Have a feeling that you’re missing something but not quite sure what?  Here are a few pointers to help you diagnose a starting point.

Do you have a marketing strategy?

Or do you just have a bunch of stuff that you need to get done? If you have a strategy but you don’t know if it’s a good one, or you’re wondering what a strategy should do, ask yourself whether it answers these questions:

·      Who is your brand or business targeting?

·      What is your position in relation to your target audience?

·      How do you stand forward to your target audience?

·      What are your marketing objectives?

·      What do you want your target audience to think, feel and do?

Your marketing strategy should provide a framework that guides all marketing tactics, campaigns and activities. If you already realise that you’re busy ‘doing marketing stuff’ but without really knowing why or to whom, then its time to go back and work on your strategy.

Can you describe your target audience in one sentence?

Good strategy starts with a clear understanding of exactly who your target audience is.

What do you know about your consumers?

Here are a few questions to help identify whether you really know your target audience:

·      How do you currently describe your audience?

·      Does that description only describe what your consumer looks like on the outside or how they might be 

        feeling, thinking and behaving from the inside?

·      Do you understand the functional needs that they have?

·      Do those functional needs translate to emotional needs?

·      Have you validated your thinking with your audience?

If you haven’t validated your thinking, if you’re only using basic socio-demographic profiling (such as age, status, location) or if you’re basing your marketing strategy only on functional needs, then you’re probably targeting and reflecting an idealised fictional stereotype of your audience or risk your message not being distinctive enough.

Understanding, reflecting and focusing on emotional triggers and attitudes allows you to connect meaningfully and memorably with a bigger audience.

What’s in it for consumers?

Consumers can derive value from your brand in different ways – economic, functional and emotional. If you’ve identified the needs that your target audience has, you can articulate the brand and / or product positioning. This is the intended brand image that you want to engender in the mind of your consumer.

·      Do you have a brand and / or product positioning statement?

·      Does it articulate the single, most important claim that distinguishes you from the competition – or is it a       

        shopping list of attributes, benefits and values?

·      Is your positioning relevant to your consumer’s needs?

·      Does it resonate with them – does it feel personally meaningful?

·      Is it realistic? Will your positioning be believed?

Moving up the benefit ladder from features to a deeper emotional positioning helps your brand create deeper resonance and meaning.

Ditch the stereotype

When brands remove stereotyping and inequality from their marketing, they see better results, have wider appeal and create stronger equity and differentiation.

The latest from data and insights company Kantar tells us that advertising free from stereotypes creates 37% more branded impact, 28% uplift in purchase intent and increases enjoyment of ads by 35%.

Sound strategy begins with understanding the context