Are you having difficulty applying a marketing strategy? We do, even with all the expertise we have behind us. As we all know, even in everyday life it is difficult to stick to a plan, because the calculation at home does not match the one at the fair. Plans fail, become impractical, or need to be changed.
A strategy or planning must take into account the unforeseen elements that may arise in the implementation and minimize them. In our case, this means following several steps, including: conducting the audit, clearly defining the marketing strategy itself, building the action plan, setting KPIs, dividing responsibilities within the team (the team includes both the client and other external suppliers) and permanent monitoring of the implementation.
Unraveling the Mystery of Marketing Strategy
The process seems complicated, and many times it even shows itself to be. However, establishing business and marketing strategies is essential for the success of a company, without them it becomes (to use a plastic example) a rudderless boat on a rough sea.
At the end of 2023, a study aimed to determine entrepreneurs’ perception of the online environment in general and marketing strategies in particular. The study was developed in collaboration with Babeș-Bolyai University, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, BT Mic, TBI Bank and over 25 other partners in the business sector. Over 1200 responses were collected from entrepreneurs from all counties of the country.
The results of the study were as surprising as they were intuitive. While a significant percentage of over 57% of respondents said they are developing a marketing strategy, only 23% of them manage to implement at least half of the planned annual actions. This discrepancy led us to ask ourselves: are there major deficiencies in the creation of marketing and business planning or, in other words, are these really marketing and business strategies?
The first answer I received from our colleague, Valentin Bolboacă, who founded the Klain agency: “A few years ago I also considered that I had a business strategy, until I started working with consultants who showed me that in fact it is not clearly defined and that my team did not know the directions and objectives we were aiming at.”
Over time, our agency has been involved in the development of more than 300 online projects, collaborating with more than 1000 entrepreneurs. Thus, based on the expertise developed, we were able to clarify the main reasons for the failure of a marketing strategy. In the context of the study conducted and its results, we considered it useful to create a guide that would include 13 central arguments for the failure of an online planning. In the article we will develop three of them, the rest being available by downloading the guide for free.
But, before presenting them, because we live in a time when artificial intelligence is becoming one of the most used phrases in business and everyday life, we asked Chat GPT’s opinion. Next, we will insert his answer, then aiming at the comparative determination of the differences between the information provided by him and the reality observed by us.
Chat GPT’s opinion on the reasons for the failure of a strategy
Q: Why do marketing strategies fail?
A: Misunderstanding of the target audience:
If a marketing strategy is not properly tailored to the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your target audience, it can fail. It is essential to do extensive research to truly understand who customers are and what motivates them.
The Wrong Message:
If the message or tone of a marketing campaign doesn’t resonate (sic!) with the public, it can be ignored or even rejected. It is important that the message is relevant and engaging in order to attract attention.
Selecting the wrong channels:
Choosing the wrong marketing channels can lead to failure. Whether it’s social media, traditional advertising, or events, it’s essential to choose the channels that are most effective at reaching your target audience.
Strong competition:
In an intense competitive environment, marketing strategies may be harder to notice or be suppressed by the competition. It’s important to create a competitive advantage or find innovative ways to stand out.
Insufficient budget:
A limited marketing budget can restrict a company’s ability to implement effective strategies or compete with others who have greater resources. A smart allocation of resources and prioritization of marketing activities can be essential in this case.
Unforeseen changes:
External factors, such as changes in consumer behavior, changes in legislation, or unforeseen events (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), can significantly affect the effectiveness of a marketing strategy.
Incorrect measurement of results:
If the results of a marketing campaign are not properly measured, it is difficult to assess its success or identify areas that need improvement.
Except for some errors of expression, the answer received from our friend Chat GPT contains useful and applicable information in everyday practice.
But do they differ from the data collected by us over the 17 years of activity? Is two decades of accumulated expertise in the field enough to overcome artificial intelligence? We leave it to you to decide.
Our opinion on the reasons for the failure of a strategy
From the perspective of our marketing agency specialists, there are 13 aspects that can cause the failure of a marketing strategy.
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Entrepreneurs lack the basics of a healthy business
Before developing a marketing strategy, it is necessary for entrepreneurs to answer a number of questions:
- What do we do? (What products or services do we offer?)
- Who are we addressing? (Who is the target audience of our business?)
- Who are we? (What defines us as a business or a team?)
- Why do we do this? (What is our mission or purpose?)
- How do we do that? (What are the ways in which we achieve our goals and serve our customers?)
The lack of response to these leads to the failure of the strategy. In our experience, there are many situations in which business people fail to even raise the previous questions. Sometimes, entrepreneurs come to us with the request to conduct research and give them ideas about the directions of their project. Our answer is simple: the directions must come from them, according to the vision, the development plan and the market requirements. A solution offered by an external entity will not be able to be fully applied and assumed, especially in the context of facing some difficult situations.
2. Business strategy is confused with marketing strategy
Business strategy is not equivalent to marketing strategy: this is an absolute truth. Of course, the former provides the directions of both the latter and other types of planning, such as sales, development, and finance. Thus, the marketing strategy and related communication are based on the business strategy, within which multiple aspects are defined, such as the company’s vision, development directions, key products or services, differentiations from the competition, target market and general objectives.
Without the availability of this data, a marketing strategy fails. Moreover, the mere existence of those data does not guarantee its success. Simply put, the business strategy is indispensable, but it does not replace the marketing one, even if it informs it.
3. The value offered in the market is not transmitted correctly
In many cases, the value that a brand offers through the services or products sold is not clearly communicated or is not fully perceived by the target audience. Defining it involves several aspects, such as establishing the benefits of products or services, the correct positioning in the market and identifying the effective ways of transmitting it.
Considering the last aspect, we notice that, in the online environment, the content is no longer summarized in texts and photos. Building it involves an effort from all the people within a company. Moreover, the type of content also undergoes changes, with a transition being made to presentation videos, demonstrations and with the team, as well as to a direct interaction with potential customers in the online environment or serving them before and after the purchase.
We stop here in the article. If we have convinced you that we know more than Chat GPT, we invite you to go through the guide “Why do marketing strategies fail?”tag.
