Strategic Marketing Planning is much more than putting ideal on paper into action. Strategic Marketing Planning is the process of performing thorough market research analysis( utilizing SWOT Analysis, GAP Analysis, and other analytic protocols) market segmentation and penetration strategies, brand creation and awareness strategies, optimization of customer support and human resources, and efficient product/service creation and distribution metrics.

Do You have a Strategic Marketing Plan?

Your business strategic marketing plan is normally formed during the business plan and marketing plan writing stage, which are pre-startup processes. If you business happens to be formed and still does not have a strategic marketing plan, we welcome you to a free marketing consultation where we can evaluate and optimize your business/marketing plan to better achieve your business goals.

Start with a Marketing Strategy

Market dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to competitive offerings. There is often a geographic element to the competitive landscape. In defining market dominance, you must see to what extent a product, brand, or firm controls a product category in a given geographic area.(Wikipedia) Every market that has some level of competition has a leader, challenger, follower, and/or nicher. Each of these marketing strategies can be determined by entry time, cash flow, brand awareness, barriers to entry, patents, and previously utilized marketing strategies. Market Dominance is normally calculated by market share. Market share is the percentage of the total market serviced by a brand.

Leader

The leader is always the most dominant business in the market place. Leaders typically maintain more than 60% of the market share at which point they also assume market dominance although there is no set or guaranteed percentage mark to ensure mark dominance. Several characteristics are typical of leaders having market dominance:

• The first to enter the marketplace with barriers to other's entry including patents, government regulations, or large fees to enter.
• Competitive Advantage. The business finds strategic ways to perform services or introduce products at a much reduced cost than the competition can. This allows lower prices to be charges and therefore reaches a larger consumer base.
• Brand Awareness. The first brand to introduce a product or service name is typically branded with the product, as in the case with all cotton swabs being called q-tips, all bandages being called band-aid, and all facial tissues being called Klennex.
• 3 Primary Marketing Strategies. Expand Total Market, Defend Market Share, and Expand Market Share.

Challenger

The Challenger, as the name states, is typically the second most dominant business in a particular market and the top challenger for the position of market dominance. Challengers most often enter the market at the same time or within the same time frame as the leader. Some characteristics of challenger marketing strategy include:

• Similar entrance time frame as the leader with some barriers to entry working in their behalf.
• Offers similar packaging as the leader but with lower prices or more perceived value as a means to strip away the market dominance the leader has.
• Marketing campaigns are much more targeted than the leader focusing on better conversions than mass appeal.
• 5 Primary Marketing Strategies. Frontal Attacks, Flank Attacks, Encirclement Attack, Bypass Attack, and Guerilla Attacks

Follower

Followers typically make up the largest number of businesses in any market while including potentially hundreds of similar businesses that collectively provide only 20% to 30% of total sales, often less in densely controlled markets.

• Followers are unlikely to ever challenge market leaders or challengers directly.
• Many followers are unknowingly actually performing a niche strategy merely to survive.
• 3 Primary Marketing Strategies. Upset the Cart, Get Notices, and Hitch a Ride.
• Potentially the most Dangerous of the Market Dominance Strategies to follow but where the largest number of business find themselves.

Niche

Niche Marketers have become one of the most prevalent retailers in online markets and small local communities. Market- Nicher Strategy is pretty simple and straight-forward:

• Find, Create, and Target Profitable Niches that can sustain and grow a business.
• Most niches go unnoticed by the larger companies unless major public/un targeted marketing is made by the nicher.
• Can prove to be disastrous if a market leader or challenger decides to enter the same niche to broaden their market share.