I’ve got a quick test for you,…just one question. Fill in the blank.

Strategic marketing is: ______________.

A) Making stuff look cool

B) Doing 15 activities for “awareness”

C) Building a Facebook page and using Twitter

D) Making the most efficient use of my marketing dollars, time and energy to support my business goals.

You caught me, that was kind of a loaded question, but I figured it was the best way to get my point across. It’s so often that we’re led to think that strategic marketing is something that it’s not. Why waste your resources and time to do things that aren’t going to produce anything for you? Don’t get me wrong, I love creating good-looking websites for my clients, sometimes we do a lot of activities in our campaigns, and yes, sometimes we use social media as part of those campaigns. However, it’s the underlying marketing strategy that is the most important thing that separates successful marketing campaigns from unsuccessful ones.

And what do I mean by this lofty phrase “strategic marketing” that I keep referring to? The idea of understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing, instead of just doing it.  Strategic marketing should be #1 and the tools you use should be #2. If someone is telling you it’s the other way around, you should probably search for a new vendor.

Tips for getting results with strategic marketing:

• Ask Questions: “Why?” is generally a good one. Don’t be satisfied just with “doing marketing activities.”
• Get their background: Are you working with someone who has a marketing background?
• Define a Measure of Success: Do you want to increase your sales by 10% in the fourth quarter? Make sure they know that. Use the SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound)
• Ask for Case Studies and Testimonials: Do they have proven results?