Theory vs. Reality: How to Solve Your Marketing Strategy Problems

English poet Robert Burns once said, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Nowhere is that saying truer than in marketing.

Marketing professionals know that drafting a good strategy for reaching your customers and boosting business can often be an exercise in futility.

There are dozens of established marketing strategies, all of which serve a purpose connecting businesses to customers. But when businesses’ best-laid marketing plans fail, dry strategies can only take them so far. It’s important to separate what will work in practice rather than what works in theory for marketing strategies.

With that in mind, here are four common marketing problems and a theoretical and practical solution to help marketers solve them.

1.) I Need to Reduce My Marketing Spend But Still Reach Cucsstomers

Theoretical solution: Word-of-mouth advertising

If a business invests too much money into online or physical advertising and doesn’t reap the rewards, they may consider using word-of-mouth advertising as a solution. With word-of-mouth advertising, marketers can increase reach to customers by trying to get highlighted on social media or getting included on review sites.

Practical solution: Form a connection to customers through blogs, social media

Traditional word-of-mouth advertising can work if a business identifies a glaring need. But a business’ problems may be more connected to a lack of face-to-face interaction with consumers. A different strategy of creating authoritative, personal content and interacting with customers outside of advertising can help form a bond.

2.) My Website Gets Few Views on Search Engines

Theoretical solution: Search engine marketing

During a time in which businesses are all competing to get more eyeballs online, a website’s placement on search engines can be the difference between success and obscurity. That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO is a search engine marketing tool that allows search engines to find and “rank” websites based on keyword searches. A great SEO strategy can take a site from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the charts. By merely focusing on SEO, businesses can see immediate results in how its website is ranked and who understands its content.

Practical solution: Use SEO as part of a complete content overhaul

SEO can be a valuable tool for any website that is looking for viewers, but it won’t attract and retain users on its own. To bring visitors to a website, it’s essential to have a content strategy that includes blogging, social media interaction and more. When you have a good content infrastructure, SEO tools can take already great content to the next level. Using tools like quality back-linking and keyword tags can elevate content, but bringing consumers back to a business’ products or services requires a personal connection that you can form through many and substantial material.

3.) I Have a Small Staff But Need More Outreach

Theoretical Solution: Commit to outbound marketing

Outbound marketing, which includes reaching out to consumers directly or through targeted campaigns, is the oldest form of marketing there is. If a business has a small marketing team that doesn’t interact enough with consumers, outbound marketing strategies could help get the word out. Some of the most common forms of outbound marketing include direct mailers and emails and can even scale up to TV commercials and paid advertising.

Practical solution: Mix strategies to fit staff and needs

While outbound marketing can be a great solution, it requires more staff and the ability to turn out more content. Businesses also run the risk of alienating consumers with “hard-sales” tactics. If a staff is in short supply, businesses may want to consider a mixed approach of inbound and outbound marketing. Inbound marketing includes forming a relationship with customers through content creation, newsletter, and social media and letting the customers come to them. Paired with more traditional outbound marketing, businesses can best utilize a small staff and reach even more consumers.

4.) I Have Never Paid for Advertising, and Now My Sales Have Plateaued

Theoretical solution: Invest in paid advertising

If a business has thrived without a dollar of paid advertising, they are truly blessed. But for companies that have relied on word of mouth and now see sales stagnating or even decreasing, you could be tempted to flood the zone with targeted advertising.

Online advertising tools like Google Adwords can help you target your audience through placed ads on search engines. That strategy can help you reach more customers than without any advertising at all. Other forms of advertising can include social media ads, physical ads or even TV or radio commercials. With some financial investment, you could help kick off a new wave of strong sales.

Practical solution: Determine where ads are needed and re-invest in connections

While advertising can help you reach and attract consumers, it’s important to note that throwing advertising dollars at a problem may not address the underlying concerns. For instance, maybe your business has not invested enough time in forming relationships with your current and former customers. Your marketing strategy should take elements of what has already worked for you and consider new options to help your business.

If your company has survived on only word of mouth, advertising could hurt your appeal to consumers. It’s best to maintain what has worked and keep looking for new strategies to grow your sales.