Marketing Plan vs. Marketing Strategy

The phrase ‘strategic marketing’ is not new but has always been misunderstood by many business owners from the beginning of their businesses, particularly those with small operations or no customer base. These individuals will tell you that ‘strategic product marketing’ and ‘strategic advertising’ are quite different concepts that should be taken separately. To be understood fully, there needs to be a good understanding of both. As well as being well-defined.

Strategic marketing is an integrated process where several related activities are undertaken to reach specific objectives and eventually achieve financial results for your company or otherwise help establish yourself as a profitable one. But instead of trying to implement this strategy into your own business, why not try creating one from the start? It is easier and quicker. Let’s look at how I put my marketing strategy into place by using the example of a restaurant company Algos, a Spanish brand whose history can be traced back to 1918 and that today enjoys a lot of popularity around Europe as a high-quality food chain.

As soon as we set up our first restaurant in the city of Rovaniemi, Latvia, our primary objective was to build a beautiful area that would provide people a decent meal; however, soon, this became secondary once customers started arriving in droves daily, as the whole world knew about the beautiful experience of Algos’ restaurants. We had never seen such an influx like that in any other country, for example, Spain, Italy or Brazil but with this fact and also because of our location — near the main street of our city — we had an advantage in terms of finding potential customers for the following reasons:
Our goal was to provide a comfortable and inviting environment for guests;
Our target market was children;

Our target customer groups targeted were families, students, and tourists as these three categories comprised most of our clientele, as well as the ones you would find in hotels and bars in general, because the latter two require more time investment than families or couples and therefore do not offer the same level of service. Except for Algos, all Algos’ branches across Latvia are family-oriented establishments from breakfast to lunch. Thus, they are more attractive to parents – especially when they want a memorable meal after a long workday.

So there you have it! Once again, let me make it clear that this post is simply a marketing plan vs. marketing strategy comparison. You will find out whether your business idea can be applied to other countries or regions and what kind of people you can attract to it, as we will see in the next post. Please stay tuned for that. However, if that is not possible, please use the opportunity we have provided above to learn. This information is not meant to be substituted or replaceable with another information source or resource (in my view) because it is based on complex research, observation, and personal experiences. Also, as we already know, having a marketing strategy is a vital element to succeeding and growing internationally.

For now, we will stick to the marketing strategy topic by focusing on some of the essential elements. Firstly, it is vital to understand the concept of strategic marketing – it needs to be mentioned, especially for beginners. Secondly, it needs to clearly state which marketing strategies and tactics are most suitable for each area of your operation. Also, remember that you need to distinguish between short-term and long-term marketing strategies and tactics. Thirdly, we will talk about market segmentation and what market segments your business can target. Finally, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of advertising. This gives us an overview of how you can compare two different types of advertising in detail. And lastly, we will describe how you can utilize social media marketing, as well as influencer marketing, in your business. Lastly, the main aspects of digital media will be touched upon. So let’s get started…
Firstly, the topic of marketing strategy is quite broad and involves so many different elements. In practice, this includes everything from online advertising campaigns to PR, lead generation to online content creation, and even consumer behavior and sentiment analysis. It might be helpful to think of marketing strategy as the sum of all of these elements. To give you an idea of just how big it is, consider your products and services’ sales and distribution channel. Suppose you sell your products through direct sale channels, such as supermarkets, departmental stores, outlets, etc. In that case, your primary sources of income are usually wholesales – mainly with larger retailers and discount stores – although there are also large-scale manufacturers, such as General Motors and Toyota, who may also sell some items. The bulk of the sales are made in the retail sector, but sometimes retailers have smaller franchise shops and even a single store. Sales in retail sales agencies may fall from 30% in the initial year on account of the competitive nature of this industry and its wide range of products. However, as time goes on, retailers continue to gain shares in other areas.

Once those purchases are made, how much of them will end in your company’s hands, i.e., your profit or loss, which is known as a return of purchase value (RoP). RP is often measured as net proceeds of sales, but in reality, it measures how much money you have invested in your existing business rather than your cost of producing goods and services. Although retailers invest lots of resources in promoting their brands, it often happens that clients choose their retailers, and the retailer takes care of it because he sees it is as if he had invested his money over the years in building up a relationship with his clients, i.e., it has become his life’s work. Retailers with a strong core business, i.e., stable and predictable returns on investments, are generally regarded as successful. Still, there are also less-than-truly-truly-diligent competitors which can capture the top market share. At times, retailers may have a better ROI than others. Analyzing ROI and comparing them to other brands and firms is a way of assessing success in online marketing.
It must be remembered that profit begins to come in only after a period of steady growth, and in the worst cases, a firm will close down.

A return on equity is essential, and it will eventually be repaid – i.e., the bank will collect what it paid for the asset rather than your shareholders. Even in the best industry environments, debt can still be an issue, especially if the owner does too little. Return on equity will always be higher than on the stock or bond price. Nevertheless, many companies still manage to achieve substantial returns on their investment while avoiding losses; they have avoided incurring heavy debts, and they have developed a reputation for offering fantastic customer service. All these factors will play a significant role in deciding whether the business will be a success or not.

To conclude, there is one thing left to be said about marketing: you have to start somewhere. Having a marketing strategy will allow you to reach a wider audience and generate more significant profit. In addition, there will be no problems when it comes to planning for future events or adjusting to the demands of everyday life in the modern age because you will have a better grip on your present and a clearer picture at the outset instead of uncertainty and risk.