Building a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy

In this episode, we break down what it means to build a comprehensive marketing strategy and why it’s essential for your business growth. We’ll cover the key components—from understanding your target audience and brand positioning to selecting the right channels and measuring your results. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to refine your existing strategy, this episode provides actionable steps and real-world insights to help you create a roadmap that drives results.

Connect with me

Website: www.newschoolofmarketing.com
Facebook: @newschoolofmarketing
Facebook group: @newschoolofmarketing
Instagram: @bianca_mckenzie

Work with me:

🟠 NEW SCHOOL OF MARKETING BUSINESS CLUB: a supportive, action-focused community where business owners get weekly coaching, expert feedback, and co-working sessions to stay consistent, accountable, and strategic with their marketing—so they can finally see real results.
https://newschoolofmarketing.com/club

🔵 MARKETING STRATEGY & COACHING: customised marketing strategies, expert guidance, and hands-on support to help business owners attract more leads, increase sales, and grow sustainably—without the guesswork. https://www.biancamckenzie.com/coaching/

⚫️ CHECK MY WEBSITE: https://www.biancamckenzie.com/

Love the New School of Marketing Podcast?

Let’s be honest and upfront, because you know that’s what I’m all about. Podcast reviews are super important to ...

Transcript

Hey, welcome back to the new School of Marketing podcast. I am super grateful to you for tuning in. Before we dive into this episode, I would love to pay my respects and acknowledgement to the Palawa people of Lutruita, who are the traditional owners of the land on which my business operates.

And I pay my respect to the elders, past and present.

Hey, welcome back. I am Bianca McKenzie and today I want to dive into one of the most critical aspects of growing any business and that is creating a comprehensive marketing strategy.

And I know a lot of people don't actually do this. They just dive in or they start, you know, playing around on social media, but they don't actually have a strategy.

So whether you're launching a new business or you're looking to fine tune your current approach, approach.

I think it's really important to have a well thought out plan because you know, it's kind of like going on a road trip without knowing where you're going. Like you kind of just will drive around.

You won't really get to any destination.

So yes, you need to have a plan. You never roadmap.

So I'm going to talk to you about what a comprehensive marketing strategy is, what, why it matters, and most importantly, how to actually build one that aligns with your business goals and drive real results.

Because, you know, a cookie cutter marketing plan is not going to cut it, pardon the pun.

It needs to really work for you because there's no point in doing things that like your energy. If your energy is not in it, then yeah, it's not really going to work.

So grab a pen and paper because you're going to want to take notes. Unless you're listening to this while you're driving, then you might just have to sit down later and write it down.

So. Because you know, I want you to be safe. So let's get started.

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, let's really look at what we mean by a comprehensive marketing strategy and by me saying those words. I don't want you to tune out just because, you know, I'm saying the word marketing and strategy.

But it's more than just running a few ads or posting on social Media. It really is an integrated plan that covers every aspect of how you communicate with and attract your customers.

Like, it is so much more than just, you know, putting something on social media. You really need to think about all of the aspects of how you communicate with your audience and how you attract your customers.

A comprehensive strategy includes everything from understanding your target audience and establishing a strong brand position to actually choosing the right marketing channels and continuously optimizing your efforts. So think of it as your roadmap for success.

Like, it helps you get to a set destination.

Each piece has to work together to drive growth.

Without it, you risk scattered efforts. You'll be wasting resources because you know, like, you're like kind of like flinging spaghetti at wall to see what sticks and you really are going to miss out on so many opportunities.

Now, the beauty of a comprehensive strategy is that it actually will bring you clarity.

It will tell you exactly what you need to do, when you need to do it, and how you need to actually measure if it's working, like, if it's actually successful.

And that clarity is going to be the foundation for sustainable growth.

So having that roadmap that will literally tells you, that literally tells you what to do, when to do it, and how to look at whether it's working, it will change your life and your business.

Now let's break down the key components of a solid marketing strategy.

First up, and I've talked about this so many times, but first up, understanding your audience, you need to know who you're talking to.

You need to know what their needs are, what their pain points are, what their desires are, and where they hang out.

And then what we as marketers do or what we teach you to do is creating buyer Personas.

So you're basically creating a Persona of your ideal client.

And then you segment your audience to deliver that message, whatever message, you know, that buyer Persona needs to deliver that message effectively. So the first and most important piece in marketing is understanding who your audience is.

Like, you need to know what they, what they need, what they want. Because sometimes what they need is different from what they want, what they want, what they need.

We talk about pain points, but sometimes when we have, for example, when we have products, for example candles, it's, you know, or soaps or something, like, it's really hard to think about pain points.

So I like to talk about desires. What are their pain points? Or you can say, what are their desires? And you need to know where they spend time, where do they hang out?

Because otherwise you don't know which marketing channels to use. So understanding your audience. Next is brand positioning.

And this is about figuring out what makes you unique and then crafting a clear and compelling message.

Your brand should communicate your value proposition in a way that resonates with your audience.

So ask yourself, what do I stand for?

Why should customers choose me over competition? You know, what makes my brand really stand out? What makes it unique? And sometimes it could just be you. Like, you know, you could have the same products as Business X, but the way you stand for something or like, you know, how you are in life might be different.

So sometimes it's not the product or the offer, sometimes, like, it's something else that makes you unique. So think about your brand positioning.

Then we have channel selection, and not every channel works for every business.

So you need to decide where your audience is most active and you need to think about what formats they prefer.

Like, it could be social media, email. And I would say everybody should be using email, but social media, email, content marketing, paid advertising, there's so many different channels, but your channels should work in harmony and they should reinforce your message across touch points.

Now, one trap that a lot of businesses fall into is they go on all of the channels and that will, in the early stages, you'll find like, you'll find yourself burning out because there's too much to keep up with.

So you either feel burned out because there's too many things or you're not doing it well. So I would say pick one to two channels marketing channels in addition to email, because you really should be doing email marketing.

So pick one to two channels, whether that be Instagram and Facebook, or Instagram and TikTok or LinkedIn and you know, something else. Or you might say, I'm going to blog or you might want to have a podcast.

But pick one to two channels and do them well. Build that up first. And I'm saying in addition to email marketing, because otherwise you're just not going to do it well.

So start there, then moving on to content strategy. So great content is going to be the heart of your marketing. It's how you educate, how you entertain and how you engage your audience.

So plan out a content calendar that aligns with your overall strategy and then make sure that you are consistently providing value.

And you can use AI to help you, you know, put this all together. Or you can work with someone like myself putting together a strategy and including a content strategy, because this is going to be what helps you build your business and build that trust and set up for conversions and then finally budget and metrics.

So determine how much you're willing to invest. And then you also need to identify KPIs key performance indicators to actually track your progress. Because without tracking, you can't know what's working and what needs tweaking.

So whether it's, you know, website traffic, lead conversion rates, social media engagement, you need to set clear targets for success. So in a way, you're building this roadmap and you're looking at, okay, well, if I'm doing that and I'm starting from X, you want to start tracking, you know, in the next month, what's happening in the next month, what's happening.

Look at all that data. Because data numbers tell a story.

They really do tell the story.

One example. So if you are trying to attract leads and you're driving traffic to wherever your leads need to put in their details, and you're getting a lot of traffic, but nobody actually completes that form, then there's an issue there and you need to look at that, tweak it, rectify it, try again.

And it's like, it literally is that simple. Nobody knows straight out of the gate what's going to work. Nobody. It's all a matter of testing, tweaking, testing, tweaking until you find a sweet spot that is working.

Now let's get into the actionable steps to build your marketing strategy.

Step number one is research and analysis.

So start by diving into market research. You need to understand your industry.

You need to look at your competitors. Like, study them, don't copy them, study them. See you know what they're doing, what could be working.

And get to know your audience inside out.

I cannot stress this enough, knowing your audience is the, like, that final piece, not the final. It's the first piece of the puzzle, but that's the piece, the most important piece of the puzzle.

Now, you can use surveys, you can use analytics, you can use social listening to get all that data together that will inform your decisions. I would say speaking to your actual audience, if there is an option for that, and get to know as much as possible about them.

Step number two is planning.

So based on your research, you need to set clear, measurable goals.

So what do you actually want to achieve? Do you want more leads? Do you want higher conversions? Do you want greater brand awareness? And once your goals are set, then you can work on your strategy.

So you need to first know. And back to this roadmap analogy. You need to know where you're going, like, what is that destination?

And then you can start plotting your route to get there, AKA your strategy. So what is it that you want to do and like all of us want to do?

Obviously want to have more sales, but for that we sometimes need, you know, other bits. So, you know, if you want more sales, you're also going to need more leads.

If you are already getting leads but they're not converting, then then you obviously want to focus on higher conversions.

If you're brand new, you might actually want to work on brand awareness like traffic. And then once you've got traffic, then you can move to that next piece of, you know, measuring conversions or attracting leads or something like that.

So it's all like, it's like stepping stones.

You need to decide on your messaging, you need to choose your marketing channels, and you need to create a timeline when you're going to do all of these pieces in.

And then step three is your execution.

So now you need to put your plan into action. Now you start to need to start creating your content, setting up your campaigns, start engaging with your audience. And remember, this is where your strategy meets reality.

So be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work. And none of this is quick or easy.

It's going to take you at least, at least three to six months of, you know, rolling up your sleeves, doing the work, then looking at your data and you might start, have to start not all over again, but you might have to make changes based on that data.

So like I said, none of this is quick or easy. This is where the rubber hits the road. You need to start actually executing your plan and then readjusting your plan once you get your data.

So step four is monitoring and optimization. So once your strategy is live, don't set it and forget it. This is where a lot of businesses fall flat. People just kind of like keep doing what they're doing.

Like they, they kind of get onto this hamster wheel and they just keep running. They don' actually, you look at the data and then make changes. So track your performance using the KPIs that you set.

Analyze what's working and be ready to pivot if something isn't actually delivering the results you expected.

Marketing is dynamic, so an iterative approach is essential. You need to be ready to make iterations, to make changes.

It's like, it's not like you've created this plan and now you're going to execute this plan and this plan is going to work out brilliantly. It's not going to be like that.

You need to know those essential goals like those KPIs, but the way you get there may change, but you've got to start somewhere.

Small tweaks over time can lead to, to big improvements in performance.

So don't just set, forget, don't just get on that hamster wheel and just keep running. No, no, no, get off, reevaluate, make changes, get back on, you know, with those changes.

So even with a great strategy, things can occur.

So I want to talk about some common mistakes I've seen over my, you know, over 10 years in business and how you can avoid them. So one of them is lack of focus.

Don't try to do everything at once.

And I've said this before in this episode, start with a few key channels and build from there because it's going to get so overwhelming and you won't be able to do, you know what you're doing well.

So I would say one to two channels in addition to email marketing. Start with that and then build from there because otherwise it's going to fall flat.

Another one is ignoring data.

Always and always rely on data to inform your decisions. If something isn't working, dig into the numbers and then make changes. Like, what are those numbers telling you?

And then make changes.

Another one is over. Complicating your plan.

Your marketing strategy should be clear and it should be actionable.

If your plan feels overwhelming, you need to break it down into smaller, manageable steps. If you feel like it is too big, pare it back, pare it back and do what you can do, like break it down, make smaller, manageable steps.

And another thing that I often see people do is inconsistency because consistency is crucial.

Stick to your content schedule. Keep your messaging aligned across all channels. If you start deviating and veering off, you know, especially with your messaging, people are going to get confused.

They're going to be like, hang on, three weeks ago they were talking about this. This is, you know, who they are, what they stand for, what they do. And now they're talking about that.

I can't keep up. This is too confusing.

So there's going to be consistency in your content and your content delivery, as in, you got to keep putting it out there like, and then there's also consistency in what you say and how you say it.

So be consistent.

My other key tip is to stay flexible. Your marketing strategy is a living document.

You need to expect to update and refine it as you learn more about what works and what doesn't for your business. It is not a here's the strategy that's, you know, set in stone because it is not.

It needs to be fluid and you need to be able to make changes to it.

Okay, to wrap up.

Building a comprehensive marketing strategy is not about having a fancy plan.

It's about creating a roadmap that guides all of your marketing efforts towards measurable growth. Towards that one pass.

Understanding your audience is one of the most important pieces, but also you need to define your brand. You need to choose the right channels, you need to create valuable content and you need to measure your results.

And remember, it's an ongoing process and it's going to evolve with your business. What you're going to be doing now, you won't be doing in three years time. Things will constantly keep changing also as trends change, as channels come and go.

So it needs to be able to change and evolve with your business, but also with the environment.

I would actually love to hear how you're building a marketing strategy.

Do you have any tips? Do you have any challenges? I would love to hear if you have questions. So reach out to me on social media or you can drop a comment.

And if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe. Please leave a review and make sure that you share it with a business friend. If they are, you know, starting out or need some support with marketing, definitely send them over here.

That's it.

I want to say thank you for tuning in to the new School of Marketing podcast.

I hope it gave you some actionable insights to boost your business. And if you're ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level to really accelerate your growth, I actually have an invitation for you.

I would love to invite you to join the new School of Marketing Business Club. It's a vibrant, supportive community of entrepreneurs and marketers who are dedicated to working smarter and actually achieving sustainable success.

And inside the Business Club, you'll get exclusive access to advanced strategies, coaching and resources that will help you build a stronger brand and a more profitable business.

If you want to know more about the new School of Marketing Business Club, head over to new school of marketing.com

and you can read up all about it. Sign up today and be part of the club and I can coach you. It's going to be exciting. Thank you so much again for being part of this journey.

And until next time, keep marketing your business every day.