What is a Marketing Strategy?

If your marketing feels all over the show, posting on social media one day, running a paid ad the next, and hoping for the best, you’re not alone. Lots of organisations do this. And usually it’s because they don’t have a marketing strategy. Without a clear marketing strategy, you’re just guessing. And in today’s competitive landscape, guesswork isn’t going to get you results.

What is a marketing strategy?

A marketing strategy is a guide to achieving a competitive advantage in a market.

It helps you connect your marketing activities to your wider goals. It’s not just about tactics like social media or emails, it’s about the decisions behind them. Your marketing strategy typically covers:

What you’ll offer – and what’s unique about it

Who you’ll target

What you want them to do

How and where you’ll reach them

How success will be measured.

A marketing strategy guides your marketing activities, giving structure, focus and direction to all of your marketing efforts. It forces you to make decisions about what’s really important to your organisation, giving you clear direction, and helping you to reach the right audiences with a clear message.

Why is marketing strategy important?

A marketing strategy is important because it helps you to work smarter, not harder, with every campaign supporting your wider business goals.

It will:

Help you to focus your time and budget where it counts

Help you to avoid random marketing decisions

Align your team around shared goals

Allow you to plan ahead instead of firefighting

Make it easier to measure what’s working

Without a strategy it’s easy to get stuck, being busy doing work that doesn’t actually drive results.

How will a marketing strategy benefit my organisation?

A marketing strategy helps your organisation grow sustainably, build meaningful connections, and show clear impact.

For small businesses:

A clear strategy helps you:

Prioritise channels that deliver ROI

Avoid wasting money on ineffective tactics

Communicate consistently with your audience

Make confident marketing decisions

For charities:

A strategy ensures your marketing supports your cause. It helps you:

Reach the right supporters, donors and partners

Align your marketing with campaign and fundraising goals

Show impact to funders or trustees

Plan content across teams and channels

How do I write a marketing strategy?

You can write a marketing strategy by breaking it into 5 key steps: audience, goals, messaging, channels and measurement.

Want a Shortcut? Try Your Marketing Strategy

Writing a strategy doesn’t need to be overwhelming. At The Marketing Den, we’ve created Your Marketing Strategy, a practical course that walks you through writing a tailored plan for your organisation.

There are two versions:
🔹 One for charities
🔹 One for small businesses

Inside the course, you’ll:
✅ Define goals that actually guide your activity
✅ Choose the right audiences and channels
✅ Create a practical content and campaign plan
✅ Set up simple metrics to track success
✅ Build a strategy you’ll actually use (and stick to)

It’s straight-talking, jargon-free, and designed to help you feel confident about your marketing direction.

👉 See the course for small businesses
👉 See the course for charities

In summary

A marketing strategy is your guide for connecting your offer with the right people in the right way.

It helps you focus on what works, avoid wasted effort, and grow with purpose.

Both charities and small businesses benefit from strategic marketing, especially when resources are limited.