications strategy, marketing communication planning requires systematic, step-by-step development that takes into account elements of all the other types of plans.
This article describes the PASTA method, a new…
Using Kotler's Pricing model to review positioning
Also referred to as the nine quality-pricing strategy, since it is a matrix covering nine options, the aim of Kotler's Pricing model is to help companies position their products or services relative to competitors as perceived by the market, and consider their pricing strategy accordingly.
You can use the Price - Quality Strategy Model to review competitors’ products and services and review their strategies. Why do they charge more? Why do they charge less? Sometimes if aspects of a service are removed, this can contribute to lower prices.
What are the 9 Pricing strategies?
The nine pricing strategies are shown below, relating price against quality.
[si_blog_banner_cta]
Our summary below reviews the most frequently used strategies based on the different objectives:
1. Maximum current profit objective
A Premium strategy (top-left) is used for this objective. Typically, there are few competitors…
Planning your communications strategy with the DRIP Model
What is DRIP?
The DRIP model is used to support marketing communication planning and is useful when setting broad communication goals. It can be applied when launching a new product or repositioning an existing business, for example.
DRIP stands for Differentiate, Reinforce, Inform and Persuade and can be an alternative to the AIDA model. It was created by Chris Fill and will be familiar to readers of his classic Marketing Communications text.
How to use it?
These are the aims within each of the DRIP elements, it’s a working 'communications flow’ model.
Differentiate: Differentiate your product or service by defining where it's positioned in the market and often the 7Ps digital marketing mix can inform this.
Reinforce: To reinforce the brand's message, consider consolidating and strengthening your messages…
What's needed to build a strong marketing strategy?
Creating a winning marketing strategy that takes advantage of the key marketing opportunities available today is challenging because of the pace of change and continuous hype.
Smart Insights offers marketing leaders and business owners practical, strategic advice designed to help them achieve their goals. Our free blog format has a weakness in that although the posts are engaging, it's difficult to see the big picture of how they relate. That's why we offer annual and monthly memberships, for marketers looking to get ahead.
To help get you on track with planning, managing and optimizing your marketing strategy, we've picked out our top recommendations, so you can start driving results through marketing.
Our 10 marketing strategy success factors
Dan Bosomworth and I went "back to basics" to work through what is needed for marketing strategy success. We've set out this in this manifesto. This is what drives us,…
Learn how you can use the Product Life Cycle (PLC) marketing model to project changes in the perception and use of your products
The Product Life Cycle describes the stages of a product from launch to being discontinued. It is a strategy tool that helps companies plan for new product development and refine existing products.
What are the stages of the Product Life Cycle?
Introduction
Growth
Maturity
Decline
New Product Development
The new product development stage occurs before the product's life-cycle begins, consisting of market research leading up to product launch. Hence this stage can include:
Reviewing demand for products
Assessing brand perception
Competitor benchmarking
Understanding consumers' preferences and behaviours
What do the PLC stages mean?
The four stages are shown in the table below, although decline can be avoided by reinventing elements of the product. It is also recognized that some products never move beyond the introduction phase whilst others move through the life…
Marketing plan integrating the RACE Framework alongside PR Smith's SOSTAC® planning model
Given the increasingly omnichannel nature of marketing today, applying an effective, data-driven approach to your marketing strategy is more important than ever. But it can be difficult finding a structure that works for your team and integrates your objectives across your customers' journeys. That's where SOSTAC® and the RACE Framework come in.
For marketers looking to rapidly grow their businesses through an insights-driven, efficient and streamlined marketing strategy, we recommend utilizing the Smart Insights RACE framework to get started. This popular structure enables marketing managers and teams to critically evaluate each stage of their marketing funnels across the customer lifecycle of Plan - Reach - Act - Convert - and Engage.
SOSTAC® is another widely used tool for marketing and business planning. The positioning of the SOSTAC® planning model divides up the close working that agile digital marketers seek to create…
Examples of using the BCG Matrix (Growth Market Share Matrix) to review your product portfolio
What is the BCG Matrix?
The Boston Consulting Group’s product portfolio matrix (BCG matrix) is designed to help with long-term strategic planning, to help a business consider growth opportunities by reviewing its portfolio of products to decide where to invest, to discontinue, or develop products. It's also known as the Growth/Share Matrix.
The Matrix is divided into 4 quadrants based on an analysis of market growth and relative market share, as shown in the diagram below.
1. Dogs: These are products with low growth or market share
2. Question marks or Problem Child: Products in high growth markets with low market share
3. Stars: Products in high-growth markets with high market share
4. Cash cows: Products in low growth markets with high market share
BCG Modelling is not a new phenomenon,…
A flow chart to create a marketing technology stack tailored to your business needs
We talk about the importance of using the right digital marketing tools a lot here at Smart Insights. When used correctly, a marketing technology stack can save you time, boost productivity and lead to better marketing outcomes. But with so many martech tools available, it can be tricky to know which tools to use and why.
Smart Insights offers a wealth of practical, actionable tools, templates and training designed to create or develop your marketing strategy using data, customer insights, and best-practice.
Marketing technology is a huge topic in digital marketing right now, and it's no secret that the age of digital disruption has increased the number of opportunities and challenges for digital marketers in the field. That's where the RACE Framework can come in, helping you make sure all your martech and marketing activities are…
