Inefficient Marketing Strategy Starts with a Lack of Specific Goals
Years of working with marketing and digital strategies have shown me that a common issue with many marketing plans is the absence of clear goals from business owners. While testing and adaptability are crucial, and profitability and market alignment are necessary, starting a business involves more than just making money. From my experience, truly successful business owners are motivated by more than just financial gain.
In today’s digital landscape, your business must stand out amid fierce competition. Being driven solely by financial goals isn’t problematic if you have a clear plan to:
- Appeal to your market (price, product)
- Target a scalable market
- Streamline operations to minimise costs and optimise profits
If you focus on these three aspects and remain competitive, you can work hard to maximise profitability as long as the business lasts.
However, some businesses falter because they lack a strategy for connecting, maintaining, and engaging clients to turn them into advocates. To achieve this, you need more than just a sales focus; you need a broader vision and plan for building strong customer relationships.
Having a clear vision for your business—short, medium, and long-term—is essential. It requires energy, enthusiasm, preparation, and significance. Reflect on these questions:
- What does this business mean to you?
- What does this business mean to your clients?
In an era where AI is replacing careers, factories are shifting to retail to optimise costs, and small to mid-sized businesses need to stand out to thrive, your marketing strategy must align with your larger vision.
A marketing plan that doesn’t support your overarching vision is unsustainable in today’s social media-driven world. While some companies may fake their advocacy, the most successful ones are genuine and build lasting customer loyalty.
For instance, small businesses with outstanding marketing strategies often have a clear vision, making it easier to define how they will achieve their goals. Without a clear direction, you lack understanding of how to proceed and how long it will take.
Marketing strategy is a crucial component of your business plan and must align with your broader purpose—the reason you started your business. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle is a valuable tool for mapping this out. It helps clarify your “Why,” “How,” and “What.”
The main issue with inefficient marketing plans is focusing on the “What” (the product or service) without understanding the “Why.” Without the “Why,” the “How” will be weak or difficult to define.
Example:
- At Venturely, our “Why” is to help businesses thrive and empower people economically, fostering a community with more investment and spending power.
- Our “How” involves recognising that business owners have different needs at various stages, supporting them in their unique contexts, being honest and transparent, and encouraging a strategic, investor mindset without all the hassle and headaches it can bring.
- Our “What” includes business consultancy, marketing strategies, business plans with flight paths, financial modelling, and more.
Another exercise we need to do when it comes to business strategy is:
- Who shares the same desires and mission as we do?
- Why would they pick us instead of another company, what would they follow us instead of another company? Why would they trust us?
- Who are the business owners that lack strategy? Who are they, and what do they consume? Why do they find it so hard? How do we help them through their journey?
- What channels do they use, and why?
- Who do they follow? Who do they trust?
- What do they need to be able to thrive with their company? Who are the business models they follow?
The more we understand our Ideal Client Profile, the better we can communicate with them, design their journey with us, and tailor the content they’ll consume on our platforms, including the retargeting ads we create.
This insight also helps us determine which events to attend and what materials to prepare to support these business owners on their journey. What other subjects can we talk about? What inspires them to be better investors, CEO’s, Directors?
When we have a bigger vision and purpose, it’s essential to support our team in achieving those goals, even if prospects aren’t yet ready to buy from us—because our cause goes beyond just making a sale.
Once I’ve mapped all of this out, I can define my marketing strategy. With this information, the marketing team can focus on actions that align with our bigger goals, helping people find us and share their entrepreneurial victories. With this clarity, I can adapt content formats, channels, and materials that make the most sense, increasing brand exposure, attracting potential clients, and strengthening our connections and community.
Our main goal with this content isn’t to teach you how to create a marketing plan but to make you consider whether you’re doing the basics to support your strategy.
Marketing is ultimately about telling stories that capture the attention of the people you want to engage with, so you can sell products or services that benefit them—not just your company.
Your ideal customer should be in the centre – once you have established your Why’s – to support your community, then your strategy should be based on that.
People don’t simply buy what you’re selling (unless it’s something generic like white towels or socks, even though people have preferences and favourite brands). The more clearly you map out everything mentioned here, the better your marketing will be.
So, when you are analysing your marketing strategy, think if you are doing your business strategy first, because your marketing strategy is just how you are communicating in order to achieve your business goals.
Let me know if you need help with your business plan.