Start With The End: Building Your Marketing Strategy

[Jacqueline Taylor-Adams]

What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand?

Starting with the end result is a known effective strategy in goal setting. What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand? is a paramount goal of your marketing activities.

Before the name, before the tagline, before the logo, What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand? This question is necessary in establishing your brand, your brand identity, and your brand image. Your marketing activities will help align your brand image with your brand identity.

Your brand identity is how you want the consumer to perceive your brand. Your brand image is how the consumer perceives your brand. --Laura Lake

So, step one (1) is establishing your brand identity. Step two and etc are developing and implementing marketing activities that articulate your brand in a manner in which your target audience will be most receptive to receiving, retaining, and acting upon your brand. This is strategic marketing.

In the words of Cedric The Entertainer, you do not want to approach your marketing "all willy nilly." You want to be strategic in order to produce the outcome you want -- which should be continuous sales.

What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand?

The answer will help you determine:
*what colors to use (logo, website, ads, etc)
*what verbiage; what keywords to use (tagline, advertisements; website content, brochure, commercials, etc)
*identify your target audience; who thinks this way, who feels or likes to feel this way; who does what we want our audience to do
*where to find your target audience; where are these businesses, people, etc who think, feel, and do or like to think, feel, and do
*how to penetrate your target audience; what marketing activities and techniques will our target audience be most receptive to AND will allow us to showcase our unique brand; this is where you become creative and innovative

What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand?

This question is not just for the start of a project or business. This is a question to be reviewed periodically to ensure that your marketing activities are align with your established brand identity, helping you ensure that your brand image is equal to your brand identity, and/or to evaluate whether your brand identity has or needs to evolve.

_________________
Jacqueline Taylor-Adams is the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) for TaylorAdams Marketing Consultancy with over thirteen years of marketing experience and another ten years of business and corporate administration and systems development experience.

The creator of The Master Griot Project and BBS Value Tour, Jacqueline is proficient at maximizing resources of the entrepreneur, small business, artist, and non-profit to create a cost-effective executable "big business" marketing impact. Her motto, "Simply building branding and business."

Free 30 minute consultation available upon request, email [e-mail]

Copyright © 2009 Jacqueline Taylor-Adams. All rights reserved.

[Dr. F. A. Young, Esq.]

Excellent to the point information. We must all keep in mind the importance of marketing to our 'niche' markets and not have a product get lost in the shuffle because we may try to appeal to the broader market. Some products and services are a natural for a 'niche' market - all ethnic groups that have major success started out marketing specific goods and services really needed by their group. Food for thought. Thank you Ms. Taylor-Adams.
Peace, Power & Blessings

[Jacqueline Taylor-Adams]

Thank you, Dr. Young for bringing the point to light about getting lost in the broader market, because we are not honing in on our target market. Hoping to catch whatever. While sales is about numbers, it's best to focus on those numbers that are more likely to be open to your message and want what you have to offer.

Now, this message is not just for "niche" markets. Every business and it's products and/or services have a targeted market. Many small businesses don't realize the importance of identifying that market. Marketing itself is the applied science of consumer behavior. It's all about identifying who you want to build relationships with and the behavior to help you learn how to best sell them and retain them as customers.

As always, you provide enlightening food for thought.
But, thanks

[R. Lee Gordon]

You know that my blessings are bigger than my burdens, Jackie.

But any assistance you can extend in helping me sell more "UniTees" to eskimos even these warming days is appreciated. I believe there is a world of potential in UniTees instilling pride, power and purpose in our youth. I've seen it in their eyes when they wear my products of purpose.

Please help me keep my eyes on the prize in positively impacting more children more often through my work to bring The National Black TEEN Empowerment Expo to fruition, and thrust a national spotlight on our street corners, where our children need it the most.

Let me know how we can grow, and much respect and thanks.

R. Lee Gordon
www.nbtee.org
www.uniteedesign.com
www.betterdetroityouth.org

[Jacqueline Taylor-Adams]

Grace and Ease for the consumer, Lee. You need to promote - online banners, mobile campaigns, wholesale programs, cross-marketing with artists' music, have a sale, get a paid membership with iZania and use it. You have the website, great images, great product. You just need a consistent campaign.

Let's schedule a session.

[Dr. F. A. Young, Esq.]

Niche Market by no means implies the market is small. Statically Black America spends more than several Euro countries.

I use the term niche to signify a target market where a company or product should be particularly strong. For example a Black reseller or manufacturer of a product geared to a specific interest or need of Black consumers generally or a specific Black demographic should be able to gain and control market share and or eliminate competition because of the 'uniqueness'. Koreans have dominance in the hair market by targeting the Black women and more importantly combining niche marketing with the power they had over the importation and distribution of the hair/wigs/supporting products.

I remember back in the day 1960s when the Koreans would come through the hood on bicycles with back pack loaded with synthetic wigs and hair pieces which were the rage at that time. Over the years they then moved to placing their products in Black owned beauty parlors/salons from there to existing Black owned beauty product distributors/suppliers. This was the BP and market entry strategy deployed in various parts of the country.

Once the sales of the back in the day synthetic and now real hair extensions reached a critical mass the Korean importers stopped supplying the Black wholesalers and retailers and moved into the market and opened Korean owned stores in the 'hood' run by Koreans employing Koreans. The Koreans in effect played the community, worked and decided to no longer share the profit margin with Black retailers and Black wholesalers. Since the Koreans controlled the manufacturing, importation and distribution warehouses of coveted hair products they cut off the supply and kept the whole pie for themselves!

I have been developing solution at my overseas office to address this and similar problems relating to issues faced by our entrepreneurs in America and Africa. Will be in touch with our entrepreneurs stateside. Peace Power & Blessings

[Carl Collins Newman]

I want my audience to think, feel that Iam a REAL PERSON and my product is REAL ALSO SAFE AND WORTH AN INVESTMENT. I want my audience to feel that my product and I can be TRUSTED. And I want the audience to relax and invest or spend an amount that he/she feels content with.
In todays market, people/clients want the REAL DEAL/TRUTH when ever money or time is being spent.
Reality is the key to attract an audience. If the audience can see reality or the truth then you can win the trust of the audience and then sooner or later the audience will invest in your product.

[BBS Value Tour]

What are some ways you articulate AUTHENTICITY and TRUST in your brand?

What does your target audience feel about your brand? We know what you want them to feel, but have you measured how they view your product and brand?