Preparation

• One of the most important components of a marketing strategy is preparation. Formulating your marketing strategy is not the beginning of the process, it's the end, according to Cindy Kennaugh, president of the strategy consulting company On The Mark. Collect, analyze and interpret your marketing research before starting your marketing strategy. Collect current information about your market, industry, customers, competitors and partners by visiting the business research section of your local library, going to a U.S. Small Business Administration office in your area, or hiring a research company to help you.
  
  

Objectives

• Once you have gathered and analyzed your research, it's time to write your marketing objectives. This is another important component of your marketing strategy and sets the foundation for the rest of your plan. Your objectives should be driven by the research you collected. For example, if you learned from your market research that your target market consists of young women who are frequent users of social media, one of your marketing objectives might be to "Use social media advertising to convert an average of 5 percent of clicks to sales by the end of the year."
  
  

Market Information

• Communicating the market information you collected in the preparation phase is another component of marketing strategy. Include information such as market size and growth, market share, and market trends. Communicate your product positioning and how you will differentiate your product. Describe your target customer segments based on the research you compiled. Summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each of your competitors in the marketplace.
  
  

Strategies

• The strategy section is the largest part of the marketing strategy and includes product, pricing, distribution and communications strategies. First, communicate your product strategy by describing your product's features, benefits and positioning. Then, describe your strategy for pricing your products. It should align with your marketing objectives and market research. For example, you may target value shoppers by using a low-cost strategy. Next, outline your distribution strategy by stating the best channels for getting your products to the customer. Finally, include a communication strategy, in which you state the specific tactics you will use to market your product to your target market.