Grow Your Digital Agency

For more on strategic marketing plans, segmentation and differentiation, read Prof Malcolm McDonald

differentiate yourself in the context of: The competition, and The clients’ preferred buying patterns

“Why should people bother to buy from you when they can buy from the competition?

your strategy is composed of three elements: Objective(s) This is a single precise statement that will drive the agency over the next three years or so Scope Encompasses the customer or service offering, the location and position in the market Advantage Sustainable competitive advantage (in other words, ‘being different from or better than the rest

“What makes you different from the rest?”

Read the proposal as if you are a client. Ask “So what?” or “So what does that mean to me?” or “Why should I care?” to every statement in the proposal. If in doubt in the writing stage, add the phrase “which means that…” to emphasise the benefit to the client.

You need to test all your activities to find the most effective methods – it is a continual process where you constantly seek out smarter and cleverer ways of getting what you want.

typical Strategic Marketing Plan might include the following headings: 1. Executive Summary 2. The Purpose Statement 3. Financial Summary 4. Market Overview - including relevant segments and their needs 5. SWOT Analyses (segments) 6. Portfolio Summary 7. Assumptions 8. Objectives and Strategies 9. Budget

template: We work with… Be specific – define by type of business, age of business, size of business, type of person, etc. Who have a problem with… Focus on what ‘pain’ they are in – what are they looking for a solution to; focus on the negative pain (who can’t get enough customers) rather than the positive (who want more customers) as it’s more pow

figure out the following and in the following order: Marketing Strategy/Strategic Marketing Plan Market Segmentation and Differentiation USP Value Proposition Elevator Pitch (say 3, for different occasions) Marketing Channels Sales Process Proposal Templates.