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15 Killer Questions to help build a New Marketing Strategy

  
  
  
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So you think you need a new marketing strategy? Or do you want to make sure your current marketing strategy is solid. Review and answer the following killer questions to help you develop maximum clarity quickly. 

  1. Is there a written strategic plan and/or marketing plan with measurable goals? If not, what is the goal of a new marketing strategy? To achieve what?
  2. What is driving the new “go to market strategy” and what are the expectations from the corporate view?
  3. Are the products the same or repositioned? 
  4. Has a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) been formulated and tested? 
  5. Is there a plan for implementing and supporting the sales & marketing through third parties; including: training, allocation of transactions, measurement systems, staffing, etc.? 
  6. If repositioned, have focus groups been used for strategy evaluation?  With ultimate customers? 
  7. What is the risk of product cannibalization? For your company and other similar products?
  8. If products not significantly changed, why the marketing change? 
  9. How does the competition go to market with these or similar products? 
  10. What are the advantages vs. disadvantages of options such as direct selling…different costs, service quality, close rates, margins, training?
  11. How would these products fit into the company strategy?  How would these products, being sold through currently, add value in the eyes of the company customers? 
  12. What marketing vehicles have been explored to assure success…direct mail, solicitation, co-marketed with other products, etc.?
  13. Are there plans to test market this strategy using a controlled study with market segment variables, such as income, geodemographics, age, penetration by competition, pricing, etc.?
  14. To what extent has market sizing studies been performed and corresponding budgets developed?
  15. How have you integrated Social Networking into the strategy?

Implementation 

Option-1: Answer above questions yourself. Distribute the list with answers to your colleagues in your area and outsides your area and in other business units. Ask them to make your answers better (improve) or add new questions and the answers you had not thought of. 

Option-2 (4 hours): Run an ideation session. Depending on number of participants, set up working group (round) tables by assigning equal number of participants per table. Assign a question to each table and have them generate ideas using various idea generation Innovation Tools. Give 30 minute per question. Once completed, have each table pick Top 3 ideas and post them on a Top Ideas list at the front of the room. Repeat for each remaining question.

 

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