A business must have marketing strategies on how it is going to attract customers and sell its product and services at the same time. The formulated marketing strategies must also be concerned with the product, place, price and promotion mix of the marketing plan. Pricing strategies include the amount needed by the company to cover the cost or expenses of their products. They must think about how they would price their products so that they would also gain profit as well. Product strategies include how the product will be positioned in the market. Companies must also consider the perceptions of the customer regarding their product. The features and characteristics of the product must be clear to their target market. Companies must also decide on the differentiation of the products in the current market. This is necessary to create a distinction from the existing products of other competitors and make a mark in the customers' minds when they think about the product.
Place strategies are also important because this would help determine the location of the product in terms of display in strategic locations of the company's distribution channels. The company store itself must also be strategically located in areas where there is customer traffic to encourage potential walk-in customers in the organization. Products must be placed within reach of the target customers. Promotional strategies include getting the product known to the public and how the target market can be made aware of the product that is being introduced. Advertising is also necessary to reach a wider audience through media like television, radio and newspapers. These media are powerful in influencing the public in their decisions when buying a definite product. How the product is being portrayed in the media usually represents the perception of the public. Companies must invest in commercials and newspaper ads to quickly reach their potential customers. Participation in special events, sponsorships and other promotional activities are also needed to maintain a good public image of the product and create a good relationship with the customers.
Hiring good people who will represent the business is also crucial in the marketing process. These people will be the ones answering the customers and serving their needs. They are the frontliners of the company and must have good communication skills to avoid misunderstanding and confusion between the customers. People who are directly involved with the handling of customers must also have sufficient knowledge of all the company's products and services in order to better represent the company when customers make inquiries. These people must also know how to handle irate customers and address customer complaints.
Principally, these marketing strategies were designed to describe how the set marketing objectives would be achieved. These will be a very useful structure for deciding on how the company's existing resources will be divided and controlled to accomplish these objectives. The focus of the marketing strategies must be looking for solutions to address the marketing objectives rather the planning process. The best period of time that these strategies must be implemented should also be stated in the marketing plan because it is critical for the company. Implementing a certain action program at the wrong period of time may case problems to the company. Timing is crucial in the formulation of strategies and should appear in the plan as a schedule with the outline of respective activities. The company must also evaluate and recheck the feasibility of the strategies and marketing objectives with regard to sales, cost, market share, profits and other factors that is applicable in the current market.
