by Tatenda Rungisa, Human Resources Practitioner and co-founder of Twin Connect Solutions

For a business to be competitive, what is mainly required is a good strategy, a practical road map, and a sustainable marketing strategy. When trying to penetrate a certain industry sector, it’s essential to make a mark and become sustainable. One way to ensure this is to engage as many clients as possible in the business through effective marketing, by ensuring customer service is top notch, and being able to retain those customers for the long term. So how does one achieve all this? The answer can be found in creating a well defined and aligned marketing strategy.

A marketing strategy is a plan that seeks to attain the desired goals and objectives of accomplishing higher sales, increasing incomes, attracting and retaining clients, and gaining a competitive advantage in the market.

It is vital for the management of the company to have a well defined and aligned marketing strategy in place, beefed up with efficient human resources and resources to put the plan into action.

Why is a marketing strategy important?

1. Gaining competitive advantage

A Marketing Strategy helps an organization gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This is mostly because the organization has a clear path it can take and its competent staff members can follow that with direction. A good marketing strategy will sell the brand, clearly showing the products and services offered. If done well enough, this strategy will clearly show consumers or a clientele base how their products and services are better than those of the competitors in the marketplace. If the organization manages to continuously and consistently communicate and market its brand as per the marketing strategy, the business will be competitive in the market.

2. Make your mark in the marketplace

A marketing strategy does not only promote the provision of the goods and services, it helps the brand and the overall company to attain a spot in the target market and industry.

3. Attracting and retaining customers

Marketing the product will mean a lot of business development, ensuring that there are new clients sourced, existing clients retained, and also efforts to engage in markets that are untapped. The promotional tools and techniques that are an integral part of the strategy should be well planned and resources sought. A good team should be put together that understands well the issue of maintaining the brand and diversity management when dealing with different people.

4. Product development

When developing a marketing strategy, a thorough market research approach is important in order to derive insights and findings that help the management and rest of the team to plan accordingly when developing new products or improving existing ones. The research is mainly done on current market scenarios, identifying what competitors offer, government policies, the factor of profitability, and other such changing dynamics that can affect the sales and operations of the products.

5. Budgeting

For every strategy and plan there is a budget, just as there is a budget allocated to each and every department in an organisation. It will not make sense for the strategy to plan for specific activities such as promotional road shows for example, and then be in a position to have no resources to fund such activities. Therefore, having a marketing strategy enables the promotional activities to be within the resources available and also bring in essential income rather than to be just a cost to the organisation.

6. Growth and expansion of the business

An effective marketing strategy facilitates enhanced brand value, increased market share, competitive advantage, and higher sales and profits that result in the overall growth of the business. Most businesses grow due to the successful product and sales made. Therefore, all entrepreneurs and business leaders should create a marketing strategy that enhances business and at the same time is aligned to their own organisational strategy and values.

Tatenda Rungisa is a 25 year old based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She holds a Bsc Honours in Human Resources Management, Certificate in workplace collaboration and development, certificate in management strategies for people and resources and certificate of completion in the growth mind-set speakers training. She is a Human Resources Practitioner by profession, motivational speaker, blogger and columnist in a local newspaper. She also co-founded Twin-Connect Solutions which is a youth driven organization led by young females based in Zimbabwe and South-Africa. She is passionate about writing, women empowerment and community work.