How do you show your marketing strategy is different?

The first place to differentiate yourself from the competition is in your goals. If your strategic marketing goals are clear up front, you will establish the necessary boundaries for healthy competitor analysis and strong business growth. There is a need to analyse the competition to find gaps, opportunities and inspire. Analysing a range of competitors will give you a diverse perspective of your environment and help you refine your target audience.

To stand out in your marketing strategy, start by precisely defining your target audience. Understand their needs, wants, and values via market research, customer feedback, and buyer personas. Segment your audience and customize your message to address their pain points, goals, and preferences. Demonstrating this deep understanding sets you apart, as it showcases a tailored solution that resonates. This contrast with generic approaches elevates your appeal and positions you as a valuable choice amidst competitors.

In demonstrating that my marketing strategy is different, I focus on a practical hands on tailored approach: Step by step guides and know how distributed via free weekly ebooks. Rather than following industry norms, I analyse the unique needs and behaviours of our target audience. By employing data-driven insights and creative thinking, I craft strategies that resonate on a personal level. Collaboration with various stakeholders ensures a multifaceted perspective, setting our approach apart from competitors. Emphasising these aspects in client presentations, I show that our marketing strategy is not just different, but uniquely effective.

While the steps may be the same, the approach is always custom to the business needs. Here is my framework: 1) Be clear on your business goals first. The strategy supports the business goals. 2) Create a plan for no more than 6 months at a time. Planning any further out is a waste of time. 3)Be realistic. Understand the resources you have at your disposal i.e. cash flow, people, time. 4)Set timelines. Six months go by quickly. Add rough timings into your plan to hold everyone accountable and keep you realistic. 5) Adjust as needed. Your plan is a living breathing document. Remember, it maps out how marketing will support the business goals. When circumstances change, update your plan.

It's theoretically right, but practically wrong! Let's say our target audience is CEOs over 40 years old who are working in tech companies with more than $500 million in revenue per year. That was easy, right? However, I would call it an inexperienced perspective! Especially with the current GDPR regulations, it would get harder and harder to 'reach' those targets. Yes, it's been getting much more complex these days to even say 'hi' to your target audience. That's why, to me, a great marketing strategy starts somewhere else.

When working with businesses, I find a simple template helps to get the ideas flowing, and through discussion, helps us get to a punchy and memorable positioning statement. We do THIS, for THIS GROUP, and unlike ALTERNATIVE/COMPETITION, we DO THIS UNIQUE THING. It's simple, but it gets things going! Start with updating the uppercase elements, and then, as you hone it to suit your business, the other words can flex so that it makes sense.

Too many small businesses struggle with this, in part I think in Australia, because we suffer from tall poppy syndrome. Many feel uncomfortable shouting out what they're great at for fear of being shot down. Their best and most memorable differences are relegated to the one on one meeting, which they're not realising they've already missed out on. Many are deciding on the shortlist well before speaking to a real person.

Crafting a compelling positioning statement is pivotal. Summarize how you solve your audience's problem uniquely, highlighting differentiation from competitors and why you're the best choice. Root it in your unique value proposition—the unparalleled benefit only you provide. Make it memorable, specific, and uniform across all channels. This succinct statement crystallizes your essence, enhancing brand recognition and attracting your ideal audience.

Once you've honed your UVP, it's clear what you need to showcase that you actually can do this! We do THIS, for THIS GROUP, and unlike ALTERNATIVE/COMPETITION, we DO THIS UNIQUE THING. THIS = product shots / service flows THIS GROUP = reviews from that group, social proof etc ALTERNATIVE = the problems that users were having with the alternative, stats of the size of the problem, to firmly put the problem at the centre of the statement. The alternative might also be doing nothing! UNIQUE THING = awards, recommendations, etc. These can often combine, but when you think about the 4 elements, it's easier to almost tick them off an evidence list!

Always hone in on your strengths rather than explicitly mentioning a competitors weakness. By highlighting how needed this strength is, you'll plant a seed for the prospective customers to look at the competitor and see if they do it too, which you already know they don't.

Displaying compelling evidence bolsters your positioning. Employ testimonials, case studies, reviews, awards, and statistics to establish trust. This evidence backs your claims and builds credibility. Differentiate by showcasing how your evidence sets you apart—emphasize your unique features, benefits, or results. Highlight competitive advantages that distinguish you. By substantiating your assertions, you fortify your position, fostering confidence and setting yourself apart as the preferred choice.

You can use your own experience and add empathy to your message. This will give you more credibility as you understand the problem, you can help and you know what you can do because you were there. Insert this in your message and prove that you can help. Be the guide, not the hero.

Framing is important here. You can list your benefits and features but if they don’t resonate or solve your audience’s problem, then you need to rethink how you frame them. Apple’s ‘1000 songs in your pocket’ to promote their iPod is a perfect example of framing.

Showcasing some of your brand story via video can be like having a great 24/7 salesperson. Sharing your values can be a choice. Remember it's okay in attracting your ideal client to repel someone who's not as good a fit.

Every product/service has to provide: 1) A functional benefit 2) An emotional benefit 3) Both How you communicate these benefits to your target audience largely defines your brand. In simple terms, you have to make a pitch to your audience by weaving a story about why they should be willing to pay for your product/services. Based on these fundamental facets, craft a story through images, copy, audio, etc. to convince your target market to purchase your product/service.

Storytelling is becoming more and more appreciated and a differential advantage. Especially when it involves a unique experience for your potential customers. It also helps when the story is educational or makes a difference (i.e. your business has a zero waste policy or makes a green impact on ecology). To evoke a reaction from your potential customers by storytelling is to get to them in an emotional way. Because emotions trigger action. And that's the bottom line and the goal of storytelling.

Storytelling is powerful. It’s how your audience remembers your brand. The key is authenticity. Real stories told by real people.

Crafting a compelling story binds your audience to your brand's essence, mission, and values. Infuse authenticity, emotion, and engagement as you share your journey—how you birthed your solution, conquered challenges, and strive for impact. Distinguish yourself from rivals—showcase how you align with your audience's beliefs and values. Your brand's distinct personality, purpose, or culture should resonate, setting you apart and forging an emotional connection. This narrative unites your brand with your audience, enhancing loyalty and differentiation.

Testing and optimizing seal your marketing strategy's success. Employ surveys, interviews, A/B tests, and analytics to measure results and collect feedback. Continuous refinement is key. Monitor competitors to understand their positioning strategies. This iterative process reveals what resonates and what doesn't, allowing adjustments. Prove your distinctiveness and effectiveness by adapting in response to real-world insights. This dynamic approach solidifies your strategy's impact and sets you apart in a constantly evolving market.

While you are testing your strategies, take the opportunity to really go wild! Be yourself and not a guidebook! This is YOUR brand, YOUR company so let it reflect YOU! You want people to notice you? Stand out! Give them a reason to see your business shine positively amidst the millions of other corporations!

3 key important points to highlight here, basis my experience: 1. Real-world #validation: Testing a marketing strategy in the real world is essential because it's the only way to confirm whether our assumptions align with actual consumer behavior and market dynamics. 2. #Uniqueness in action: The testing phase demonstrates how unique a marketing strategy truly is by showcasing how well it stands out amidst competition and captures the audience's attention. 3. Continuous #optimization: Beyond initial testing, the process of ongoing optimization is vital for refining the strategy based on real-time data, ensuring it remains effective and aligned with changing market conditions.

An effective marketing strategy isn’t about being different. Being different is easy. It’s about what makes a company special … and … valuable … to their customers. That requires digging deep for insights that ultimately meet at the intersection of what target customers genuinely want and what a company can authentically deliver. How do you discover that sweet spot? Avoid questions that fail to reveal an actual roadmap of how to engage them. Questions, for example, that focus on the products or services they buy, how much they spend, who they buy from and/or whether they anticipate making a change. Concentrate instead on gaining an understanding of their problems, unmet needs, hopes, and, desires.

Well, in fact it’s neither too easy nor too hard. But the fact is that product is to be sold , irrespective of kind of product, size, market segmentation, and to have plan for horizontal as well as vertical ( in terms of qty, profit margin & time period). Of course, all plans are to be actionable, frequent review to adopt to situations ( uncertain) and short time , long time prospect. Most importantly, never to compromise on quality and to compensate difference in profit margin to provide value addition. So you would agree that the strategy has to be flexible without affecting customers’ sentiment. Here I say sentiment, because satisfaction is not the right one ( which is obvious & immortal).

Two big missing parts in this guideline are the 'medium' and a focus on the new generation, 'Gen Z'. As a millennial, I've found it too difficult to keep up with Gen Z; their needs, expectations, perspective about the world, and capabilities are something far removed from the other generations. And I haven't seen enough good marketing strategies on these two subjects.

Leverage technology and digital trends Stay updated with the latest technology and digital trends to enhance your marketing strategy. Explore emerging platforms, tools, and techniques that can give you a competitive edge. Whether it's leveraging artificial intelligence, utilizing immersive experiences like virtual reality, or adopting interactive content formats, embracing new technologies can showcase your forward-thinking approach.

Keep allowing imperfect individual experience and voice to shine through, whether for brand or for corporate. The consumer's new penchant for the imperfect human touch in marketing may be more 'trendy' now, especially since so much of the public marketing process is outsourced to AI or best practice-reliant, but the trends don't make individual voice any less important. Of course there the goal of developing relationship through resonance with target audiences and customer is always important. I still continually stress that marketing thrives with the fresh, sincere, service-based *human* presence. Be open, experimental and exploratory with developing content, creating community, selling, etc. Share your unique art, awe, and delight.