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Marketing for IT Companies: 12 Best Practices & Tips

  • Marketing Strategy

marketing strategy for it companies

Explosive Tech Industry Growth and What It Means for Your Business

The IT industry is big – really big. And it’s growing fast – really fast.

CompTIA estimates that the global IT industry will grow by 3.7% this year, reaching a value of $5.2 trillion for 2020 .

That’s pretty darn impressive.

But what does it mean for your business?

  • Hypercompetition : There are a lot of companies trying to do what you do. That makes it difficult to get in front of the right tech buyers at the right time.
  • Opportunity : If you get in front of your targets at the right time with the right message, you will succeed. But you need to get there before your competitors.

So, how do you get ahead of the competition and take advantage of the opportunity?

Drumroll, please …

You need marketing for your IT company!

Sounds simple enough. A few product brochures, a tradeshow or two, a couple social media posts, and you’re pretty much good to go, right?

Why Your IT Business Needs a Real B2B Marketing Strategy

Marketing IT products and services today is much different than even a few years ago.

  • More complex products and services: Thanks to emerging technologies and customer demands, IT is more complicated than ever.
  • New buyer personas : According to a recent CompTIA survey , 55% of industry leaders report that multiple departments influence IT spending.
  • Longer buying cycles : According to CompTIA, 40% of IT leaders reported that buying cycles are getting longer. This is due to an increased number of vendors, more complex products/services, and more stakeholders being involved.

It’s important to remember, too, that marketing is a priority for your competitors . The same survey reveals that, for 60% of tech industry leaders, the top two priorities to achieve positive business growth in 2020 are:

  • Reaching new customers
  • Picking up new business from existing clients

And both of these require what? You guessed it!

Effective IT marketing.

So, how, exactly, do you “do” marketing for IT companies?

Glad you asked!

12 Marketing Best Practices for IT Companies

  • Research Your Marketplace & Buyers
  • Understand Your Competition
  • Understand Your Target Audience
  • Build a Killer Website
  • Build a Solid MarTech Stack
  • Create Content. Lots of Content.
  • Build a Meaningful Social Media Presence
  • Take Advantage of Tech Influencers
  • Make a Splash with PR
  • Get Ranked on Peer-to-Peer Review Sites
  • Don’t Forget About Existing Clients
  • Integrate Emerging Tech with Marketing

#1: Research Your Marketplace and Your Buyers

Wait! Don’t get scared off.

Research does not need to involve a budget-busting agency and months of lost time.

“Research” means making an effort to quickly understand the basics of your marketing and your audience. This should take weeks, not months. Paralysis by analysis is the death of any business-to-business marketing strategy .

#2: Understand your competition

First, identify three or four of your main information technology competitors.

Now dig into their websites, social media, and any other online or offline resources you can find.

How big are they? Who are their main clients? What’s their messaging? What types of marketing and sales techniques do you see them using most?

If they’re investing and they look savvy, you’ll be well served to try something similar.

#3: Understand your target audience

Gather data on your target audience (i.e., buyer personas ) by meeting with your sales team and talking with customers.

Ask lots of questions to learn about their pain points. Where do they look for information? And what do they want to know before making a buying decision?

The more you know, the better you’ll be able to tailor your messaging and offers.

#4: Build a Killer IT Marketing Website

This should be a no-brainer for a tech company.

But you’d be surprised at the number of ugly, non-converting websites out there in the IT industry.

Don’t be one of them.

Your website is the first impression potential customers will get of your company.

Make it a good one.

And make sure you get these key elements right:

  • Design and UX : Use a sleek, professional, intuitive design to look like the IT powerhouse you are.
  • SEO: Get a proven professional to set this up right. Good SEO will ensure that your company’s site pops up on the first page for key search queries. The more you’re found, the more leads you’ll get.
  • Think Mobile-First : Most IT marketing website visitors come from desktops. Doesn’t matter. Google only sees the mobile version of your site, so make it a good one.
  • Speed: Google wants faster sites . Users want faster sites. Don’t neglect your web.dev Performance score. Get it to 70, minimum.
  • Accessibility: You want everyone to be able to enjoy your website. Make sure you adhere to accessibility standards .

#5: Build a Solid Martech Stack

Marketing for IT companies is a tech- and data-driven discipline. Marketing automation tools let you eliminate wasteful, manual processes. They take care of things like:

  • Automated email sends
  • Analytics and campaign tracking
  • Social media management
  • Lead scoring
  • Segmentation

The right marketing technologies allow you to gather data on everything you do.

This means you can actually measure the ROI of your website, content, and campaigns.

What’s really great these days is that you don’t have to spend a ton to build a great marketing automation stack. It’s entirely possible to enjoy full-featured automation for $1,000/month – or less. Don’t feel the need to invest in an old-school “enterprise” system. The mid-market entrants might surprise you.

(Or, heck. You’re an IT shop. You’re probably going to build something yourself. That’s cool, too.)

#6: Create Content. Lots of Content.

“Content is king.”

Business technology buyers want to arm themselves with knowledge to make the right decision.

This is where B2B marketing content comes in.

Create different types of content that answer your target buyers’ questions. (Refer to your research data here.)

Then, use your website, multi-channel campaigns, and PR efforts to get your content in front of your target audience.

As a bonus, Google loves content . The more you create, the more keywords you’ll rank for. That means more traffic and more leads.

#7: Build a Meaningful Social Media Presence

Social media can be a key element of marketing for IT companies.

But it needs to be done right. (Otherwise, it’s a waste of time and resources).

If you only have a few dozen followers and they’re mostly your employees, you’re not doing it right.

To achieve an effective B2B social media strategy you should:

  • Set up and maintain individual accounts for your “thought leaders.” People engage more with thoughtful individuals than #brands. Keep your brand accounts alive, by all means. But gregarious individuals can move the needle.
  • Focus in on the social media channels where your target audience is most active. This is generally LinkedIn, Twitter, and/or Facebook in B2B. Sorry; you’re not ‘Gramable.
  • Produce and promote your own content . Everyone in your industry is SEO competition – even the media. If you boost their content too much, you’re hurting yourself.
  • Interact with industry influencers and your clients. (No, this isn’t rote “following back.” Actually interact.)
  • Offer something that’s both on-brand and valuable . Social media won’t drive many B2B leads, but it can serve as a branding opportunity. In the event someone checks you out, make sure they’re happy with what they see.

#8: Take Advantage of Tech Industry Influencers

Before you roll your eyes, let’s clarify.

B2B influencers are not the type your teenage daughter follows on Instagram. (Far fewer photos of their legs on beaches, for one.)

Influencers for IT marketing are speakers at industry events and sources for influenctial publications.

These are the people you need to rub elbows with whenever you get the chance.

Just one mention of your company’s name by a true influencer can be huge. It will expand brand awareness and likely drive leads and new clients. Their imprimatur matters – a ton.

Influencers are especially powerful in information technology. In this space, buyers are keen to take the advice of experts to help them make the right purchasing decision.

#9: Make a Big Splash with PR

Like with social media, publication relations is a great tool for IT marketing. But only when it’s done right.

Don’t simply put out a press release about your new product offering, leadership change, or office opening. If anything, these are drops in the bucket.

Instead, invest in professional PR services to make a splash that will get you noticed as a leader in the IT industry. They’ll be able to highlight what makes you different and special, then get the word out.

#10: Get Ranked on Peer-to-Peer Review Sites

Would you book a hotel online without reading reviews from previous guests?

Definitely not.

That’s why peer-to-peer review sites are wildly influential in the IT industry. If you’re in charge of marketing for an IT company, you can’t ignore them.

Some of the most frequently used sites are Clutch , G2, and Capterra .

First, choose the site(s) most relevant to your line of business. Set up a profile and ask your most satisfied clients (nicely) to provide a review. QED.

These sites also offer paid promotional opportunities. Clutch, for example, offers:

  • Sponsorships starting at $200/month and ranging to $18,000/month
  • Sponsored contributed content
  • Branded content

All of these are meant to increase visibility beyond a free profile. Advertising on review sites isn’t for everyone – it’s not cheap – but it can be effective.

#11: Don’t Forget About Your Existing Clients!

Whatever you do, don’t neglect existing clients while you’re marketing your IT company.

Connect with them on social media (and, whenever possible, in person).

Send out a useful weekly or monthly email to stay top of mind.

Build targeted campaigns with your sales and success teams to offer new products/services or upsell what you already have.

It’s a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to retain your existing clients than it is to acquire new ones.

#12: Integrate Emerging Technologies into Your Marketing Strategy

Remember, you’re marketing for an IT company. Why not show off your development chops by integrating emerging technologies?

Build an AI-driven chatbot for your website to engage users instantly.

Or think about integrating VR or AR into your content and let leads experience your company, rather than reading about it.

IT Company Marketing: The Bottom Line

Keeping up with a fast-paced IT industry is tough. You need more than just brochures and tradeshow booths. Marketing for IT companies is about building a comprehensive, integrated and effective system.

But just like tech, B2B marketing involves a lot of trial and error.

Try out as many different marketing techniques as you can. Measure and analyze your results. Then try some more!

Do your best to follow these steps, reach out for help when you need it, and you’ll be well on your way to mastering the art of marketing for IT.

marketing strategy for it companies

Adam Smartschan heads Altitude's strategic marketing and branding efforts. An award-winning writer and editor by trade in a former life, he now specializes in data analytics, search engine optimization, digital advertising strategy, conversion rate optimization and technical integrations. He holds numerous industry certifications and is a frequent speaker on topics around B2B marketing strategy and SEO. Adam graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2007. He grew up in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, just miles down the road from Altitude's headquarters in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

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IT Companies Network

Modern Marketing Tactics for IT Companies: A Strategic Blueprint to Nail More Clients

Welcome to our newly updated 2023 edition of «Tech Marketing Strategies». In an industry as rapidly evolving as technology, staying ahead of the curve in your marketing efforts is not just beneficial, but necessary. This guide has been meticulously updated to reflect the most relevant trends, strategies, and insights for the year 2023.

It's so easy for IT companies to go deep into their ever exciting techy world, but forget about marketing. While it's fun to churn out the cool features and new products or services, you must never forget that even for the very best of products, selling or not selling will always come down to marketing. Many tech companies suffer in an ironical world of game changing products that potential customers might never hear about. You can change this for your company.

This blueprint is dedicated to IT companies that want to get marketing right. After all, you have what it takes to whip out a killer product. But that killer product is one half of the game. Marketing is the other half. Let’s now sort out this other half.

Why Marketing is Essential for IT Companies (A Good Strategy Makes the Difference)

Many tech entrepreneurs have this mistaken belief that all the global tech giants like Google and Microsoft do is to develop amazing products and let  word of mouth do the rest. Far from it. In fact these companies take marketing so seriously you will be shocked. And so should you.  

When it comes to IT companies, the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” definitely doesn’t apply. Marketing is essential in the tech industry and here are the top 5 reasons why: 

You stand out from the crowd

In a field as crowded as IT, it’s essential to find ways to set your company apart from the rest. And that’s where marketing comes in. Through a well-executed marketing strategy, you can make your tech company’s unique selling points known to the world. You can also use marketing to build a strong brand identity that will make your company stand out from the competition.

One approach you can exploit to stand out from the crowd is building a section in your website that serves as a hub of valuable resources. Make it so helpful that potential customers will not find such a resource anywhere amongst your competitors. 

IT Marketing attracts new clients

By creating a strong marketing strategy, IT companies can reach new audiences and generate more leads. This is driven by the understanding that consistent marketing allows your IT company to stay top of mind of potential customers, increasing chances of winning them. 

Second, marketing helps build relationships with current clients. The more you engage them, the more they bond with your brand. This bond gets to a level where the clients feel part of your company. It’s at this point that they are more likely to recommend your services even without you requesting favors.  

Third, marketing strengthens brand identity , which potential customers often give a lot of prominence to. A clear, consistent brand identity helps audiences relate your company with certain products or services offered — setting the stage to win them over as clients. 

Fourth, marketing generates sales leads. By targeting the right customers and using effective marketing tactics, IT companies can generate new leads that convert to sales. 

IT Marketing enables you to target your ideal clientele

It's important to target the right people from the get-go. Marketing helps you get this done by  identifying your ideal customer and craft messaging that resonates with them. By understanding your buyer persona, you can better target your content and outreach activities. 

You can even tailor your products and services to better meet their needs. With the right marketing strategy in place, you can reach more of the right people and convert them into customers—which is what every business desires! 

IT Marketing increases your revenue

Revenue is the lifeblood of any business and marketing is one of the most effective ways to increase it. Each marketing effort bolsters your market share , which the Harvard Business Review singles out as a key determinant of profitability.

With effective IT marketing, you're not only increasing brand awareness but also introducing potential customers to your products and services. And when they become familiar with what you offer, they're more likely to do business with you. 

A good IT marketing strategy makes the difference

A good IT marketing strategy makes the difference between a successful tech business and one that struggles to find its footing. Marketing for IT companies is the process of creating and delivering messages that promote and sell products or services. Call it marketing to IT professionals who make decisions.

There are countless examples of businesses that have thrived thanks to a strong marketing strategy, and many more that have languished due to a lack thereof. It can make all the difference in the world, so if you're looking to give your tech business a boost, be sure to invest in a solid marketing plan. 

6 Steps to Create Targeted Marketing Strategies for IT Companies

With so much competition, customers might never know that you exist. Yet your product or service could as well beat all that exist in your niche. it 

Use these five essential steps to help you to create a targeted IT company marketing strategy that will work for your business, whether you are a software developer, MSP, or cybersecurity company . 

1. Define your audience

The first step in creating any marketing strategy is to define your target audience. Without knowing who your ideal customer is, you'll have a difficult time creating messaging that resonates with them. 

Think about what type of customer you're trying to reach. Are you selling a B2B product or a consumer-facing one? Do you want to reach early adopters or those who are more skeptical of new technologies? 

Once you've nailed down your target customer, you can start developing messaging that resonates with them. 

2. Conduct market research

Market research allows you to develop a deep understanding of your target market, including their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Who are they? What are their needs? What are their wants and desires? 

This information will help you create better content, design smarter marketing campaigns, and even refine your products and services to better meet the needs of your target audience. 

3. Set objectives and goals

It's important to set attainable objectives and goals for your marketing strategy. This will help you stay focused and on track as you execute your plan. 

Once your objectives are in place, you can begin to implement your strategy. 

4. Choose the right marketing channels

Think about  which channels might be most effective in your niche. In general, there are three types of channels: Owned, Paid and Earned. 

Owned channels are those that you create and control, such as your website or social media platforms. Paid channels are those that you purchase, such as advertising space or digital marketing services. Earned channels are those that are created by others, such as positive online reviews or word-of-mouth marketing. 

Not all channels are right for every company, so it's important to select the right ones for your business. Once you've narrowed down your options, it's time to start creating content and building relationships with your target audience! 

5. Deploy SEO/Content marketing

Traffic is the oil that powers the marketing machine, whether online or offline. The more people visit your marketing channels, the more potential customers you have and the more likely you are to make a sale. There are many different ways to do this, but two of the most valuable are SEO and content marketing. 

SEO is the process of optimizing your online channels such as websites so they rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), while content marketing is the creation and distribution of content that attracts and engages your target audience. Both SEO and content marketing can be used to drive traffic on different levels of the sales funnel: top-of-funnel, middle-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel. 

Use intense SEO for IT/Tech companies to drive traffic to the top of the funnel, where your potential customers are just starting their research. Follow with smart content marketing to nurture those leads all the way to the bottom of the funnel, where they’re ready to buy.

Here is how you can utilize SEO and content marketing in tandem to drive traffic on different levels of the sales funnel.

Top of the funnel

At this stage, you want to capture the attention of potential customers and introduce them to your product or service. Use valuable blog posts, social media posts, reports, videos, and white papers. Remember that your content should be keyword-rich (SEO) and informative enough to provide valuable insights that help your readers solve their problems. 

Middle of the sales funnel

This is when potential customers are starting to become more interested in your product or service, but might not be ready to buy just yet. Focus on building relationships to earn their ultimate trust.  Utilize tailored FAQ pages, webinars, and even email surveys to test and group the interest levels. 

Bottom of the  funnel

This is where the leads are ready to convert. Deploy targeted promotional campaigns supported by exceptional content, reviews, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), testimonials, discounts and coupons.  

6. Measure and track results

It's important to track the results of your IT services marketing efforts so you can determine what's working and what's not. This will help you to refine your strategy and make sure your dollars are being well-spent. 

Use a tool like Google Analytics to track website visits, social media engagement, email opens, clicks, and more. By measuring and tracking your results, you'll be able to see which marketing channels are driving the most traffic and conversions, and you can focus your efforts there. 

Killer Marketing Tactics for Tech Companies Across Different Categories: Cybersecurity, MSP and Software Marketing

Cybersecurity, MSP and software are some of the top categories in the IT industry right now. And while marketing tactics remain close, there are slight changes in tactics as you move from one category to the next.

So what are the effective tactics you can implement to market your Cybersecurity, MSP or software company?

Let’s find out.  

Cybersecurity marketing

As cybersecurity threats continue to increase , so does the demand for innovative, effective cybersecurity solutions. 

If you're a cybersecurity company looking for an edge on the competition, use these tactics. 

1. Create a brand identity

Cybersecurity is a relatively young but vibrant niche. So your brand identity should be clear, concise, and be reflected in everything you do. 

From your logo to your website to your social media presence, make sure that your branding is consistent and professional. 

2. Foster thought leadership

Thought leadership is key in the cybersecurity industry. Potential clients will take you seriously if you are able to provide thought-provoking insights and ideas on the latest security threats plus solutions. 

By establishing your company as a thought leader, you can gain a loyal following of potential clients whom you will eventually convert. Thought leadership will also help your cybersecurity company to stand out from the competition as a leader in the field. 

3. Invest in paid media

Paid media is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience. By placing ads in the right places, you can expose your cybersecurity company to a large number of potential customers. It's important to partner with a reputable IT marketing agency that understands your target market and can create effective campaigns that will generate leads. 

Paid media can also include sponsorships, which can be a great way to get your company in front of a relevant audience. 

Software marketing

When it comes to software marketing, developers often find themselves in a difficult position. They may be experts in coding and creating software, but that doesn’t always equate to marketing prowess. And in a world where businesses are increasingly looking for custom-made software solutions, it’s more important than ever to master software marketing techniques.

Here are top software marketing ideas to effectively reach your target market whether you are looking at enterprise software marketing or b2b software marketing. 

1. Nurture a persona

The best thing you can do for your software marketing is to build a persona. It’s all about making sure your name is synonymous with quality. When people think of software developers, you want them to think of your company. 

You don't need to have a huge social media following or be a world-renowned expert to build a persona--you simply need to be known for being good at what you do. There are many ways to do this, but some of the most popular methods include blogging and networking. 

2. Get involved in communities

There are a lot of ways to do this, but one of the best is to speak at user groups, code camps, and other events. This gets you in front of your target audience and allows you to share your knowledge. 

Speaking in particular is a great way to reach a large audience with your message. You can speak to attendees about your development process, how you solved certain challenges, or even about the future of the industry. It's also a great opportunity to network with other professionals in your field. 

When you're ready to start marketing yourself as a speaker, start by identifying upcoming events and send in proposals. Be sure to personalize each proposal and showcase why you'd be the perfect speaker for that event. Keep your bio and presentation slides up-to-date, and always follow up after the talk to thank organizers and participants. 

You can also share your expertise on forums, social media, platforms like Quora and in blog comments. When you give back to a community, you become known as an expert. People will start coming to you for advice and business will follow. 

3. Develop a niche

Software development is already crowded and while it's important to be well-rounded, it's also crucial to develop a niche. This will help you focus your software and target your ideal clients. Additionally, many clients now prefer to work with software companies that specialize in a niche as opposed to all-round developers. 

For example, if you're a software company that specializes in creating custom software for dentists, then you'll want to make sure your website and content are dentist-focused. You can even go a step further and develop case studies and testimonials specifically from dentists who have used your software. Doing this will help build trust and differentiate you from other developers in the market. 

4. Make videos

One great marketing for software companies is to make videos. This can be anything from a screencast of you demoing your software to an explainer video on how your development process works. 

Videos are a great way to show off your skills and explain what you can do for potential clients. You can post them on your website, blog, or social media accounts. 

MSP lead generation tactics

The managed service provider (MSP) industry is one of the most competitive and fast-paced industries around. Technology is always evolving, and new players are constantly entering the market. 

Lead generation is the other name of this game and if you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to explore the creative route. 

Traditional MSP lead generation tactics no longer work

What worked yesterday may no longer be effective today. So, what's changed? There are now more MSPs in the marketplace, making it harder for companies to stand out.

Furthermore, potential customers are becoming savvier and more discerning- they know what they want and aren't as easily impressed by bells and whistles. In this environment, it's more important than ever for MSPs to employ creative lead generation tactics that differentiate them from the competition. 

Interested in getting more clients for your IT company?

Check out this post:

  • MSP Marketing — A Guide to What Actually Works
  • SEO for Technology Companies

Here are such tactics that are worth trying: 

1. Create a unique selling proposition

What makes your MSP company different from all of the others? Why should someone do business with you instead of them? When you can answer these questions, you can create a USP that will set you apart from the competition. 

Your USP doesn't have to be groundbreaking or revolutionary; it just has to be something that makes you stand out. For example, maybe you offer 24/7 customer support, or maybe you're the only MSP that offers a particular service. Whatever it is, find a way to make it work for you and be relentless. 

2. Generate referrals

One of the best (and most overlooked) ways to generate more MSP leads is to simply ask for referrals from your current clients. This is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal, so start by compiling a list of current and past clients who have been happy with your services. 

Then, reach out and ask them if they know anyone who's in need of MSP services. You could also offer a small incentive for referrals, like a discount on their next service bill. With a little effort, you can easily start building a pipeline of qualified leads through referrals! 

3. Attend trade shows and industry events

Trade shows and industry events are a great way to connect with potential customers face-to-face. You can meet new leads, build relationships with current customers and partners, and learn about the latest industry trends.

It's also a great opportunity to network with other MSP businesses in your field. Attending these events can be a lot of work, but it's definitely worth it in the long run. You'll get out what you put in, so make sure to actively participate and give potential customers a good reason to contact you. 

How to Convert Leads Into Paying Clients

More prospects are clicking on your offers or filling out your lead forms, but many of them still aren’t becoming paying clients. What’s the problem? Chances are your lead capture process is missing some essential steps. 

Here are the key steps you can implement immediately and start turning those leads into paying clients.

1. Identify your ideal client

The first step in converting leads into paying clients is identifying your ideal customer. Once you know who you're targeting, you can better tailor your marketing and sales efforts to attract these individuals. It's also important to understand what drives your ideal customer so you can cater to their needs and wants. 

2. Qualify your leads

Not all leads are created equal. In order to maximize your conversion rate, you need to first qualify your leads. This means that you need to determine which leads are the most likely to turn into paying customers. 

You can do this by asking qualifying questions, such as: What is your budget? What is the timeline for implementation? What are your primary needs? Only after you've qualified a lead should you move on to the next step in the sales process. 

3. Establish trust and credibility

One of the best ways to establish trust and credibility with potential leads is to be transparent about your company and what you offer. Be clear about your company's history, values, and goals, and make sure your website and marketing materials are accurate and up-to-date. 

You should also be active on social media and engaged with your community. When potential customers can see that you're a legitimate IT business with a good reputation, they're more likely to do business with you. 

4. Research your competition

Before you put in all that effort to convert leads, it's important to do your homework and research your competition. What are they doing that's working well? What are the gaps and how can you exploit them? What's their pricing strategy? How do they communicate with clients? 

All of this information will help you create a strategy that's tailored specifically for your business. It's also important to keep in mind that not everyone is going to be a good fit for your company—you want to focus on attracting the right prospects, not just any leads. Doing your research will help you target the right people from the start.

IT Marketing ROI: Does it Matter?

So you’ve been spending money on IT marketing strategies but you’re not sure whether or not it’s been worth it. The return on investment, or ROI, of marketing is an important measure of the monetary value of the increase in sales that is attributable to a marketing campaign. In other words, it's a way to quantify how much revenue your marketing efforts generate — and yes, marketing ROI matters a lot. 

It can be difficult to track all of the different ways that marketing impacts your IT business, but it’s definitely worth trying to do so. 

How to calculate the ROI IT companies marketing strategies

The simplest way to calculate the ROI is to divide the net profit generated by the marketing campaign by the total cost of the campaign. So, if your marketing campaign generated a net profit of $1,000 and your total cost was $500, your ROI would be 200%. 

While this sounds easy, coming up with the actual figures to feed into the marketing ROI formula can be tricky. After all, how do you quantify the value of a new software customer? Or the impact of a comment in a cybersecurity forum? 

First, you need to identify your goals for marketing. What are you trying to achieve? Once you have defined your goals, you can begin to measure how well your marketing is performing against them. For example, if one of your goals is to increase website traffic to particular IT products, you can track how many new visitors that product page is getting each month. By comparing this number against your marketing budget, you can calculate the ROI of your marketing efforts. 

What’s the importance of measuring the ROI of your technology marketing?

By measuring the ROI of your marketing be it b2b technology marketing or tech lead generation, you can ensure that you're getting the most out of your investment. You'll be able to track and quantify your successes, as well as identify areas that could use improvement. 

This information will help you make more strategic decisions about where to allocate your resources in the future. Ultimately, measuring the ROI of your marketing is essential to optimizing your campaigns and improving your bottom line. 

How to use ROI of marketing to improve strategy

If you find that a particular marketing campaign is not resulting in a good return on investment, you can either tweak the campaign or eliminate it altogether. Conversely, if you discover a campaign that is performing well, you can invest more money into it and see even better results. 

You can also use the ROI data to determine where to allocate your resources for future campaigns. For example, if you find that most of your conversions come from content marketing, you might want to invest more money here. By measuring the ROI of your marketing efforts, you can make smarter, more profitable decisions. 

The Costly Marketing Mistakes Tech Companies Are Making (And How to Avoid Them)

Marketing is a necessary and important part of your IT business, but it can be costly if not done correctly. Unfortunately, many tech companies are making the same costly mistakes. 

These are the 5 most common mistakes; please avoid them. 

1. Not defining the target audience

You can't create a marketing strategy without knowing who you're trying to reach. You need to know their age, sex, income, education level, interests and even where they live. 

Attempting to appeal to everyone is a recipe for failure. Instead, focus on identifying your core customer and create a strategy that speaks to them. 

2. Lack of market research

A lot of tech companies make the mistake of not doing their homework. They dive headfirst into marketing efforts without doing any research on their audience or the competition. This is a costly mistake that can quickly sap resources and wind up costing you customers. 

Before you do anything, take the time to understand the market and figure out what is missing. What is the competition doing and how can you differentiate yourself from them? Do your research and develop a smart marketing strategy that will reach your target audience. 

3. Not creating compelling content

With so much noise in the marketplace, many IT companies are failing to create content that stands out and engages the target audience. Turn things around by crafting content that is interesting, relevant and useful to your audience. 

For tech companies, it's especially important to focus on thought-leadership content. This is content that educates and informs your audience, helping you to build trust and establish yourself as a credible source of information. 

Don't stop at great content. Go further and make sure that your website is user-friendly and easy to navigate. If potential customers can't find the information they're looking for, they'll quickly move on to your competitor. Sloppy design, outdated information and a lack of engagement will all hurt your company's image and cause you to lose potential customers. 

4. Over-reliance on marketing automation

While marketing automation is an amazing tool and tech companies are good at this, it can also be dangerous if it's overused. Because it's so powerful, it's easy to become reliant on it and forget about the importance of human interaction. 

Automation can help you cover some great milestones, track and measure your marketing efforts, but it can't replace the personal connection that's so essential in the tech world. 

Don't let your company become known as the «robots» or the «marketing automatons.» Keep your human touch alive by interacting with customers on a personal level and remembering that marketing is all about relationships. 

5. Not utilizing influencers

One tactic that has been shown to be successful is working with social media influencers, yet many tech companies are not exploiting this channel. Influencers are individuals with a large following who are trusted by their followers. They can help promote your brand and products to a wide audience, and their endorsement can be very valuable. 

When selecting an influencer, it's important to choose someone who is a good match for your company and products. They should be authentic and have values that align with your own. You can also partner with groups or organizations that have similar interests to yours. This will help you reach a wider audience and build relationships with potential customers. 

6. Not using IT marketing firms

Many tech companies assume that they can handle their entire marketing all by themselves. This is a costly mistake that has killed many amazing IT businesses. While you can do certain things so well, it’s important to let those specialized in marketing handle the critical marketing functions. 

IT marketing companies have solid experience built over the years that comes with the benefit of working with diverse companies. They have been right there in the thick of things, equipped with tricks to unlock opportunities where you probably see none. Get a good IT marketing agency and notice the difference. 

7. Not measuring ROI

Without data to back it up, it's hard to justify spending money on marketing initiatives, not even a simple marketing strategy of IT company. 

Track your website traffic, leads generated, conversion rates and other key performance indicators (KPIs) so you can gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns and make necessary adjustments. 

ROI calculation is simple too—just divide your profits by your marketing costs and you'll have your ROI percentage. Don't forget to use this number as a benchmark for future marketing decisions! 

IT Marketing: Conclusion

The old tactics you may have used in the past may no longer work. That's why it's important to explore new tactics that actually work. The goal is to reach more people, attract new clients, and increase your revenue. A good marketing strategy can make the difference between a successful IT company and one that struggles to make a profit. 

Start by understanding your audience and market, setting achievable objectives and goals, and then selecting the most effective marketing channels for reaching your target market.

As you do this, bear in mind that measuring and tracking the results of your marketing efforts will give you valuable gems of insights. Put these insights into good use and fine-tune your strategy to achieve even better outcomes.  

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Technology Marketing: Strategies for Tech Companies

Team CSG –

June 21, 2022

The technology industry is an exciting, fast-moving and competitive landscape. In fact, a staggering 70% of upstart tech companies fail just shy of the two-year mark. Why? Technology marketing — or lack thereof. Very often, success unravels due to failure to find an audience that resonates with a brand’s core message. Even if a technology company has a great idea that fills a market need, if their messaging doesn’t effectively communicate to their target audiences, such as potential decision-makers and investors, success is nearly impossible to achieve. That’s where technology marketing makes all the difference.

Marketing technologies in a compelling way may involve building brand awareness, showcasing case studies and current customer experiences, and creating powerful marketing strategies that drive lead generation. As technology companies grow, those that leverage marketing strategies in partnership with engineering, product development and sales will become market leaders.

What Is Technology Marketing ?

Technology marketing involves strategic communications, marketing solutions and social media for the technology industry specifically, not to be confused with marketing technologies, tools and apps for marketing — though those may also come into play.

Why Is Marketing Important for Tech Companies?

Taking a technology start-up to an enterprise, accelerating company growth and disrupting the status quo requires successful technology marketing that solidifies and shares core messaging, generates attention and creates demand.

As a technology marketing and public relations agency with skill sets in content marketing and social media, Communications Strategy Group (CSG®) partners with marketing technology companies to create compelling narratives for complex technology solutions that engage, inspire and activate relevant audiences. CSG’s expertise ranges across the technology spectrum in the following categories:

• Cybersecurity

• managed it services, • blockchain, • healthtech, • aviation technology, 9 marketing strategies for technology companies.

Facing increased competition for attention on digital channels, B2B marketing efforts in the technology sector struggle to reach the right audiences on the right channels to achieve their goals. According to almost 500 CMOs and other marketing leaders , privacy is the number one most important technology, topic, or space for marketing in 2022. For technology organizations, the ability to connect with decision-makers about an important issue, goal or challenge to their business can have a dramatic impact on their success.

Here are nine key marketing strategies for technology companies to leverage to transform how they market themselves:

Brand Communications

Your brand is the first thing potential customers will know about you. And an identifiable, successful brand is something customers will remember long after an ad impression. Consistent good branding simplifies future planning, streamlines creative work and informs everything from corporate social responsibility initiatives to culture, but it also offers tremendous benefits to the bottom line. In the quick-moving world of technology marketing and advertising, brand work of any kind is a long-term play that is easy to overlook in favor of faster ROI, but the opportunity cost of not taking the time to build a thoughtful brand communications plan is considerable. Without integrated marketing communications planning, brands lose the opportunity for meaningful and consistent engagement with their target audiences, and ultimately, the chance to make a lasting impression.

Content Marketing

Content marketing for startups is a chance to meet consumers where they are and stay top of mind even when you can’t be face to face. As traditional sales and marketing techniques become less effective, there’s an opportunity for technology organizations to provide relevant and useful content that educates, solves problems and clarifies next steps for prospects and customers alike. When executed correctly, a robust content marketing strategy will not only help move prospects through the sales funnel but also drive organic traffic, build brand awareness and eventually, cultivate brand champions.

Crisis Communications and Reputation Management

The entire world is not within your control. Whether external or internal, there are forces beyond technology organizations’ influence that may create challenges. It’s not a question of if a crisis will occur, but when the next one will happen. When crisis situations arise, technology companies need to have strategic, tailored plans in place of how to respond to effectively communicate to stakeholders and overcome potential setbacks.

Digital Marketing

No one understands the need for digital marketing more than technology companies. In fact, according to Google, mobile searches account for more than 50% of all searches. Digital marketing is the strategic discipline that brings sense to it all. Which channels are right for your business? What do your customers need to hear? Where can you get the most bang for your buck? The right strategy will consider these questions to meet your audiences at the right time and with the right message, and leverage data-driven insights to plan and execute digital touch points and experiences at every stage of the customer journey.

Internal Communications

Internal alignment begets external success — keeping the team engaged and focused on the broader company mission often comes down to open, honest and strategic employee communications. Though it might seem too simple, alignment truly does begin with communication.

Public Relations

If your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room, public relations is your chance to join important conversations. Third-party endorsement from the media and important influencers plays a critical role in developing brand awareness, promoting thought leadership and creating demand in the marketplace for technology organizations.

Social Media

Social media is made up of short-term content, but it is a long-term strategy. We believe that every piece of content has a job . And we believe that every social platform has a purpose. To that end, we use a blend of organic and paid strategies — a particularly important measure as increased monetization across social platforms has cannibalized much organic growth — to optimize the relevant platforms and infuse social into integrated technology marketing strategies that span the entire content and customer lifecycle.

Video Marketing

From live-action to animation, video is one of the most diverse and flexible marketing mediums. Video is an easy-to-consume, visual and memorable format that engages audiences in a way that no other channel can. Put another way, for technology organizations that have a story to tell and an eye on strategic impact, video is the watchword.

Website Development

In an increasingly digital world, customer acquisition and retention can be won or lost on any given web page. Modern web users expect seamless experiences, responsive sites, mobile apps and other robust digital solutions. Technology brands’ site functionality and build should operate in tandem to create a seamless user experience, while the site design and copy should guide users to take desired actions and make obvious how to achieve their goals. A simple web technique to leverage in 2022 is providing answers to frequently asked customer questions about your product on your website.

7 Technology Marketing Challenges and How to Solve Them

At its core, technology marketing objectives include 1) creating awareness, 2) establishing value, 3) building preference, and 4) driving an efficient decision and purchase. But of course, no marketing strategy is without its challenges. Consider these seven common challenges in technology marketing:

1. Messaging to Experts, Not Consumers

When marketers speak to customers as if they were an insider with perfect knowledge, they don’t support the customer decision process or respect their time enough to deliver digestible information. No matter how impressive the technology product or service, it still must serve the business benefit.

Instead, marketing teams must meet customers where they are in the decision-making process and deliver ongoing, accessible and understandable resource value.

2. Relying on Industry Jargon

Marketers have just mere seconds to capture prospects’ attention on a website. In that brief window, marketing efforts need to make the product relevant, instill its value and motivate the prospect to learn more. Jargon-filled content wastes everyone’s time because it often has no meaning to the prospect. Instead of establishing expertise; it alienates.

Instead, marketers must speak in the prospects’ language, not their own. Messaging should convey everything a customer needs to know, and not leave them filling in big gaps.

3. Failing to Consider the Buyer’s Journey

Marketing is a continuum, not a point solution. When done correctly, it guides prospects and customers through purchase decisions. All too often, technology companies don’t define the buyer’s journey, which is key to a successful marketing strategy.

Instead of solely focusing on immediately driving revenue, technology companies must take the time to understand their target audience and the overall buyer’s journey so that marketing efforts can complement the overall continuum.

4. Pushing Instead of Telling

Technology marketing sales get a bad rap for coming on too strong, too soon. Unsolicited emails and phone calls rarely lead to success, because they fail to understand the buyer’s decision cycle.

Instead, technology marketers need to understand what prospects need to learn in advance of purchasing their product — and create compelling, helpful content that will help them achieve those learnings.

5. Relying on Outrageous Claims 

What is a surefire way to shatter credibility? Use outrageous claims in marketing materials. Even when a technology product holds incredible value, exaggerated or unfounded claims can dilute its worth.

Instead, technology marketers should rely on compelling data and engaging storytelling to share their products’ value in a way that will resonate authentically with audiences.

6. Tech for Tech’s Sake 

In the competitive world of technology, many brands make the mistake of marketing to other tech marketers and not the true decision-makers in charge of marketing budgets. Unfortunately, this tactic neglects to harness the technology’s true value. Unless a real and necessary value can be established, technology will not find support among those with decision authority.

Instead, technology marketers need to make the business case for their products. It’s really not about technology. No matter how impressive, successful technology must still solve a business challenge or offer a business benefit.

7. Neglecting Customer Needs

Every other issue cited above can be distilled down to knowing the customer. Understanding the customer is the chief objective because marketing to a prospect establishes a relationship. When technology brands neglect to understand and cater to customers’ needs, they’re essentially speaking into a vacuum and spinning their wheels.

Instead, technology marketers must invest in understanding the customer and speaking to their needs. What problems are you solving for the individual and/or the organization? How can you establish credibility by illustrating, not telling? How does your technology impact their business?

Partnering with an expert with the right skillsets and an understanding of the technology industry landscape, such as a technology marketing agency like CSG, can help your organization overcome these challenges and reach your goals.

FAQs About Marketing For Technology Companies

How to ensure success in marketing technology products.

Simply put, marketing is about getting the right information in front of the right people. Successful technology marketing involves identifying the right target audiences and employing strategies that ensure your message effectively resonates, enhancing the customer experience.

How to calculate technology marketing ROI?

Understanding unified marketing measurements is becoming increasingly more important when evaluating marketing budgets. According to Gartner’s Marketing Technology Survey 2018 , only 18% of marketers understood what multitouch attribution (MTA) was in 2016. Return on investment (ROI) calculations are made first by determining the dollar amount of value that a given marketing strategy has returned — which is an art in its own right, to understand which, read our ROI post — subtracting the cost of the strategy from that number, and then dividing the result by the cost again. This gives a company a fixed point to travel from, allowing them to gauge the strength over time of new content and new marketing campaigns. The orientation this provides is vital in technology marketing. Without it, companies cannot be sure that they’re breaking into the markets they target, appealing to the right audiences, or in general improving their marketing performance.

Is investing in technology marketing worth it?

Yes. Whether your organization is searching to increase B2B marketing efforts or employ B2C technology marketing strategies, partnering with the right technology marketing agency that understands your brand’s needs and goals and has the expertise to take you to the next level can make your investment even more valuable.

How to know if your tech marketing strategy is effective?

In short, data is key to measuring the success of marketing technologies. The amount of data available from a tech product creates unique opportunities for marketers to make decisions quickly, optimize products, develop campaigns, and reach customers where they are. The effectiveness of your technology marketing efforts depends on your organization’s unique goals. Are you trying to sell more products? Raise awareness? Bolster reputation? Get your brand in front of a new audience? The right technology marketing partner will create and measure marketing campaigns based on the answers to these questions.

How to increase sales of technology products?

To increase sales, marketing technology companies must invest efforts to fully understand their customer. From understanding needs and value drivers to speaking their language and earning their trust, leveraging the voice of the consumer in marketing efforts is critical to the success, and increase in sales, of every technology.

Develop Your Technology Marketing Strategy With Us

Strategic technology marketing is key to standing out and resonating with target audiences in a competitive and fast-moving market. Contact us today if you’re searching for a technology marketing agency to develop compelling strategies that resonate with target audiences and achieve your organization’s goals. As an experienced marketing agency for tech companies , CSG helps technology companies — from start-ups to enterprises — generate attention, create demand, accelerate growth and disrupt the status quo.

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Marketing Strategy: What It Is and How to Create One

A marketing strategy can set your business up for success. Learn why and how to make one for your business.

[Featured image] A women stands in front of a digital whiteboard and leads a marketing strategy meeting with several coworkers.

A marketing strategy is a long-term vision outlining a business’s value proposition to its customers. Rather than describing the concrete actions required in specific advertising campaigns, marketing strategies are a compass used to guide marketing efforts. 

While it may be tempting to hash out a marketing plan right away, thinking about the marketing strategy first can improve your product's success and give you a competitive advantage. Learn what marketing strategy is, why it matters, different types, and steps to create your own.

What is a marketing strategy? 

A marketing strategy is an overview of how a business or organization will articulate its value proposition to its customers. Generally, a marketing strategy outlines business goals, target market, buyer personas, competitors, and value for customers. It provides a long-term vision for overall marketing efforts, often looking many years ahead. 

Advantages of a marketing strategy

Marketing strategies can have a measurable impact on success. 

In 2022, CoSchedule surveyed 3,599 marketers and bloggers to identify their most successful marketing practices. They found that marketers who documented their marketing strategy were 331 percent more likely to report success than those who didn’t. Furthermore, marketers who were the most organized were found to be a whopping 674 percent more likely to report success [ 1 ].

Taking the time to create a marketing strategy can benefit your company's brand and bottom line. Watch this video to learn more about how to develop a winning marketing strategy:

Marketing strategy vs. marketing plan

People often use the terms “marketing strategy” and “marketing plan” interchangeably, but in reality, they are two different processes.  

A marketing plan describes the concrete actions and marketing tactics undertaken to complete a marketing campaign. Meanwhile, a marketing strategy outlines the big picture of a marketing effort, such as the business's target customers. The strategy describes what the marketing objectives are, while the plan describes how those objectives are going to be achieved.

For example, imagine an e-commerce business that is trying to grow its customer base. They start a referral program to encourage word of mouth but it has little success. If they had created a strategy, they might have realized they needed to tap into new potential customers instead. A digital marketing strategy focused on targeted blog posts and search engine optimization (SEO) would have yielded better results.

Interested in digital marketing? Check out Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate to gain valuable skills to kickstart a digital marketing career:

Types of marketing strategy 

There are many different approaches to marketing – such as social media marketing or content marketing – but strategies for market growth can be found in Ansoff’s matrix . These four strategies are: 

Market penetration 

Product development 

Market development

Diversification

H. Igor Ansoff is a mathematician and business manager who created the matrix to help businesses define their strategies by varying what product is being sold and who the product is being sold to [ 2 ].

An image of Ansoff's matrix. The matrix includes tiles for "market penetration," "product development," "market development," and "diversification."

Ansoff’s matrix encourages markets to consider the four Ps , or the “marketing mix":

Product: What is being sold 

Place: Where it is being sold 

Price: What the product costs

Promotion: How the product is marketed to the target audience

The exact way that a marketer defines the four Ps for their marketing efforts will depend on the growth strategy they are using and the political and economic outlook of their market. 

Let’s take a closer look at each strategy from Ansoff’s matrix. 

Market penetration strategy 

Market penetration strategy is a growth strategy that involves selling existing products to existing markets. It is considered the least risky of all the strategies in Ansoff’s matrix. The strategy is typically considered most beneficial if the market is either growing or the marketer alters its promotional efforts through existing marketing channels [ 2 ]. 

McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" campaign

An example of a market penetration strategy can be found in McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign from 2003. 

In the early 2000s, McDonald's faced flagging sales and plummeting stock prices. Rather than creating a new product (product development strategy), McDonald's instead focused on attracting existing customers in an existing market with a catchy ad campaign. The result was their wildly successful “I’m Lovin’ it” campaign, which featured a catchy new jingle sung by Justin Timberlake [ 3 ]. 

“I’m Lovin It” has since become McDonald’s longest-running marketing campaign since its founding in 1940 [ 4 ]. 

Product development strategy

A product development strategy involves the development of a new product for an already existing market. Typically, it is considered riskier than a market penetration strategy because it requires the creation of a totally new product. In order to be successful, product development strategies typically require innovation and further research into the existing market, including the profiles and needs of the target audience [ 2 ].  

Uni Kuru Toga's mechanical pencil for every day writing

An example of a successful (and surprisingly interesting) product development strategy can be seen in the Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencil. 

As odd as it may seem, in the mechanical pencil world the Uni  Kuru Toga is something of a star. “[T]he Uni Kuru Toga is the best mechanical pencil for every day writing,” opined the New York Time’s Wirecutter in a 2018 article [ 5 ]. Wired, meanwhile, called it “the ultimate geek tool” [ 6 ]. 

What makes the pencil so unique? A specially designed internal gear mechanism that rotates the lead so it stays sharp as you write and diamond infused lead that doesn’t easily break under pressure. In effect, as a 2009 commercial for the pencil demonstrated, it was meant for people concerned with even handwriting and durable lead [ 7 ]. 

While the market for mechanical pencils was already well-established, the Uni Kuru Toga was able to find success through a product development strategy that offered consumers something new and useful.

Market development strategy

A market development strategy takes an existing product into new markets. Much like a product development strategy, a market development strategy is considered riskier than a market penetration strategy because it involves introducing a familiar product into an unfamiliar marketplace. While the product remains the same, the new place it is sold requires possibly new pricing and promotional efforts [ 2 ].  

Microsoft's Hololens technology

An example of a market development strategy is when Microsoft introduced its Hololens technology to an additional 29 markets in Europe in November of 2017 [ 8 ]. The augmented reality headset provides a unique user experience that allows professionals to work in a “mixed reality” environment. To promote their efforts, Microsoft released a YouTube video showcasing the unique use cases of the product in the workplace, such as through interactive employee training programs in industrial environments [ 9 ]. 

Diversification strategy

A diversification strategy involves the development of a new product for a new market. The novelty required of a diversification strategy means that it is also the riskiest of the Ansoff matrix’s four strategies. Diversification strategies require full attention on all of the four Ps – product, price, place, and promotion—but the biggest risks can also lead to the biggest rewards [ 2 ]. 

Apple's first iPhone

An example of a diversification strategy is when Apple introduced the first iPhone on June 9, 2007 at the MacWorld Expo. At the time, Apple was new to the mobile phone market, but they innovated in the space by adding a music player and web browser to their new touchscreen phone [ 10 ]. 

“Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone,” CEO Steve Jobs declared before an audience of reporters [ 10 ]. Through much of the presentation, Jobs outlined the phone’s unique value proposition to customers.

It worked. As of June 2022, there were an estimated 1.8 billion active iPhone users [ 11 ].

How to create a marketing strategy

A marketing strategy can set you up for marketing success. As you are creating your own marketing strategy, consider the following steps to help guide your process.

1. Define your business and marketing goals.

The first step in creating an effective marketing strategy is to clarify your business objectives and marketing goals. What are you trying to achieve with your market growth strategy?

The answer to this question will inevitably depend on your particular place in the market and your own comfortability with different risk levels. 

Some examples of business and marketing goals include: 

Grow customer base 

Increase sales 

Increase brand awareness 

Whatever your objectives, the purpose is simply to consider what you want to actually accomplish by expanding your marketing efforts. These goals will guide the development of your marketing strategy.

2. Conduct market research. 

Strategic marketing requires a comprehensive understanding of the marketplace, its economic and political context, and your product or service's place within it.

As you are conducting market research, you'll want to consider these factors: 

Competitors, particularly their value proposition and market share

Market size, including the realistic number of customers that would be interested in your products  

Market gaps where you can provide value

Possible economic and political realities that could impact the market in the long-term

 As you gain a better understanding of the market, you will also better understand how you fit into it and where you can grow in it. 

Read more: What Is Competitor Analysis? Definition + Step-by-Step Guide

3. Create a customer profile. 

The purpose of every marketing campaign is to connect with potential customers. Your marketing strategy needs to include a comprehensive profile of your target audience.

Consider your target audience in relation to the four P's. Think through the following: 

Based on what you know about the market, who is your target audience? What are their key demographics? 

What is your product’s value proposition to your customer? (Product)

How much is your target audience willing to pay for your product or service? (Price)

Where does your target audience shop? (Place)

What marketing tactics are most persuasive to your target audience? (Promotion)

As you research and consider these questions, your customer should come more clearly into view, so you can create a strategy with maximum impact. 

4. Synthesize and strategize. 

Finally, take the goals you have outlined, research you have conducted, and profiles you have created to construct a marketing strategy. The critical question you will want to answer is: how will you align with your target market to meet your overall objectives?

Your answer to this question will be your strategy.  

Ultimately, your marketing strategy should cover the following: 

Business and marketing objectives

Market overview, including key facts and figures

Competitor research 

Customer profile

General statement of strategy highlighting the product’s value proposition to customers

You might consider whether a social media strategy makes sense for your product or service. If so, your strategy could include user-generated content. Go a step further to consider which social media channels fits best with your target audience.

While you may have collected much information as you were conducting research, your marketing strategy doesn’t need to be too long. In fact, a strong marketing strategy can be as short as one page. Remember, this is meant to act as long-term guide for directing specific marketing tactics, not an action plan of how a marketing campaign will be done. 

Get market ready 

Whether you are seasoned marketing pro or a budding entrepreneur, develop your marketing prowess by building job-ready skills with the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate .

Article sources

CoSchedule. “ The Marketing Management + Strategy Statistics You Need to Know in 2019 , https://coschedule.com/marketing-statistics.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

Oxford College of Marketing. “ Using the Ansoff Matrix to Develop Marketing Strategy , https://blog.oxfordcollegeofmarketing.com/2016/08/01/using-ansoff-matrix-develop-marketing-strategy/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

The Take Out. “ TIL McDonald’s ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ jingle was born out of desperation , https://thetakeout.com/history-of-mcdonald-s-i-m-lovin-it-jingle-1846400888.” AccessedFebruary 6, 2023.

Chicago Magazine. “ Five Things You Never Knew About ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ , https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/November-2014/McDonalds-Im-Lovin-It-Campaign/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

NYT Wirecutter. “ The Best Mechanical Pencils , https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-mechanical-pencils/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

Wired. “ Kura Toga: The Ultimate Geek Tool , https://www.wired.com/2011/11/kuru-toga-the-ultimate-geek-tool/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

YouTube (Uni Ball UK). “ Uni Kuru Togat from Mutsibishi Pencil Company , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80k7Jl1o8Lc&t=22s.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

Tech Crunch. “ Microsoft expands HoloLens headsets to 29 new markets, now up to 39 , https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/01/microsoft-expands-hololens-headsets-to-29-new-european-markets/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

YouTube (Microsoft HoloLens). “ Microsoft HoloLens: Mixed Reality in the Modern Workspace , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIJM9xNg9xs.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

Computer World. “ Update: Jobs touts iPhone, Apple TV , https://www.computerworld.com/article/2549128/update--jobs-touts-iphone---appletv-.html.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

Earthweb. “ How many people use iPhones in 2022? , https://earthweb.com/how-many-people-use-iphones/.” Accessed February 6, 2023.

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Marketing for IT Companies: Best Strategies for Success

Post main img

As new technologies emerge rapidly and disrupt existing markets, IT companies must excel at communicating the unique value they bring to the table. Without effective marketing, even the best IT solutions risk going unnoticed among the noise.

Yet marketing remains an afterthought for many tech businesses, especially startups. Founders and engineers consider themselves product people, not marketing people. Marketing departments, if they exist at all, tend to be understaffed and underfunded. But the truth is, to succeed, every IT company must have a good marketing team.

Read on as we provide you with the best tech marketing strategies and best practices to promote your company, products, and services successfully. We’ll discuss how technology itself is transforming marketing and generating new opportunities. This includes content marketing, SEO, social media, public relations, demand generation, and building a solid marketing foundation within your company.

marketing strategy for it companies

The Importance of B2B Marketing Strategy for Your IT Business

A targeted B2B marketing strategy is essential for growing and succeeding in the IT industry. There are a few key aspects to focus on:

  • Identify the right customers: Determine which businesses and decision-makers within those companies would benefit most from your IT solutions. Focus your efforts on clients most likely to become long-term partners.
  • Understand your target audience: Within your target companies, identify different buyer personas, such as IT directors, department heads, and end users. Create marketing messages tailored to each persona to maximize conversion.
  • Use account-based marketing: For your most important accounts, deploy a targeted approach. This could mean custom messaging, digital ads aimed at that account, and content tailored to their needs.
  • Establish yourself as a thought leader: Develop original content, research, and insights that demonstrate your IT expertise. Position yourself as a trusted IT advisor and solutions provider.
  • Build relationships: Attend industry events and conferences relevant to your target market. Cultivate relationships with key decision-makers at target accounts. Initially focus on providing value without making direct pitches.
  • Grow your reputation and credibility: Positive reviews and referrals from clients can help grow your B2B IT business. Concentrate on delivering results that generate positive word of mouth.

Marketing Strategies for Tech Companies

Marketing is essential for all businesses. For tech companies, it is more important because of the transforming nature of the industry. Constant innovation and emergence of new technologies mean tech companies must grow. Marketing strategies must be innovative to stay relevant and grow market share. These are some key areas of focus for marketing in the tech world.

Explore and Define Your IT Company’s Target Audience

Defining your target audience is crucial for crafting an effective message and marketing strategy for your IT company. Take the time to explore and identify your primary and secondary customer segments.

Consider the following steps:

  • Map out customer personas: Create detailed personas that represent your ideal customers. Define their demographics, interests, pain points, goals, jobs, challenges, and daily habits. Get as specific as possible with traits that your offerings would most appeal to. Having these personas in mind will help guide your marketing and sales efforts.
  • Determine buying motives: Understand what key needs, problems, or desires your products or services fulfill for your target customers. Why would they want to buy from you? What value or benefits do you provide that competitors don’t? Get inside the mind of your potential buyers to connect emotionally with them.
  • Segment by business size and industry: Consider targeting specific subsets of customers based on factors like company size, industry vertical, and specialty within the IT sector. For example, you may cater to small businesses, mid-size enterprises, or large corporations. Or you may focus on certain industries that require your specialized expertise.
  • Evaluate geographical reach: Decide if you plan to target customers locally, regionally, nationally, or globally. An ideal customer for an IT consulting firm focused on local San Francisco businesses will differ from one serving clients across the U.S. Define your geographical boundaries up front to guide your messaging and marketing channels.
  • Review this analysis regularly: As your IT company grows and changes, revisit your customer personas and target audience definition to ensure alignment. Your ideal buyers may evolve over time as you expand into new markets and service offerings. Stay abreast of trends in the needs of today’s digitally transforming businesses.

Discover All About Your Competitors

Staying on top of competitors is important for any tech company’s success. You need to know what they’re up to so you can adjust your own strategy. Research competitor products, services, and pricing. Check their website and blog to see what new features or improvements they are touting. Read reviews and analyze customer sentiments. Search engine alerts, SEO, and social media monitoring tools can help you stay updated.

marketing strategy for it companies

For example, if you run a software company, you can use social media monitoring tools to give you alerts on your competitor’s target audience. You can then launch a similar marketing campaign to gain the same set of audience.

Analyze competitor marketing and advertising campaigns. Are they using certain keywords you’re not? Try new ad campaigns targeting the same keywords to get more exposure. See which social media platforms and influencers they use, and find new ones for your company.

Study competitor business strategies. Look at which niche segments they are targeting and which they are avoiding. Analyze their growth strategies, such as entering new verticals or geographic markets. If competitors are making certain moves, your company may need to as well to remain competitive.

Pay attention to their partnerships, incentives, and promotions. For example, if competitors launch new customer loyalty programs, see if yours needs improvement. Adapt similar partnership models they used to grow brand awareness. Learn from how they provide added value and incentives to attract and keep customers. The more you know about how competitors market to their customers, the better you can market to yours.

Keeping close watch over competitors allows your tech company to spot new opportunities, threats, and trends early. By understanding and responding to their strategies, you can outmaneuver and stay ahead of competitors to grow your market share. Just tailor your own marketing to your company’s strengths, value proposition, and customer base.

Create a Content Marketing Strategy

Creating well-thought-out content marketing strategies is crucial for tech companies. Content marketing involves creating and sharing relevant and valuable information for your customers through various forms of media. Effective content marketing strategies for a tech company should focus on:

  • Building brand awareness by sharing helpful insights: Publish blogs, articles, videos, case studies, research reports, and e-books that show your expertise in your tech field. Show potential customers how your products and services can solve challenges they face.
  • Providing tips and recommendations: Create content that offers customer-focused tips, recommendations, how-to guides, and solutions related to your technology and industry. This type of helpful, no-sell content attracts an audience and builds trust.
  • Developing inbound leads: Well-crafted and targeted content can generate qualified leads by showing prospects you understand their needs. As customers consume your content, capture their information to nurture them into inbound leads and sales.
  • Distributing content across multiple channels: Share your content across your website, blog, social media channels, email marketing, and more to maximize reach and engagement. Use formats that match each channel’s strengths and audiences.
  • Measuring your results: Track key metrics like content downloads, page views, shares, and inbound leads to determine what content is most effective. Then adjust your strategy to improve results.

Our Blogging service will help you attract organic traffic to your website and boost your brand visibility through high-quality and engaging blog posts. Here’s what we offer:

  • Skilled writers: Our team will hand-pick a talented writer specifically for your projects. They will be briefed on your requirements to deliver high-quality content.
  • Timely delivery: With our efficient ordering system, we’ll ensure your content is delivered on time, keeping up with your publishing schedule.
  • Revisions: Our experts will review the writing, ensuring it is search engine optimized. If revisions are needed, we will work with the writer to refine the content.
  • Hassle-free publishing: Leave the work to us. We’ll take care of publishing the posts on your blog, providing you with a seamless experience.

Discover the Power of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a powerful platform for tech companies to connect with your target audience of business professionals and tech enthusiasts. An active presence on LinkedIn allows a tech company to showcase expertise, build credibility, and establish thought leadership in the industry. You can achieve this through features like publishing content on your company page that explains your products, market knowledge, and vision for the future.

Amazon showcases the innovations of AWS through posts on their LinkedIn Company Page. They provide insights into their products and solutions for businesses moving to the cloud. This establishes them as thought leaders in cloud computing and cloud migration.

Prospective customers and partners are often seeking this type of in-depth information to evaluate a company and its solutions. Employee profiles that highlight their experience, knowledge, and thought leadership can also help position the company as an authority.

By starting useful discussions in groups relevant to their field, a tech company can show insight into key issues and topics affecting their potential customers. You can also connect with qualified leads and partners through InMail messages that introduce the company, mention common connections, and offer to provide more information.

Startups like HubSpot use LinkedIn to find and connect with target customers through InMail. They message Chief Marketing Officers to introduce their growth tools and use mutual connections to build credibility and trust. This helps generate qualified leads and trials for their marketing software.

These activities on LinkedIn help position a tech company as knowledgeable, innovative, and able to meet the needs of its target market. Taking part shows that a tech business understands the problems, opportunities, and trends affecting prospects. It helps in building trust and establishing credibility that can translate into more qualified leads and sales opportunities.

Public Relations for Your Marketing Strategy

Public relations (PR) is an essential component of integrated marketing strategies for you as a tech company. Through PR, you can generate brand exposure and awareness, establish yourself as an industry leader, and improve search engine optimization through free media coverage.

An effective PR strategy for you includes pitching stories to relevant online and print publications, securing guest spots on related podcasts and webinars, and issuing timely press releases about new product launches, partnerships, or achievements. The goal of these PR activities is to garner positive third-party endorsements that give credibility and trust to your brand in the eyes of potential customers.

Media placements in well-known tech publications not only raise your brand awareness but also signal to prospects that you are noteworthy, innovative, and influential. As prospects consume this positive press coverage about you, they view your tech company as an expert and authority — making them more receptive and qualified as leads.

Beyond gaining new customers through PR, positive media exposure also improves your search engine rankings by associating your brand, website, and blog with relevant and trustworthy online sources. With a successful PR strategy, you can see increased traffic, more leads down your sales funnel, and overall improvements to key marketing metrics.

Engage with Social Media

Social media gives tech companies a powerful, affordable way to connect with customers — both existing and potential buyers. Having an active social media presence opens the door for useful two-way conversations. These allow your tech business to:

  • Promote products and raise awareness of your brand
  • Get valuable customer feedback
  • Show customers what makes your company tick and the people behind it
  • Share info and tips that match your company’s personality and values

Create pages on major platforms and post regularly. Your content could include:

  • Tutorials and how-to guides
  • Product announcements
  • Updates from within your company
  • Helpful SEO articles
  • Funny or interesting things that fit your company’s voice
  • Offers and special deals

Respond quickly to customer comments and questions. Encourage your employees to like and share your company’s posts to boost their reach organically.

Use paid promotions and ads when it makes sense to get in front of the right audience.

Most importantly, integrate social media into how you develop products, serve customers, and run your business for a unified presence that feels authentic and consistent.

Our Graphic Design services create captivating designs tailored for social media, helping your business stand out, convey your brand message effectively, and drive engagement and conversions. Elevate your social media presence with eye-catching visuals that make a lasting impression on clients. Here’s what you get:

  • Professional designers: Get matched with a seasoned designer based on your creative brief.
  • Original work: All designs are made from scratch and you have full legal ownership.
  • Scalable and flexible: Easily scale up or down your services, with the flexibility to pause or cancel anytime.
  • Team collaboration: Invite team members and clients to help you request and manage designs.

Email Marketing: Boost Your IT Business

Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective and influential marketing channels for IT businesses. By collecting email addresses of prospects and customers, you can send them branded emails to promote products, services, and upcoming events.

Building an effective email marketing strategy for IT companies starts with obtaining subscriber consent to add them to your list. For your initial emails, focus on providing valuable, relevant content that helps your subscribers. Keep content fresh and useful. Tailor messages according to subscribers’ actions and involvement. Try sending a mix of promotional, informative, and operational emails on a regular basis.

Measure email impact through metrics showing open and click rates. Apply those insights to optimize SEO and subsequent emails. Segment your list into groups based on profiles, past behavior, and email interactions to send targeted campaigns. As your list grows, automate some email workflows to save time and money while still delivering value in each message.

IT Company Marketing: Summary

Marketing is crucial for IT companies to gain visibility, reach prospective customers, and increase revenue. With so many IT companies vying for clients’ attention, using the right strategies is key to standing out from the crowd. Focus on creating valuable content that addresses your customers’ pain points.

Let your expertise and knowledge shine through in all your communications. And above all, maintain a human, personable tone that builds trust and rapport. Success in marketing, like in IT, comes down to strategy, creativity, and, most importantly, meeting people’s true needs. Implement these principles and your IT company can achieve the breakthroughs that transform visions into reality.

Aug 17, 2023

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I’m an online marketing professional with over 10 years of experience. I have a background in web development and SEO, which I leverage to provide high-quality content strategy and content creation for businesses.

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What Is a Marketing Strategy?

  • How It Works
  • Marketing Strategies vs. Plans

How to Create a Marketing Strategy

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Marketing Strategy: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Create One

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A marketing strategy refers to a business’s overall game plan to facilitate the buying and selling of its products or services. A marketing strategy determines how to reach prospective consumers and turn them into customers. It contains the company’s value proposition , key brand messaging, data on target customer  demographics, and other high-level elements.

A thorough marketing strategy covers the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion.

Key Takeaways

  • A marketing strategy is a business’s game plan for reaching prospective consumers and turning them into customers of their products or services.
  • Marketing strategies should revolve around a company’s value proposition.
  • The ultimate goal of a marketing strategy is to achieve and communicate a sustainable competitive advantage over rival companies.

Understanding Marketing Strategies

A clear marketing strategy should revolve around the company’s value proposition, which communicates to consumers what the company stands for, how it operates, and why it deserves its business.

This provides marketing teams with a template that should inform their initiatives across all of the company’s products and services. For example, Walmart ( WMT ) is widely known as a discount retailer with “everyday low prices,” whose business operations and marketing efforts are rooted in that idea.

Marketing Strategies vs. Marketing Plans

The marketing strategy is outlined in the marketing plan —a document that details the specific types of marketing activities that a company conducts and contains timetables for rolling out various marketing initiatives.

Marketing strategies should ideally have longer life spans than individual marketing plans because they contain value propositions and other key elements of a company’s brand, which generally hold constant over the long haul. In other words, marketing strategies cover big-picture messaging, while marketing plans delineate the logistical details of specific campaigns.

For example, a marketing strategy might say that a company aims to increase authority in niche circles where their clients visit. The marketing plan puts that into action by commissioning thought leadership pieces on LinkedIn.

Benefits of a Marketing Strategy

The ultimate goal of a marketing strategy is to achieve and communicate a sustainable competitive advantage over rival companies by understanding the needs and wants of its consumers. Whether it’s a print ad design, mass customization , or a social media campaign, a marketing asset can be judged based on how effectively it communicates a company’s core value proposition.

Market research can help chart the efficacy of a given campaign and can help identify untapped audiences to achieve bottom-line goals and increase sales.

Creating a marketing strategy requires a few steps. Here are some of the steps you should consider when creating your marketing strategy.

  • Identify your goals: While sales are the ultimate goal for every company, you should have more short-term goals such as establishing authority, increasing customer engagement, or generating leads. These smaller goals offer measurable benchmarks for the progress of your marketing plan. Think of strategy as the high-level ideology and planning as how you accomplish your goals.
  • Know your clients: Every product or service has an ideal customer, and you should know who they are and where they hang out. If you sell power tools, you’ll choose marketing channels where general contractors may see your messaging. Establish who your client is and how your product will improve their lives.
  • Create your message: Now that you know your goals and who you’re pitching to, it’s time to create your message. This is your opportunity to show your potential clients how your product or service will benefit them and why you’re the only company that can provide it.
  • Define your budget: How you disperse your messaging may depend on how much you can afford. Will you be purchasing advertising? Hoping for a viral moment on social media organically? Sending out press releases to the media to try to gain coverage? Your budget will dictate what you can afford to do.
  • Determine your channels: Even the best message needs the appropriate venue. Some companies may find more value in creating blog posts for their website. Others may find success with paid ads on social media channels. Find the most appropriate venue for your content.
  • Measure your success: To target your marketing, you need to know whether it is reaching its audience. Determine your metrics and how you’ll judge the success of your marketing efforts.

Why Does a Company Need a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy helps a company direct its advertising dollars to where it will have the most impact. Compared with the data from 2018, the correlation between organization and success in marketers jumped from being almost four times more likely to almost seven times more likely in 2022.

What Do the Four Ps Mean in a Marketing Strategy?

The four Ps are product, price, promotion, and place. These are the key factors that are involved in the marketing of a good or service . The four Ps can be used when planning a new business venture, evaluating an existing offer, or trying to optimize sales with a target audience. It also can be used to test a current marketing strategy on a new audience.

What Does a Marketing Strategy Look Like?

A marketing strategy will detail the advertising, outreach, and public relations campaigns to be carried out by a firm, including how the company will measure the effect of these initiatives.

They will typically follow the four Ps. The functions and components of a marketing plan include market research to support pricing decisions and new market entries, tailored messaging  that targets certain demographics and geographic areas, and platform selection for product and service promotion—digital, radio, Internet, trade magazines, and the mix of those platforms for each campaign, and metrics that measure the results of marketing efforts and their reporting timelines.

Is a Marketing Strategy the Same as a Marketing Plan?

The terms “marketing plan” and “marketing strategy” are often used interchangeably because a marketing plan is developed based on an overarching strategic framework. In some cases, the strategy and the plan may be incorporated into one document, particularly for smaller companies that may only run one or two major campaigns in a year. The plan outlines marketing activities on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, while the marketing strategy outlines the overall value proposition.

Companies need to sell their products and services to generate revenue and put them on the path of being a successful business. To sell their products or services, they have to let consumers know of them. They must also convince consumers to buy them as well as convert consumers from competitors. Having a marketing strategy that outlines this process and more is a crucial step in converting consumers into customers.

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How to create a winning marketing plan, with 3 examples from world-class teams

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A marketing plan helps leaders clearly visualize marketing strategies across channels, so they can ensure every campaign drives pipeline and revenue. In this article you’ll learn eight steps to create a winning marketing plan that brings business-critical goals to life, with examples from word-class teams.

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To be successful as a marketer, you have to deliver the pipeline and the revenue.”

In other words—they need a well-crafted marketing plan.

Level up your marketing plan to drive revenue in 2024

Learn how to create the right marketing plan to hit your revenue targets in 2024. Hear best practices from marketing experts, including how to confidently set and hit business goals, socialize marketing plans, and move faster with clearer resourcing.

level up your marketing plan to drive revenue in 2024

7 steps to build a comprehensive marketing plan

How do you build the right marketing plan to hit your revenue goals? Follow these eight steps for success:

1. Define your plan

First you need to define each specific component of your plan to ensure stakeholders are aligned on goals, deliverables, resources, and more. Ironing out these details early on ensures your plan supports the right business objectives, and that you have sufficient resources and time to get the job done. 

Get started by asking yourself the following questions: 

What resources do I need? 

What is the vision?

What is the value?

What is the goal?

Who is my audience?

What are my channels?

What is the timeline?

For example, imagine you’re creating an annual marketing plan to improve customer adoption and retention in the next fiscal year. Here’s how you could go through the questions above to ensure you’re ready to move forward with your plan: 

I will need support from the content team, web team, and email team to create targeted content for existing customers. One person on each team will need to be dedicated full-time to this initiative. To achieve this, the marketing team will need an additional $100K in budget and one new headcount. 

What is the vision?  

To create a positive experience for existing customers, address new customer needs, and encourage them to upgrade. We’ll do this by serving them how-to content, new feature updates, information about deals and pricing, and troubleshooting guides. 

According to the Sales Benchmark Index (SBI) , CEOs and go-to-market leaders report that more than 60% of their net-new revenue will come from existing customers in 2023. By retaining and building on the customers we have, we can maintain revenue growth over time. 

To decrease the customer churn rate from 30% to 10%, and increase upgrades from 20% to 30% in the next fiscal year. 

All existing customers. 

The main channel will be email. Supporting marketing channels include the website, blog, YouTube, and social media. 

The first half of the next fiscal year. 

One of the most important things to do as you create your marketing strategy is to identify your target audience . As with all marketing, you need to know who you’re marketing to. If you’re having a hard time determining who exactly your target audience is, try the bullseye targeting framework . The bullseye makes it easy for you to determine who your target audience is by industry, geography, company size, psychographics, demographics, and more.

2. Identify key metrics for success 

Now it’s time to define what key marketing metrics you’ll use to measure success. Your key metrics will help you measure and track the performance of your marketing activities. They’ll also help you understand how your efforts tie back to larger business goals. 

Once you establish key metrics, use a goal-setting framework—like objectives and key results (OKRs) or SMART goals —to fully flush out your marketing objectives. This ensures your targets are as specific as possible, with no ambiguity about what should be accomplished by when. 

Example: If a goal of your marketing plan is to increase email subscriptions and you follow the SMART goal framework (ensuring your objective is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) your goal might look like this: Increase email subscription rate from 10% to 20% in H1 . 

3. Research your competition 

It’s easy to get caught up in your company’s world, but there’s a lot of value in understanding your competitors . Knowing how they market themselves will help you find opportunities to make your company stand out and capture more market share.

Make sure you’re not duplicating your competitors’ efforts. If you discover a competitor has already executed your idea, then it might be time to go back to the drawing board and brainstorm new ways to differentiate yourself.  By looking at your competitors, you might be surprised at the type of inspiration and opportunities you’ll find.

To stay ahead of market trends, conduct a SWOT analysis for your marketing plan. A SWOT analysis helps you improve your plan by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

Example: If your competitor launches a social media campaign identical to what you had planned, go back to the drawing board and see how you can build off their campaign. Ask yourself: How can we differentiate our campaign while still getting our message across? What are the weaknesses of their campaign that we can capitalize on? What angles did they not approach?

4. Integrate your marketing efforts

Here’s where the fun comes in. Let’s dive into the different components that go into building a successful marketing plan. You’ll want to make sure your marketing plan includes multiple supporting activities that all add up into a powerful marketing machine. Some marketing plan components include: 

Lead generation

Social media

Product marketing

Public relations

Analyst relations

Customer marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Conversational marketing

Knowing where your consumer base spends the most time is significant for nailing this step. You need to have a solid understanding of your target audience before integrating your marketing efforts. 

Example: If your target audience is executives that spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, focus your social media strategy around placing branded content on LinkedIn. 

5. Differentiate with creative content

Forty-nine percent of marketers say visual images are hugely important to their content strategy. In other words, a clear brand and creative strategy is an essential component to every marketing plan. As you craft your own creative strategy, here are some tips to keep in mind: 

Speak to your audience: When defining your creative strategy, think about your audience—what you want them to feel, think, and do when they see your marketing. Will your audience find your creative work relevant? If your audience can’t relate to your creative work, they won’t feel connected to the story you’re trying to tell. 

Think outside the box: Find innovative ways to engage your audience, whether through video, animations, or interactive graphics. Know what screens your creative work will live on, whether desktop, mobile, or tablet, and make sure they display beautifully and load quickly across every type of device. 

Tie everything back to CTAs: It’s easy to get caught up in the creative process, so it’s important to never lose sight of your ultimate goal: Get your audience to take action. Always find the best way to display strong Calls to Action (CTAs) in your creative work. We live in a visual world—make sure your creative content counts.

Streamline creative production:   Once you’ve established a strong creative strategy, the next step is to bring your strategy to life in the production stage. It’s vital to set up a strong framework for your creative production process to eliminate any unnecessary back and forth and potential bottlenecks. Consider establishing creative request forms , streamlining feedback and approval processes, and taking advantage of integrations that might make your designers’ lives easier.

Example: If your brand is fun and approachable, make sure that shows in your creative efforts. Create designs and CTAs that spark joy, offer entertainment, and alleviate the pressure in choosing a partner.

6. Operationalize your marketing plan

Turn your plan into action by making goals, deliverables, and timelines clear for every stakeholder—so teams stay accountable for getting work done. The best way to do this is by centralizing all the details of your marketing plan in one platform , so teams can access the information they need and connect campaign work back to company goals.  

With the right work management tool , you can: 

Set goals for every marketing activity, and connect campaign work to overarching marketing and business objectives so teams focus on revenue-driving projects. 

Centralize deliverables for your entire marketing plan in one project or portfolio .

Mark major milestones and visualize your plan as a timeline, Gantt chart, calendar, list, or Kanban board—without doing any extra work. 

Quickly loop in stakeholders with status updates so they’re always up to date on progress. This is extremely important if you have a global team to ensure efforts aren’t being duplicated. 

Use automations to seamlessly hand off work between teams, streamlining processes like content creation and reviews. 

Create dashboards to report on work and make sure projects are properly staffed , so campaigns stay on track. 

With everything housed in one spot, you can easily visualize the status of your entire marketing plan and keep work on track. Building an effective marketing plan is one thing, but how you operationalize it can be your secret to standout marketing.

Example: If your strategy focuses on increasing page views, connect all campaign work to an overarching OKR—like “we will double page views as measured by the amount of organic traffic on our blog.” By making that goal visible to all stakeholders, you help teams prioritize the right work. 

See marketing planning in action

With Asana, marketing teams can connect work, standardize processes, and automate workflows—all in one place.

See marketing planning in action

7. Measure performance

Nearly three in four CMOs use revenue growth to measure success, so it’s no surprise that measuring performance is necessary. You established your key metrics in step two, and now it’s time to track and report on them in step eight.

Periodically measure your marketing efforts to find areas of improvement so you can optimize in real-time. There are always lessons to be learned when looking at data. You can discover trends, detect which marketing initiatives performed well, and course-correct what isn’t performing well. And when your plan is complete, you can apply these learnings to your next initiative for improved results. 

Example: Say you discover that long-form content is consistently bringing in 400% more page views than short-form content. As a result, you’ll want to focus on producing more long-form content in your next marketing plan.

Marketing plan examples from world-class teams

The best brands in the world bring their marketing plans to life every day. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these examples from successful marketing teams.

Autodesk grows site traffic 30% three years in a row

When the Autodesk team launched Redshift, it was initially a small business blog. The editorial team executed a successful marketing plan to expand it into a premier owned-media site, making it a destination for stories and videos about the future of making. 

The team scaled content production to support seven additional languages. By standardizing their content production workflow and centralizing all content conversations in one place, the editorial team now publishes 2X more content monthly. Read the case study to learn more about how Autodesk runs a well-oiled content machine.

Sony Music boosts creative production capacity by 4X

In recent years the music industry has gone through a pivotal transition—shifting from album sales to a streaming business model. For marketing and creative teams at Sony Music, that meant adopting an “always on” campaign plan. 

The team successfully executed this campaign plan by centralizing creative production and approvals in one project. By standardizing processes, the team reduced campaign production time by 75%. Read the case study to learn more about how Sony Music successfully scaled their creative production process.

Trinny London perfects new customer acquisition 

In consumer industries, social media is crucial for building a community of people who feel an affinity with the brand—and Trinny London is no exception. As such, it was imperative that Trinny London’s ad spend was targeted to the correct audience. Using a work management tool, Trinny London was able to nail the process of creating, testing, and implementing ads on multiple social channels.

With the help of a centralized tool, Trinny London improved its ad spend and drove more likes and subscriptions on its YouTube page. Read the case study to learn more about how Trinny London capitalized on paid advertising and social media. 

Turn your marketing plan into marketing success 

A great marketing plan promotes clarity and accountability across teams—so every stakeholder knows what they’re responsible for, by when. Reading this article is the first step to achieving better team alignment, so you can ensure every marketing campaign contributes to your company’s bottom line. 

Use a free marketing plan template to get started

Once you’ve created your marketing strategy and are ready to operationalize your marketing plan, get started with one of our marketing templates . 

Our marketing templates can help you manage and track every aspect of your marketing plan, from creative requests to approval workflows. Centralize your entire marketing plan in one place, customize the roadmap, assign tasks, and build a timeline or calendar. 

Once you’ve operationalized your entire marketing plan with one of our templates, share it with your stakeholders so everyone can work together in the same tool. Your entire team will feel connected to the marketing plan, know what to prioritize, and see how their work contributes to your project objectives . Choose the best marketing template for your team:

Marketing project plan template

Marketing campaign plan template

Product marketing launch template

Editorial calendar template

Agency collaboration template

Creative requests template

Event planning template

GTM strategy template

Still have questions? We have answers. 

What is a marketing plan.

A marketing plan is a detailed roadmap that outlines the different strategies your team will use to achieve organizational objectives. Rather than focusing solely on the end goal, a marketing plan maps every step you need to reach your destination—whether that’s driving pipeline for sales, nurturing your existing customer base, or something in-between. 

As a marketing leader, you know there’s never a shortage of great campaign and project ideas. A marketing plan gives you a framework to effectively prioritize work that aligns to overarching business goals—and then get that work done. Some elements of marketing plans include:

Current business plan

Mission statement  

Business goals

Target customers  

Competitive analysis 

Current marketing mix

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Marketing budget  

What is the purpose of a marketing plan?

The purpose of a marketing plan is to grow your company’s consumer base and strengthen your brand, while aligning with your organization’s mission and vision . The plan should analyze the competitive landscape and industry trends, offer actionable insights to help you gain a competitive advantage, and document each step of your strategy—so you can see how your campaigns work together to drive overarching business goals. 

What is the difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy? 

A marketing plan contains many marketing strategies across different channels. In that way, marketing strategies contribute to your overall marketing plan, working together to reach your company’s overarching business goals.

For example, imagine you’re about to launch a new software product and the goal of your marketing plan is to drive downloads. Your marketing plan could include marketing strategies like creating top-of-funnel blog content and launching a social media campaign. 

What are different types of marketing plans? 

Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, what your timeline is, or which facet of marketing you’re driving, you’ll need to create a different type of marketing plan. Some different types of marketing plans include, but aren’t limited to:

General marketing plan: A general marketing plan is typically an annual or quarterly marketing plan that details the overarching marketing strategies for the period. This type of marketing plan outlines marketing goals, the company’s mission, buyer personas, unique selling propositions, and more. A general marketing plan lays the foundation for other, more specific marketing plans that an organization may employ. 

Product launch marketing plan: A product launch marketing plan is a step-by-step plan for marketing a new product or expanding into a new market. It helps you build awareness and interest by targeting the right audience, with the right messaging, in the right timeframe—so potential customers are ready to buy your new offering right away. Nailing your product launch marketing plan can reinforce your overall brand and fast-track sales. For a step-by-step framework to organize all the moving pieces of a launch, check out our product marketing launch template .

Paid marketing plan: This plan includes all the paid strategies in your marketing plan, like pay-per-click, paid social media advertising, native advertising, and display advertising. It’s especially important to do audience research prior to launching your paid marketing plan to ensure you’re maximizing ROI. Consult with content strategists to ensure your ads align with your buyer personas so you know you’re showing ads to the right people. 

Content marketing plan: A content marketing plan outlines the different content strategies and campaigns you’ll use to promote your product or service. When putting together a content marketing plan, start by identifying your audience. Then use market research tools to get the best insights into what topics your target audience is most interested in.

SEO marketing plan: Your SEO marketing plan should work directly alongside your content marketing plan as you chart content that’s designed to rank in search results. While your content marketing plan should include all types of content, your SEO marketing plan will cover the top-of-funnel content that drives new users to your site. Planning search engine-friendly content is only one step in your SEO marketing plan. You’ll also need to include link-building and technical aspects in order to ensure your site and content are as optimized as possible.

Social media marketing plan: This plan will highlight the marketing strategies you plan to accomplish on social media. Like in any general or digital marketing plan , your social media strategy should identify your ideal customer base and determine how they engage on different social media platforms. From there, you can cater your social media content to your target audience.  

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The Technology Marketer's Guide to Successful B2B Campaigns

Back to blog.

Whitney Mitchell

Whitney Mitchell

September 6, 2023.

In the high-speed world of technology, the right marketing strategy can be the difference between leading the pack or trailing behind. For B2B technology and software companies, this challenge is amplified as they strive to stand out in a crowded market, reach their target audience, and convince them of the value they offer. But fear not! This comprehensive guide is designed to help technology companies navigate the complex landscape of B2B marketing. It is packed with strategies and insights on how to boost lead generation, create engaging content, and optimize your website for better search engine visibility.

Leveraging the expertise of Beacon Digital Marketing, a leading agency specializing in inbound and account-based marketing, this guide aims to equip your company with the tools needed to achieve measurable growth and make a significant impact in your industry. 

Understanding B2B Marketing in the Tech Industry

In the lightning-fast world of technology, standing out from the crowd is no easy feat. The challenge compounds when your audience isn't the everyday consumer, but other businesses. Welcome to B2B marketing in the tech industry , where the stakes are high, and the rewards even higher.

Navigating the B2B Tech Landscape

Success in the B2B tech space hinges on a keen understanding of the industry's unique dynamics. At its core, it's about marketing a technology product or service to other businesses. These could range from SaaS (Software as a Service) products and enterprise technology solutions to cybersecurity systems and AI software.

A crucial first step in your B2B tech marketing journey is defining what category your product or service falls into. This categorization is vital as it influences how potential clients perceive and discover your offering. For instance, if you're marketing an AI-powered cybersecurity solution, your category could be 'AI-driven cybersecurity software.'

The Three Pillars of B2B Tech Marketing

Commonly, B2B tech marketing strategies fall into three types: SaaS Marketing, Enterprise Technology Marketing, and the ones in-between. Each type requires a slightly different approach, yet they all share common rules of success.

  • Define Your Category: Know the tech category your product belongs to. This will guide your entire marketing strategy.
  • Data First, Creativity Second: Data should guide your marketing decisions. Creativity, while essential, should follow data insights.
  • Craft Unique Content: Create content that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from your competitors.
  • Work Backwards from Revenue: Align your marketing tactics with your revenue and growth goals.
  • Use Data to Aid Your Content Strategy: Leverage data to create content that resonates with your audience.
  • Marketing Content Fuels Everything: Your content fuels all your marketing efforts, from SEO to social media.
  • Make It Easy to Buy from Your Company: Simplify the purchasing process to make it easy for businesses to buy from you.

To cap it off, successful B2B tech marketing rests on a deep understanding of your product's category, a data-driven approach, and a commitment to creating unique, engaging content. With these in place, you're well on your way to crafting a marketing strategy that resonates with your target audience and drives business growth. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the key marketing strategies for tech companies in the next section.

Key B2B Marketing Tactics for Tech Companies

Let's dive into the heart of the matter - the key marketing tactics you need to be considering for your B2B technology company. Each strategy carries its own unique advantages and, when combined, they can create a powerful marketing engine that drives results.

Content Marketing: The Power of Storytelling

In the realm of B2B marketing, content is king. The right content can engage, inform, and inspire your audience, driving them to take action. But how do you create compelling content? The secret lies in storytelling. By weaving a narrative around your product or service, you can make complex tech concepts more digestible and relatable. Whether it's blog posts , white papers, or case studies, make sure your content provides value and aligns with your brand's narrative.

Email Marketing: Nurturing Leads and Building Relationships

Despite the rise of social media and other communication platforms, email marketing remains a vital tool in the B2B marketer's arsenal. It provides a direct line of communication to your prospects and existing customers, and when done right, can nurture leads and build long-lasting relationships. Remember, avoid the "spray and pray" approach. Personalization is key to higher conversions.

Branded Games: Engaging Customers in a Unique Way

As unconventional as it may sound, branded games can be a powerful marketing tool. They engage customers in a fun and interactive way, fostering positive brand associations. Plus, they can be used to capture valuable customer data. A game could be a great addition to your next trade show or online campaign.

Organic Social Media: Building a Community Around Your Brand

Organic social media is about more than just sharing content. It's about fostering a community around your brand. Engage with your followers, respond to their comments, and share content that resonates with them. Remember, each social media platform has its own unique audience and tone, so tailor your messaging accordingly.

Paid Social Media: Reaching a Larger Audience

While organic social media can foster a tight-knit community, paid social media can help you reach a larger (and more strategic) audience. Platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram allow you to target your advertising based on factors like job title, industry, and location, ensuring your message gets in front of the right people at the right companies.

PPC Advertising: Driving Traffic and Generating Leads

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads. By targeting specific keywords related to your business, you can ensure your ads appear when potential customers are searching for your offerings. Remember, the goal of your PPC campaign should be more than just getting clicks - it should be about converting those clicks into valuable leads.

Influencer Marketing: Leveraging Authority and Trust

Influencer marketing is not just for B2C companies. Leveraging the authority and trust of industry leaders can help you reach a wider audience and build credibility. Consider partnering with influencers who align with your brand values and can authentically promote your offerings to their followers.

Remember, the success of your marketing strategy hinges on understanding your audience and delivering value at every touchpoint. As you refine your strategy, don't forget to measure your results and adjust your approach as needed.

The Role of Inbound and Account-Based Marketing in Tech B2B

In the digital age, B2B marketing for technology companies has evolved into a highly targeted, customer-centric approach.

Two strategies that have proven to be effective are inbound marketing and account-based marketing (ABM). These methods focus on delivering value to the customer and personalizing interactions, fostering stronger relationships and driving conversions.

Inbound Marketing: Attracting Customers Through Valuable Content

Inbound marketing is a customer-oriented approach that revolves around attracting potential clients through content creation. This method employs blogs, videos, social media posts, and other forms of content to educate and engage audiences, turning them into leads and, eventually, customers.

For tech companies, the key to successful inbound marketing lies in understanding the specific needs of their audience. It's crucial to create high-value content that answers industry-related questions, offers solutions to common problems, and establishes the company as a thought leader. This not only attracts potential customers but also builds credibility and trust.

Inbound marketing is also about leveraging SEO and data analytics. By optimizing content for search engines and analyzing data, tech companies can improve their online visibility, understand their audience's behavior, and fine-tune their content strategy for better results.

Account-Based Marketing: Personalizing Your Approach for Key Accounts

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is another powerful strategy for B2B tech companies. Instead of casting a wide net, ABM focuses on targeting specific high-value accounts with personalized marketing campaigns. This approach aligns marketing and sales efforts, creating a unified strategy for attracting and converting key accounts.

In the world of ABM, personalization is the name of the game . This involves tailoring content, messages, and campaigns to resonate with the unique needs and pain points of each target account. It's about speaking directly to them, showing that you understand their challenges, and positioning your product or service as the perfect solution.

Successful ABM requires in-depth knowledge of each target account, including the key decision-makers and their roles. Leveraging tools like marketing automation and intent data can help in delivering personalized experiences and reaching buyers earlier in the buying process.

In conclusion, both inbound marketing and account-based marketing play vital roles in B2B tech marketing. By combining these strategies, tech companies can attract a wider audience, engage key accounts, and drive conversions, ultimately leading to business growth.

Beacon Digital: An Integrated B2B Marketing Agency

In the competitive tech industry, aligning different facets of your marketing strategy is paramount. Let's take a look at how Beacon Digital Marketing, a leading B2B marketing agency, integrates various components of their marketing strategy to create successful campaigns for their tech clients. This case study will focus on four key areas: design, content production, marketing operations, and performance analysis.

Design: Creating a Cohesive and Engaging Brand Image

In the digital landscape, first impressions often come from your brand's design. Beacon Digital Marketing understands the importance of a cohesive and engaging brand image. We offer services like Web & UX Strategy , Site Architectures, and Conversion Rate Optimization to help tech companies create a user-friendly and visually appealing online presence. This not only helps in attracting potential clients but also in retaining existing ones, thereby increasing brand loyalty.

Content Production: Delivering Value to Your Audience

Beacon Digital Marketing leverages various content types, from SEO-optimized blog posts to interactive resources like ROI calculators , to deliver value to our client's audiences. Our content strategies embrace the power of storytelling, addressing the pain points of our client's target audience, and providing solutions. This approach not only enhances our client's online visibility but also positions them as a thought leader in their industry, attracting high-quality leads and nurturing existing relationships.

Marketing Operations: Streamlining Processes for Efficiency

Efficiency is a critical component of any successful marketing strategy. Beacon Digital specializes in implementing platforms like HubSpot Sales Hub, Marketing Hub, and Service Hub to streamline marketing operations. Our expertise in Marketing Automation & Lead Scoring, Marketing Analytics Reporting & Dashboards, and Ongoing HubSpot, Pardot, and SalesForce Support ensures that our clients' marketing efforts are well-coordinated and efficient, driving consistent results.

Performance Analysis: Measuring Impact and Guiding Strategy

Finally, Beacon Digital Marketing emphasizes the importance of performance analysis in guiding strategy. We use tools like Google Analytics, GA4, Data Studio & Tag Manager to measure the impact of our campaigns, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. We understand that in the ever-evolving tech industry, continuous optimization based on performance metrics is key to staying ahead of the competition.

In summary, Beacon Digital Marketing's integrated approach to B2B marketing strategy demonstrates how aligning design, content production, marketing operations, and performance analysis can drive significant results for tech companies. 

How to Implement These Strategies for Your Tech Company

Now that we've unpacked the key B2B marketing strategies for tech companies, it's time to implement them. This might seem like a daunting task, but by breaking it down into manageable steps, you'll be on your way to a robust marketing strategy. Let's explore these steps in detail.

Understanding Your Audience

To start, you need to have a clear understanding of your audience . Who are you trying to reach with your marketing efforts? What are their needs and pain points? By identifying your target audience, you can tailor your marketing strategies to speak directly to them. Remember, it's not about shouting the loudest; it's about speaking the right language to the right people.

Setting Clear Goals

Next, set clear, measurable goals for your marketing efforts. As outlined in How to Set and Track Your B2B Marketing Goals , 55% of B2B content marketers don't have a working definition of what success looks like. Don't fall into this trap. Define what success will look like for your company and set specific goals to get there. Whether it's increasing revenue, shortening the sales cycle, or tripling your leads, your goals will serve as the roadmap for your marketing strategy.

Choosing the Right Channels

With your audience and goals defined, it's time to choose the right channels for your marketing efforts. Whether it's content marketing, email marketing, branded games, social media, PPC advertising, or influencer marketing, each channel has its strengths and weaknesses. The key is to choose the channels that align with your audience's preferences and your company's goals.

Creating a Content Strategy

Content is king in the digital marketing world. But, it's not just about creating content; it's about creating the right content. Develop a content strategy that addresses your audience's needs and pain points while positioning your company as a trusted authority in your industry. Remember, the goal is to provide value, not just to sell your products.

Measuring and Adjusting Your Strategy

Finally, don't forget to measure your results and adjust your strategy as needed. Marketing is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. It requires constant monitoring and tweaking to ensure you're achieving your goals. Use the tools and metrics available to you to track your progress and make data-driven decisions.

In essence, by understanding your audience, setting clear goals, choosing the right channels, creating a compelling content strategy, and continuously measuring and adjusting your strategy, you can implement a successful B2B marketing strategy for your tech company. Remember, it's not about doing everything but doing what works best for your company and your audience.

Conclusion: The Future of B2B Marketing for Tech Companies

The world of B2B marketing for technology companies is rapidly evolving. The strategies that worked yesterday may not be as effective tomorrow. However, there are a few trends you can bank on as we forge ahead.

Firstly, human-to-human (H2H) marketing will continue to gain traction. As tech companies strive to be more personable, the focus will be on building genuine connections with customers. This strategy breaks down the barriers of traditional B2B marketing, allowing for more authentic and meaningful interactions.

Secondly, account-based marketing (ABM) will remain a steadfast approach. With its ability to personalize marketing efforts to specific accounts, ABM offers a high return on investment and is particularly effective for tech companies with a niche target audience.

Thirdly, expect to see an increased focus on influencer marketing. As highlighted in 3 Ideas for B2B Marketers: June 2022 , influencer campaigns are becoming increasingly popular in the B2B marketing landscape. Tech companies can leverage these influencers to reach a larger audience and build brand credibility.

Finally, the importance of SEO cannot be overstated. As The Future of Marketing Automation explains, a solid SEO strategy is vital for tech companies to improve their search engine visibility and drive traffic to their website.

In all, the future of B2B marketing for tech companies is exciting, with numerous opportunities for growth and innovation. With the right strategies in place, tech companies can expect to stay ahead of the curve, reach their target audience more effectively, and ultimately drive business growth.

Remember, the key to successful B2B marketing lies in understanding your audience, leveraging the right strategies, and constantly evolving with the changing landscape. Stay informed, stay adaptable, and the future is yours for the taking.

About Beacon Digital Marketing

After exploring the ins and outs of B2B marketing for tech companies, it's clear that a successful campaign requires a deep understanding of the industry and a strategic approach. But, you don't have to navigate these waters alone. Enter Beacon Digital Marketing, your trusted partner in charting the course to success.

Beacon Digital Marketing is a leading B2B marketing agency specializing in helping technology companies, including those in the cyber security and fintech sectors, enhance their lead generation and marketing strategy. We bring to the table our substantial expertise in both inbound and account-based marketing. This is not just an agency that knows the theory, but one that has a proven track record of delivering real results for its clients.

We offer a full suite of services tailored to the unique needs of tech businesses. These include strategy and insights , creative and copywriting , performance marketing , and video and podcast production . They also provide content strategy and SEO , web UX, design, and development , and marketing technology and data services.

What sets Beacon Digital apart is our commitment to data-driven strategies. We appreciate that in the fast-paced world of technology, decisions need to be informed by hard data and not just gut feelings. Our team members hold a wide variety of certifications, including in email marketing, growth-driven design, content marketing, and HubSpot marketing software, demonstrating our dedication to staying on the cutting edge of industry trends and best practices.

With an impressive client retention rate and a highly trained and motivated team, Beacon Digital Marketing is a trusted partner for technology companies seeking to amplify their brand, improve their online presence, and drive business growth.

Whether you're a startup looking to break into the market or an established company seeking to breathe new life into your marketing strategy, Beacon Digital Marketing has the expertise, tools, and passion to help you achieve your goals. Reach out to them today to see how we can put your brand on the map.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter for More Insights

Stay ahead of the curve and never miss out on the latest insights and strategies in the world of B2B marketing for tech companies. By subscribing to the Beacon Digital Marketing newsletter, you gain access to a wealth of industry knowledge and expert advice, curated and delivered directly to your inbox.

Whether you're interested in the latest trends in content marketing for B2B, need tips on nurturing leads through email marketing , or want to understand how inbound and account-based marketing can revolutionize your business, our newsletter has you covered.

We regularly feature case studies, like how Beacon Digital Marketing has helped companies like yours improve their lead generation , conversion rates, and brand awareness. Our resources range from E-books like ' The Beacon Digital Index: Cyber Security Marketplace ' to blogs featuring success stories of companies we've assisted in various industries.

Plus, you'll be the first to know about any new services or updates that can further enhance your marketing efforts. It's a great way to stay informed and keep your finger on the pulse of B2B marketing trends.

To subscribe to our newsletter, simply provide your email address. Rest assured, we respect your privacy and are committed to sending only valuable and relevant content. Plus, you can opt-out at any time.

So why wait? Subscribe today and join a community of tech professionals dedicated to driving growth and innovation through effective B2B marketing.

Posted In: Social Media , Content Marketing , Paid Search , Email Nurture , SaaS

Whitney Mitchell

Whitney is a natural leader with a knack for creating something out of nothing. She’s helped dozens of brands gain greater recognition for their causes and products in the digital world. Whitney’s experience doing literally every job Beacon offers, from graphic designer to operations to web developer means she’s not afraid to roll up her sleeves and dig in when it comes to helping Beacon’s clients build the future of business.

© 2024 Beacon Digital Marketing. All rights reserved.

May 29, 2021

13 min read

Marketing for IT companies: The best strategies to use

marketing strategy for it companies

Most people likely know how fast things can change in the digital marketing world. Adjusting to these changes and changing with them is essential.

This allows companies to provide customers with products that fit their needs. Digital marketing strategies need to comply with market advancements and customer interests.

Even though they can be very useful, it's not all about using innovative strategies.

For an organization to maximize investment initiatives, they need the best marketing tools. This includes strategies to engage customers.

Engage customers by proving that you understand the challenges faced in the industry. Companies should also show that they’re thought leaders.

This article showcases some of the best marketing strategies for IT companies. By applying these strategies, companies can use their energy, time, and resources wisely.

These are key to marketing for IT companies.

A Website Based On the Conversion Process

marketing strategy for it companies

In the past, it was easier for tech companies to sell products because they didn't need to do a lot of marketing. This is because their technology almost sold itself.

Today content marketing is very important.

In the past, tech companies would grow by word of mouth. That is why many of these companies have bad websites with even worse user experiences.

Nowadays, a website must be impressive, even flawless. Customers view it as an indicator of a companies’ credibility and product quality.

This is especially true for tech companies.

Remember that a website is a customer’s first impression of the company. So, it's a good idea to invest some time and money into making a good website.

This is important marketing for IT companies. Make sure to add these key elements to the website:

Design and UX

To look like the IT powerhouse that you are, use a professional, sleek, and intuitive design.

Think mobile-first

Many IT marketing website visitors use computers or desktops, but this doesn't matter. Google will only display the mobile version of the website, so it better be a good one.

Good, professional SEO can place a website at the top of the first page on a search engine. The more clicks and views a website has, the more leads you'll receive.

Accessibility

To ensure that everyone enjoys the website and has a good experience, make sure it holds up to accessibility standards.

Google and people only want the fastest technology and sites. Make sure the web.dev performance score is up to date and above 70 at the least.

A website isn't just a marketing tool to keep up with tech companies and the digital market. It can also become a hub for:

  • online presence
  • social media platform presence
  • joining expert content
  • explanation of service
  • target audience

A web design can be very attractive to users but it can also cause a loss of conversion opportunities. You might wonder why this happens.

It's because these websites start to prioritize aesthetics over utility. This can be a big mistake in marketing for IT companies.

This is why content marketing matters.

A website shouldn't simply be a marketing showcase to the customers. It should be a tool to find information on the product or service provided.

It should be able to facilitate navigation for users. This will help connect with the target audience.

If using a dynamic web design, make sure it doesn't get in the way of the user experience. In marketing for IT companies, it is vital to verify that it is convenient and user-friendly.

Content Marketing

Content is the most important aspect of a marketing strategy. Some may even say it is the key to IT services marketing.

The strategy is to attract target audiences, generate new business, and qualify new leads.

As may be obvious, it’s best to avoid blindly making content.

Content creation requires a careful assessment of customers' wants and needs. Any content marketing must meet those wants and needs in order to attain leads.

Don't try to bait people by using content marketing that has keywords and such.

Using keywords will help search engines to find you. But they won’t necessarily draw target customers.

The aim should be to create content that solves real-world problems. It should satisfy real desires without requiring a purchase.

Try to publish content that is original. Make sure to release content that will work for each stage of the sales process.

Using multiple formats is always a good strategy. This can help to make the most of a website and appeal to a wider audience.

For example, experiment with formats like:

Attract Prospects Looking to Solve a Problem

marketing strategy for it companies

Say there is a problem, it could be a customer service problem or a coding one. Where do you go to find a solution?

Or maybe you know the fix but don't exactly know how to do it. Where do you go to find help or even someone who can fix it?

For most people nowadays, performing a Google search is the first step. This is the foundation of content marketing for IT companies.

Blogs are another great way to attract people to a site. They can become interested in the brand as well.

Blogs can be specific or general. They can also target any stage in the buyer's journey.

To use a blog to the fullest, it should be:

  • buyer-centric
  • informative

Blogs are usually focused on educating readers, not selling to them. Customers are looking for answers to their questions in the content, making you an expert.

Demonstrate that you understand their problems and the challenges that exist. Most important of all, show that you know how to help.

This can build trust in the mind of customers and is part of building a relationship.

Influencer Marketing

B2B marketing via influencers may seem ridiculous to some.

But this type of influencer isn't the kind that one’s teenage daughter follows. These IT influencers are sources for publications and speakers at industry events.

These are the people one would want to run into whenever the opportunity arises.

One mention of your brand from the mouth of one of these influencers can be a big deal. This can expand company awareness and drive many new leads as well.

In the IT industry, these influencers are especially important. Customers are almost always going to take the advice of professionals.

They take the advice in order to make good purchasing choices. So, a recommendation for your product is almost like a sure sale.

This is because buyers often lack experience and knowledge when making these choices. Technology consumers often know this.

They also usually understand the biases that relate to the branded marketing. That is why most buyers rely on expert opinions.

Buyers are increasingly reliant on professionals and influencers in the IT industry for their digital marketing. This gives IT companies an amazing opportunity.

They can now leverage influencers to market their products. This is especially effective if the influencer has a large following and credibility.

Below are three steps to quickly develop an influencer marketing program.

Identify Target Buyers

A company needs to be noticed by these influencers. To do that, it’s necessary to understand the people that make up the target market or target audience.

Try to figure out what kind of people they follow and admire. It always helps to understand what type of platforms they like as well.

Part of this is also finding out their wants, needs, and desires. Finding solutions to customer problems is the best thing for lead generation.

Determine Industry Influencers

marketing strategy for it companies

Influencers are individuals that have established themselves in a given industry. They are professional individuals known for their expertise.

They have built a large number of followers. For these followers, they become a go-to source for information and advice.

They can help motivate consumers to buy specific products or become loyal to brands.

Build Social Credibility

Influencers need market credibility. Followers must perceive them as independent thinkers, not product or brand marketers.

Being an independent and thoughtful industry leader is important in IT marketing. Influencers won't collaborate with companies that are only looking for free publicity.

Event Marketing

marketing strategy for it companies

Networking is another grassroots method that is still effective in the digital age. Ultimately humans thrive on relationships.

Networking takes a long-term approach to professional relationships. A coworker or a person sitting next to you at a conference could become a valuable contact years down the road.

Consider hosting an in-person network marketing event. Industry conferences, product reveals, and after-hours events can help build a professional network.

Consider co-hosting an event with a complementary company to expand reach. For example, a tech company could co-host with a hardware company.

Networking is about allowing professionals to meet the people behind your brand. It's not about selling but about making human connections and building professional relationships.

It can also give consumers a hands-on experience with the product in a relaxed setting. It can build buzz and word-of-mouth advertising about the product or brand.

Online networking is another option. Host webinars and virtual conferences to educate potential customers .

Live Q&As and expert discussion panels also engage the customer base and establish market credibility. Learn to distinguish general leads from promising leads.

Contribute to Other Websites

Guest posting and blogging can be another great way to reach out. Team up with another tech company and consider trading guest posts or blog opportunities.

This can expand the reach of both companies.

Reach out to high-profile brands or individuals. Invite them to review your products.

Run promotions that encourage online product reviews. For example, offer a free, one-month product subscription to customers that post a review.

Link building is a vital part of a website's optimization for search engines like Google. Gaining links is sometimes as simple as giving other websites something they need.

These resources can include things like blog posts and reviews.

An example would be a company that provides photo processing software. A blog post about how to improve photo quality could be a great idea.

Other companies can link back to the blog for quality content. This will increase your ranking in search engines like Google.

The result is that the company will rank higher in queries that relate to your industry and product. Search Engine Optimization is a necessary strategy for any business to grow their product and brand.

Email Marketing and Marketing Automation

marketing strategy for it companies

Building a collection of email addresses of customers and potential customers is vital for an email marketing campaign. One of the best ways to do this is by email gating the content.

This means that visitors must submit an email address to access certain content on the site. This is a tried and true marketing strategy.

Finely tailored email campaigns are the most effective. Gather information regarding the interests and needs of customers.

This ensures that mass emails contain information that is relevant and valuable to the customer.

Create market segments for leads and customize content for these segments. This will provide them with a sense of personalization.

The result will be higher email open rates and sales conversions.

A successful email campaign is a combination of the right message, to the right people, at the right time. Use email campaigns to thank customers, announce new products, invite leads to release events, and create brand awareness.

Think of email campaigns as a direct line of communication between the company and the customers. That is why it is such a vital platform.

But it can be challenging to make it effective. One of the challenges is low open rates.

Getting customers' attention in a cluttered email inbox can be difficult. Providing quality content can help with this problem.

But creating such content is time-consuming and therefore expensive.

Creating a drip email campaign is another way to address this issue. A drip email campaign gradually drips high-quality email content to customers.

This style of campaign preserves resources while moving customers through the sales pipeline.

Social Media Marketing

Of course, social media marketing is vital. It can be highly effective, but it must be done right.

There are several factors to consider.

Organic Social Media

marketing strategy for it companies

Organic social media is about developing relationships. Don't use social media to constantly pitch a product.

Use it to engage with people . One of the best ways to engage the audience is to share valuable information or instructions.

Give the audience bits of information that are valuable to them. This builds the brand as a source of solutions over a period of time.

Make use of thoughtful individuals and gregarious personalities within the organization. Thoughtful engagement is key to b2b connections.

Focus on the social media platforms that are most engaging to the target market or demographic.

Interact with industry influencers and leaders. This requires more than following them and hoping for a follow back.

Companies need to have real interaction with these individuals.

View social media as your best branding opportunity.

This is the best platform to establish who the brand is and what they stand for. It is public and fluid.

The end goal with social media is for users to share their content with others. This increases brand recognition and awareness, resulting in further brand reach.

This establishes the brand as an industry leader, both trusted and recognized.

Paid Social Media

marketing strategy for it companies

Paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are another option. They can be a good way to expand the subscriber base and followers.

Facebook is very effective at targeted marketing. All that’s needed is an image, a link, and an attention-grabbing tagline.

Facebook makes it easy to set and stick to a budget, review statistics and track what is effective. There is a learning curve and it takes a little practice to find what works.

Don't give up. Use the analytics provided to learn what is effective in reaching the target market.

Ending thoughts on marketing for IT companies

There are many methods of social marketing for IT companies. Whether it is social media, super influencers, or email campaigns, it is best to take a long-range approach.

Social marketing is about building a brand and a reputation . It takes time to develop relationships and build credibility.

View this time as an investment in the company. It will help to grow the customer base and company value.

It takes time and effort. Effective social marketing campaigns require a lot of human interaction.

This can involve considerable labor but it will pay off in the long run.

Digital marketing involves a lot of trial and error. Companies have to develop a brand personality and strategy that works for them.

This marketing strategy will be unique to each tech company.

If you enjoyed reading this article on marketing for IT companies, you should check out this one about best sales apps . 

We also wrote about a few related subjects like sales automation software ,  best CRM for Gmail ,  useful elevator pitch examples ,  sales pipeline stages ,  cold calling vs. warm calling ,  sample LinkedIn connection requests and templates and sales automation tools .

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What is a Marketing Plan & How to Write One [+Examples]

Clifford Chi

Published: December 27, 2023

For a while now, you've been spearheading your organization's content marketing efforts, and your team's performance has convinced management to adopt the content marketing strategies you’ve suggested.

marketing plan and how to write one

Now, your boss wants you to write and present a content marketing plan, but you‘ve never done something like that before. You don't even know where to start.

Download Now: Free Marketing Plan Template [Get Your Copy]

Fortunately, we've curated the best content marketing plans to help you write a concrete plan that's rooted in data and produces results. But first, we'll discuss what a marketing plan is and how some of the best marketing plans include strategies that serve their respective businesses.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a strategic roadmap that businesses use to organize, execute, and track their marketing strategy over a given period. Marketing plans can include different marketing strategies for various marketing teams across the company, all working toward the same business goals.

The purpose of a marketing plan is to write down strategies in an organized manner. This will help keep you on track and measure the success of your campaigns.

Writing a marketing plan will help you think of each campaign‘s mission, buyer personas, budget, tactics, and deliverables. With all this information in one place, you’ll have an easier time staying on track with a campaign. You'll also discover what works and what doesn't. Thus, measuring the success of your strategy.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

HubSpot Mktg plan cover

Looking to develop a marketing plan for your business? Click here to download HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template to get started .

To learn more about how to create your marketing plan, keep reading or jump to the section you’re looking for:

How to Write a Marketing Plan

Types of marketing plans, marketing plan examples, marketing plan faqs, sample marketing plan.

Marketing plan definition graphic

If you're pressed for time or resources, you might not be thinking about a marketing plan. However, a marketing plan is an important part of your business plan.

Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.

A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute resources and make decisions as your business grows.

I like to think of a marketing plan as a subset of a business plan; it shows how marketing strategies and objectives can support overall business goals.

Keep in mind that there's a difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy.

marketing strategy for it companies

Free Marketing Plan Template

Outline your company's marketing strategy in one simple, coherent plan.

  • Pre-Sectioned Template
  • Completely Customizable
  • Example Prompts
  • Professionally Designed

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

A marketing strategy describes how a business will accomplish a particular goal or mission. This includes which campaigns, content, channels, and marketing software they'll use to execute that mission and track its success.

For example, while a greater plan or department might handle social media marketing, you might consider your work on Facebook as an individual marketing strategy.

A marketing plan contains one or more marketing strategies. It's the framework from which all of your marketing strategies are created and helps you connect each strategy back to a larger marketing operation and business goal.

For example, suppose your company is launching a new software product, and it wants customers to sign up. The marketing department needs to develop a marketing plan that'll help introduce this product to the industry and drive the desired signups.

The department decides to launch a blog dedicated to this industry, a new YouTube video series to establish expertise, and an account on Twitter to join the conversation around this subject. All this serves to attract an audience and convert this audience into software users.

To summarize, the business's marketing plan is dedicated to introducing a new software product to the marketplace and driving signups for that product. The business will execute that plan with three marketing strategies : a new industry blog, a YouTube video series, and a Twitter account.

Of course, the business might consider these three things as one giant marketing strategy, each with its specific content strategies. How granular you want your marketing plan to get is up to you. Nonetheless, every marketing plan goes through a particular set of steps in its creation.

Learn what they are below.

  • State your business's mission.
  • Determine the KPIs for this mission.
  • Identify your buyer personas.
  • Describe your content initiatives and strategies.
  • Clearly define your plan's omissions.
  • Define your marketing budget.
  • Identify your competition.
  • Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

1. State your business's mission.

Your first step in writing a marketing plan is to state your mission. Although this mission is specific to your marketing department, it should serve your business‘s main mission statement.

From my experience, you want to be specific, but not too specific. You have plenty of space left in this marketing plan to elaborate on how you'll acquire new customers and accomplish this mission.

mission-statement-examples

Need help building your mission statement? Download this guide for examples and templates and write the ideal mission statement.

2. Determine the KPIs for this mission.

Every good marketing plan describes how the department will track its mission‘s progress. To do so, you need to decide on your key performance indicators (KPIs) .

KPIs are individual metrics that measure the various elements of a marketing campaign. These units help you establish short-term goals within your mission and communicate your progress to business leaders.

Let's take our example of a marketing mission from the above step. If part of our mission is “to attract an audience of travelers,” we might track website visits using organic page views. In this case, “organic page views” is one KPI, and we can see our number of page views grow over time.

These KPIs will come into the conversation again in step 4.

3. Identify your buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a description of who you want to attract. This can include age, sex, location, family size, and job title. Each buyer persona should directly reflect your business's current and potential customers. So, all business leaders must agree on your buyer personas.

buyer-persona-templates

Create your buyer personas with this free guide and set of buyer persona templates.

4. Describe your content initiatives and strategies.

Here's where you'll include the main points of your marketing and content strategy. Because there's a laundry list of content types and channels available to you today, you must choose wisely and explain how you'll use your content and channels in this section of your marketing plan.

When I write this section , I like to stipulate:

  • Which types of content I'll create. These might include blog posts, YouTube videos, infographics, and ebooks.
  • How much of it I'll create. I typically describe content volume in daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly intervals. It all depends on my workflow and the short-term goals for my content.
  • The goals (and KPIs) I'll use to track each type. KPIs can include organic traffic, social media traffic, email traffic, and referral traffic. Your goals should also include which pages you want to drive that traffic to, such as product pages, blog pages, or landing pages.
  • The channels on which I'll distribute my content. Popular channels include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
  • Any paid advertising that will take place on these channels.

Build out your marketing plan with this free template.

Fill out this form to access the template., 5. clearly define your plan's omissions..

A marketing plan explains the marketing team's focus. It also explains what the marketing team will not focus on.

If there are other aspects of your business that you aren't serving in this particular plan, include them in this section. These omissions help to justify your mission, buyer personas, KPIs, and content. You can’t please everyone in a single marketing campaign, and if your team isn't on the hook for something, you need to make it known.

In my experience, this section is particularly important for stakeholders to help them understand why certain decisions were made.

6. Define your marketing budget.

Whether it's freelance fees, sponsorships, or a new full-time marketing hire, use these costs to develop a marketing budget and outline each expense in this section of your marketing plan.

marketing-budget-templates

You can establish your marketing budget with this kit of 8 free marketing budget templates .

7. Identify your competition.

Part of marketing is knowing whom you're marketing against. Research the key players in your industry and consider profiling each one.

Keep in mind not every competitor will pose the same challenges to your business. For example, while one competitor might be ranking highly on search engines for keywords you want your website to rank for, another competitor might have a heavy footprint on a social network where you plan to launch an account.

competitive-analysis-templates

Easily track and analyze your competitors with t his collection of ten free competitive analysis templates .

8. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

With your marketing plan fully fleshed out, it's time to explain who’s doing what. I don't like to delve too deeply into my employees’ day-to-day projects, but I know which teams and team leaders are in charge of specific content types, channels, KPIs, and more.

Now that you know why you need to build an effective marketing plan, it’s time to get to work. Starting a plan from scratch can be overwhelming if you haven't done it before. That’s why there are many helpful resources that can support your first steps. We’ll share some of the best guides and templates that can help you build effective results-driven plans for your marketing strategies.

Ready to make your own marketing plan? Get started using this free template.

Depending on the company you work with, you might want to create various marketing plans. We compiled different samples to suit your needs:

1. Quarterly or Annual Marketing Plans

These plans highlight the strategies or campaigns you'll take on in a certain period.

marketing plan examples: forbes

Forbes published a marketing plan template that has amassed almost 4 million views. To help you sculpt a marketing roadmap with true vision, their template will teach you how to fill out the 15 key sections of a marketing plan, which are:

  • Executive Summary
  • Target Customers
  • Unique Selling Proposition
  • Pricing & Positioning Strategy
  • Distribution Plan
  • Your Offers
  • Marketing Materials
  • Promotions Strategy
  • Online Marketing Strategy
  • Conversion Strategy
  • Joint Ventures & Partnerships
  • Referral Strategy
  • Strategy for Increasing Transaction Prices
  • Retention Strategy
  • Financial Projections

If you're truly lost on where to start with a marketing plan, I highly recommend using this guide to help you define your target audience, figure out how to reach them, and ensure that audience becomes loyal customers.

2. Social Media Marketing Plan

This type of plan highlights the channels, tactics, and campaigns you intend to accomplish specifically on social media. A specific subtype is a paid marketing plan, which highlights paid strategies, such as native advertising, PPC, or paid social media promotions.

Shane Snow's Marketing Plan for His Book Dream Team is a great example of a social media marketing plan:

Contently's content strategy waterfall.

When Shane Snow started promoting his new book, "Dream Team," he knew he had to leverage a data-driven content strategy framework. So, he chose his favorite one: the content strategy waterfall. The content strategy waterfall is defined by Economic Times as a model used to create a system with a linear and sequential approach.

Snow wrote a blog post about how the waterfall‘s content strategy helped him launch his new book successfully. After reading it, you can use his tactics to inform your own marketing plan. More specifically, you’ll learn how he:

  • Applied his business objectives to decide which marketing metrics to track.
  • Used his ultimate business goal of earning $200,000 in sales or 10,000 purchases to estimate the conversion rate of each stage of his funnel.
  • Created buyer personas to figure out which channels his audience would prefer to consume his content.
  • Used his average post view on each of his marketing channels to estimate how much content he had to create and how often he had to post on social media.
  • Calculated how much earned and paid media could cut down the amount of content he had to create and post.
  • Designed his process and workflow, built his team, and assigned members to tasks.
  • Analyzed content performance metrics to refine his overall content strategy.

I use Snow's marketing plan to think more creatively about my content promotion and distribution plan. I like that it's linear and builds on the step before it, creating an air-tight strategy that doesn't leave any details out.

→ Free Download: Social Media Calendar Template [Access Now]

3. Content Marketing Plan

This plan could highlight different strategies, tactics, and campaigns in which you'll use content to promote your business or product.

HubSpot's Comprehensive Guide for Content Marketing Strategy is a strong example of a content marketing plan:

marketing plan examples: hubspot content marketing plan

At HubSpot, we‘ve built our marketing team from two business school graduates working from a coffee table to a powerhouse of hundreds of employees. Along the way, we’ve learned countless lessons that shaped our current content marketing strategy. So, we decided to illustrate our insights in a blog post to teach marketers how to develop a successful content marketing strategy, regardless of their team's size.

Download Now: Free Content Marketing Planning Templates

In this comprehensive guide for modern marketers, you'll learn:

  • What exactly content marketing is.
  • Why your business needs a content marketing strategy.
  • Who should lead your content marketing efforts?
  • How to structure your content marketing team based on your company's size.
  • How to hire the right people for each role on your team.
  • What marketing tools and technology you'll need to succeed.
  • What type of content your team should create, and which employees should be responsible for creating them.
  • The importance of distributing your content through search engines, social media, email, and paid ads.
  • And finally, the recommended metrics each of your teams should measure and report to optimize your content marketing program.

This is fantastic resource for content teams of any size — whether you're a team of one or 100. It includes how to hire and structure a content marketing team, what marketing tools you'll need, what type of content you should create, and even recommends what metrics to track for analyzing campaigns.

4. New Product Launch Marketing Plan

This will be a roadmap for the strategies and tactics you‘ll implement to promote a new product. And if you’re searching for an example, look no further than Chief Outsiders' Go-To-Market Plan for a New Product :

marketing plan examples: chief outsiders

After reading this plan, you'll learn how to:

  • Validate a product
  • Write strategic objectives
  • Identify your market
  • Compile a competitive landscape
  • Create a value proposition for a new product
  • Consider sales and service in your marketing plan

If you're looking for a marketing plan for a new product, the Chief Outsiders template is a great place to start. Marketing plans for a new product will be more specific because they target one product versus its entire marketing strategy.

5. Growth Marketing Plan

Growth marketing plans use experimentation and data to drive results, like we see in Venture Harbour’s Growth Marketing Plan Template :

marketing plan examples: venture harbour

Venture Harbour's growth marketing plan is a data-driven and experiment-led alternative to the more traditional marketing plan. Their template has five steps intended for refinement with every test-measure-learn cycle. The five steps are:

  • Experiments

Download Now: Free Growth Strategy Template

I recommend this plan if you want to experiment with different platforms and campaigns. Experimentation always feels risky and unfamiliar, but this plan creates a framework for accountability and strategy.

  • Louisville Tourism
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Visit Oxnard
  • Safe Haven Family Shelter
  • Wright County Economic Development
  • The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County
  • Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Visit Billings

1. Louisville Tourism

Louisville Tourism Marketing Plan

It also divides its target market into growth and seed categories to allow for more focused strategies. For example, the plan recognizes Millennials in Chicago, Atlanta, and Nashville as the core of it's growth market, whereas people in Boston, Austin, and New York represent seed markets where potential growth opportunities exist. Then, the plan outlines objectives and tactics for reaching each market.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

  • The plan starts with a letter from the President & CEO of the company, who sets the stage for the plan by providing a high-level preview of the incoming developments for Louisville's tourism industry
  • The focus on Louisville as "Bourbon City" effectively leverages its unique cultural and culinary attributes to present a strong brand
  • Incorporates a variety of data points from Google Analytics, Arrivalist, and visitor profiles to to define their target audience with a data-informed approach

2. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University Illinois

For example, students who become prospects as freshman and sophomore will receive emails that focus on getting the most out of high school and college prep classes. Once these students become juniors and seniors — thus entering the consideration stage — the emails will focus more on the college application process and other exploratory content.

  • The plan incorporates competitive analysis, evaluation surveys, and other research to determine the makeup of its target audience
  • The plan lists each marketing program (e.g., direct mail, social media, email etc.) and supplements it with examples on the next page
  • Each marketing program has its own objectives, tactics, and KPIs for measuring success

3. Visit Oxnard

This marketing plan by Visit Oxnard, a convention and visitors bureau, is packed with all the information one needs in a marketing plan: target markets, key performance indicators, selling points, personas, marketing tactics by channel, and much more.

It also articulates the organization’s strategic plans for the upcoming fiscal year, especially as it grapples with the aftereffects of the pandemic. Lastly, it has impeccable visual appeal, with color-coded sections and strong branding elements.

  • States clear and actionable goals for the coming year
  • Includes data and other research that shows how their team made their decisions
  • Outlines how the team will measure the success of their plan

4. Safe Haven Family Shelter

marketing plan examples: safe haven family shelter

This marketing plan by a nonprofit organization is an excellent example to follow if your plan will be presented to internal stakeholders at all levels of your organization. It includes SMART marketing goals , deadlines, action steps, long-term objectives, target audiences, core marketing messages , and metrics.

The plan is detailed, yet scannable. By the end of it, one can walk away with a strong understanding of the organization’s strategic direction for its upcoming marketing efforts.

  • Confirms ongoing marketing strategies and objectives while introducing new initiatives
  • Uses colors, fonts, and formatting to emphasize key parts of the plan
  • Closes with long-term goals, key themes, and other overarching topics to set the stage for the future

5. Wright County Economic Development

marketing plan examples: wright county

Wright County Economic Development’s plan drew our attention because of its simplicity, making it good inspiration for those who’d like to outline their plan in broad strokes without frills or filler.

It includes key information such as marketing partners, goals, initiatives, and costs. The sections are easy to scan and contain plenty of information for those who’d like to dig into the details. Most important, it includes a detailed breakdown of projected costs per marketing initiative — which is critical information to include for upper-level managers and other stakeholders.

  • Begins with a quick paragraph stating why the recommended changes are important
  • Uses clear graphics and bullet points to emphasize key points
  • Includes specific budget data to support decision-making

6. The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

marketing plan examples: cultural council of palm beach county

This marketing plan presentation by a cultural council is a great example of how to effectively use data in your plan, address audiences who are new to the industry, and offer extensive detail into specific marketing strategies.

For instance, an entire slide is dedicated to the county’s cultural tourism trends, and at the beginning of the presentation, the organization explains what an arts and culture agency is in the first place.

That’s a critical piece of information to include for those who might not know. If you’re addressing audiences outside your industry, consider defining terms at the beginning, like this organization did.

  • Uses quality design and images to support the goals and priorities in the text
  • Separate pages for each big idea or new strategy
  • Includes sections for awards and accomplishments to show how the marketing plan supports wider business goals
  • Defines strategies and tactics for each channel for easy skimming

7. Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau

marketing plan examples: carrabus county

Cabarrus County’s convention and visitors bureau takes a slightly different approach with its marketing plan, formatting it like a magazine for stakeholders to flip through. It offers information on the county’s target audience, channels, goals, KPIs, and public relations strategies and initiatives.

We especially love that the plan includes contact information for the bureau’s staff members, so that it’s easy for stakeholders to contact the appropriate person for a specific query.

  • Uses infographics to expand on specific concepts, like how visitors benefit a community
  • Highlights the team members responsible for each initiative with a photo to emphasize accountability and community
  • Closes with an event calendar for transparency into key dates for events

8. Visit Billings

marketing plan examples: visit billings

Visit Billing’s comprehensive marketing plan is like Cabarrus County’s in that it follows a magazine format. With sections for each planned strategy, it offers a wealth of information and depth for internal stakeholders and potential investors.

We especially love its content strategy section, where it details the organization’s prior efforts and current objectives for each content platform.

At the end, it includes strategic goals and budgets — a good move to imitate if your primary audience would not need this information highlighted at the forefront.

  • Includes a section on the buyer journey, which offers clarity on the reasoning for marketing plan decisions
  • Design includes call-outs for special topics that could impact the marketing audience, such as safety concerns or "staycations"
  • Clear headings make it easy to scan this comprehensive report and make note of sections a reader may want to return to for more detail

What is a typical marketing plan?

In my experience, most marketing plans outline the following aspects of a business's marketing:

  • Target audience

Each marketing plan should include one or more goals, the path your team will take to meet those goals, and how you plan to measure success.

For example, if I were a tech startup that's launching a new mobile app, my marketing plan would include:

  • Target audience or buyer personas for the app
  • Outline of how app features meet audience needs
  • Competitive analysis
  • Goals for conversion funnel and user acquisition
  • Marketing strategies and tactics for user acquisition

Featured resource : Free Marketing Plan Template

What should a good marketing plan include?

A good marketing plan will create a clear roadmap for your unique marketing team. This means that the best marketing plan for your business will be distinct to your team and business needs.

That said, most marketing plans will include sections for one or more of the following:

  • Clear analysis of the target market
  • A detailed description of the product or service
  • Strategic marketing mix details (such as product, price, place, promotion)
  • Measurable goals with defined timelines

This can help you build the best marketing plan for your business.

A good marketing plan should also include a product or service's unique value proposition, a comprehensive marketing strategy including online and offline channels, and a defined budget.

Featured resource : Value Proposition Templates

What are the most important parts of a marketing plan?

When you‘re planning a road trip, you need a map to help define your route, step-by-step directions, and an estimate of the time it will take to get to your destination. It’s literally how you get there that matters.

Like a road map, a marketing plan is only useful if it helps you get to where you want to go. So, no one part is more than the other.

That said, you can use the list below to make sure that you've added or at least considered each of the following in your marketing plan:

  • Marketing goals
  • Executive summary
  • Target market analysis
  • Marketing strategies

What questions should I ask when making a marketing plan?

Questions are a useful tool for when you‘re stuck or want to make sure you’ve included important details.

Try using one or more of these questions as a starting point when you create your marketing plan:

  • Who is my target audience?
  • What are their needs, motivations, and pain points?
  • How does our product or service solve their problems?
  • How will I reach and engage them?
  • Who are my competitors? Are they direct or indirect competitors?
  • What are the unique selling points of my product or service?
  • What marketing channels are best for the brand?
  • What is our budget and timeline?
  • How will I measure the success of marketing efforts?

How much does a marketing plan cost?

Creating a marketing plan is mostly free. But the cost of executing a marketing plan will depend on your specific plan.

Marketing plan costs vary by business, industry, and plan scope. Whether your team handles marketing in-house or hires external consultants can also make a difference. Total costs can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. This is why most marketing plans will include a budget.

Featured resource : Free Marketing Budget Templates

What is a marketing plan template?

A marketing plan template is a pre-designed structure or framework that helps you outline your marketing plan.

It offers a starting point that you can customize for your specific business needs and goals. For example, our template includes easy-to-edit sections for:

  • Business summary
  • Business initiatives
  • Target market
  • Market strategy
  • Marketing channels
  • Marketing technology

Let’s create a sample plan together, step by step.

Follow along with HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template .

HubSpot Mktg plan cover

1. Create an overview or primary objective.

Our business mission is to provide [service, product, solution] to help [audience] reach their [financial, educational, business related] goals without compromising their [your audience’s valuable asset: free time, mental health, budget, etc.]. We want to improve our social media presence while nurturing our relationships with collaborators and clients.

For example, if I wanted to focus on social media growth, my KPIs might look like this:

We want to achieve a minimum of [followers] with an engagement rate of [X] on [social media platform].

The goal is to achieve an increase of [Y] on recurring clients and new meaningful connections outside the platform by the end of the year.

Use the following categories to create a target audience for your campaign.

  • Profession:
  • Background:
  • Pain points:
  • Social media platforms that they use:
  • Streaming platforms that they prefer:

For more useful strategies, consider creating a buyer persona in our Make My Persona tool .

Our content pillars will be: [X, Y, Z].

Content pillars should be based on topics your audience needs to know. If your ideal clients are female entrepreneurs, then your content pillars can be: marketing, being a woman in business, remote working, and productivity hacks for entrepreneurs.

Then, determine any omissions.

This marketing plan won’t be focusing on the following areas of improvement: [A, B, C].

5. Define your marketing budget.

Our marketing strategy will use a total of [Y] monthly. This will include anything from freelance collaborations to advertising.

6. Identify your competitors.

I like to work through the following questions to clearly indicate who my competitors are:

  • Which platforms do they use the most?
  • How does their branding differentiate?
  • How do they talk to their audiences?
  • What valuable assets do customers talk about? And if they are receiving any negative feedback, what is it about?

7. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

Create responsible parties for each portion of the plan.

Marketing will manage the content plan, implementation, and community interaction to reach the KPIs.

  • Social media manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
  • Content strategist: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
  • Community manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Sales will follow the line of the marketing work while creating and implementing an outreach strategy.

  • Sales strategists: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
  • Sales executives: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Customer Service will nurture clients’ relationships to ensure that they have what they want. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Project Managers will track the progress and team communication during the project. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Get started on your marketing plan.

These marketing plans serve as initial resources to get your content marketing plan started. But, to truly deliver what your audience wants and needs, you'll likely need to test some different ideas out, measure their success, and then refine your goals as you go.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2019, but was updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure t o learn more about how we use AI.

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Mastering the 7 P's of Marketing: Key Strategies for Growth

I n the world of marketing, success doesn't come easy. It necessitates a thorough grasp of the market, consumer behavior, and effective strategies to stand out from the crowd. One framework that has stood the test of time is the 7 P's of Marketing. Mastering these principles can pave the way for sustainable growth and competitive advantage in any industry. So, let's delve into each of these P's and uncover the key strategies for mastering them.

At the heart of any marketing strategy lies the product itself. It's not just about creating something to sell; it's about offering value to your customers. To master this P, you need to understand your target audience's needs and preferences. Conduct thorough market research, gather feedback, and continuously improve your product to meet evolving demands.

Key Strategies:

  • Discover the distinctive selling point (DSP) that distinguishes your product from competitors.
  • Regularly update and innovate your product to stay relevant in the market.
  • Ensure consistency in quality and reliability to build trust among customers.

Deciding the right price for your product is crucial. It's not just about covering costs; it's about finding the sweet spot that maximizes profits while remaining attractive to customers. Mastering this P requires a deep understanding of pricing strategies and consumer psychology.

  • Conduct thorough market analysis to determine the price elasticity of your product.
  • Offer pricing incentives such as discounts, bundles, or loyalty programs to attract and retain customers.
  • Monitor competitors' pricing strategies and adjust accordingly to remain competitive.

The distribution channels you choose can impact your product's reach and accessibility. Mastering this P involves optimizing your distribution strategy to ensure your product is available where and when your customers need it.

  • Find the most effective distribution channels based on your target market and product type.
  • Establish strong partnerships with retailers or online platforms to expand your reach.
  • Leverage the latest technology for efficient logistics and supply chain management to guarantee punctual delivery and product availability.

4. Promotion

Promotion is all about communicating the value of your product to your target audience. It encompasses various marketing tactics, from advertising to public relations. Perfecting this P entails creating persuasive messaging and choosing suitable channels to efficiently connect with your target audience.

  • Create a thorough marketing strategy incorporating a blend of both online and offline methods.
  • Utilize social media platforms to engage with your audience and build brand awareness.
  • Measure the effectiveness of your promotional efforts through metrics such as reach, engagement, and conversion rates.

Your employees are your asset when it comes to delivering exceptional customer experiences. Mastering this P involves hiring, training, and empowering your team to represent your brand effectively.

  • Allocate resources towards continuous training and development initiative
  • Create a work culture that values teamwork, creativity, and customer satisfaction.
  • Empower employees to resolve customer issues promptly and effectively, turning negative experiences into positive ones.

Efficient processes are essential for delivering consistent and high-quality products and services. Mastering this P involves streamlining internal operations and optimizing workflows to enhance productivity and customer satisfaction.

  • Identify and eliminate bottlenecks in your production or service delivery process.
  • Implement technology solutions to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
  • Continuously check and improve processes based on feedback and performance metrics.

7. Physical Evidence

Physical evidence refers to the tangible elements that reinforce your brand's credibility and quality. It includes everything from packaging to store ambiance. Mastering this P involves paying attention to every detail that shapes the customer experience.

  • Invest in high-quality packaging that reflects your brand's values and enhances the product's perceived value.
  • Establish an inviting and aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for physical retail locations.
  • Solicit feedback from customers to find areas for improvement in physical evidence elements.

In conclusion, mastering the 7 P's of marketing is key to achieving growth and success in today's competitive landscape. By understanding and implementing these key strategies, companies like Authority Ventures stand out by providing comprehensive marketing solutions. Remember, it's not just about mastering each P individually but also about finding the right balance and synergy between them to create a cohesive and impactful marketing approach.

In the world of marketing, success doesn't come easy. It necessitates a thorough grasp of the market, consumer behavior

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IT Marketing Strategy: Content & Thought Leadership

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For a limited time, our  Chicago Content Marketing Agency   is offering a FREE content & SEO audit to IT companies and marketers interested in assessing their current brand in order to build a robust content marketing plan for 2022. Interested? Drop us a note at  [email protected]  or call us at 312-820-9893 for details.

IT marketers make things happen. They bring in qualified traffic to a website, convert visitors into leads and improve the overall brand authority for an IT company. 

That said, for IT firms to be successful, they need a solid and actionable IT marketing strategy in place to make the whole process easy and hassle-free. It doesn’t matter if you offer IT solutions for healthcare, finance or whatnot, a healthy marketing plan is crucial for the success of any IT company right from day #1.

Which marketing strategy is right for your company?

Today, we are going to tell you about one IT marketing strategy that should you be focusing heavily on in 2022: Content Marketing and Thought Leadership

We're the top B2B Content Marketing Agency in America. Watch the video below to learn why.

It’s a tried and true marketing strategy that you need to put on the front burner in order to make your tech company stand out in a sea of competition when you’re operating on a tight budget.

Interested in other marketing techniques that have proven to effectively lead to new online-enabled sales? Check out our article titled 6 IT Marketing Tips That Work in 2022 . 

Positioning your tech company as a thought/content leader

A series of umbrellas with one multi-colored one standing amongst them.

In an increasingly competitive IT space, a thought leader is an individual or a brand whose views (read: content) on a specific topic are deemed to be influential and authoritative.

As an IT firm, this is a great way to put your best foot forward. And the best part is that it won’t cost an arm and a leg to establish yourself as a content/thought leader.

With that being said, there are plenty of benefits that come with being taken as a thought or content leader in your IT niche:

  • Gain more validation and an added edge over your competitors
  • Improve brand visibility and lead generation
  • Build more trust and credibility
  • Influence buying behavior in favor of your tech company

The endgame here is to build a content-driven online reputation for your IT products/services , generate more leads, and eventually turn them into sales. No matter how you look at it, being a thought leader can do wonders for all aspects of your tech company, including your credibility, market penetration, and bottom line.

The truth of the matter, however, is that this is something that is easier said than done.

You have to put in serious hours, creativity, dedication, and hard work to truly become a thought leader. That’s why we have put together four tried and true strategy tips that’ll help move things along.

Content marketing strategy for IT companies #1: Craft authoritative content 

Chalk board displaying the words "Build authority with your content"

When potential customers have a problem, the first place they turn to for a solution is often Google.

That’s why you need to create solution-oriented blogs, articles, and other types of content that will drive search traffic to your website and IT products/services. Your content should be informative, engaging, and customer-centric at least at the top of your marketing/sales funnel.

Case in point - this article. Digital Authority Partners offers content marketing services to IT marketers. In this article, we show you, a stakeholder at an IT firm, why you should invest in content marketing and how to do it. This is EXACTLY what you need to do, on your end, when publishing content geared towards your ideal target audience.

As a thought leader, your content should resonate well with your target audience, offer precise and no-fluff solutions, and tell them why your products are better than others on the market.

Focus your attention on blogs because they tend to be more educative and less salesly. When all is said and done, the content should be so good that it positions you as an expert in all matters and topics that touch on the pain points of your target audience.

In addition, don’t forget to stay on top of SEO and keyword selection.

Having a solid SEO strategy is all about getting your keywords right, creating a robust content calendar, reaching out to bloggers and influencers who accept guest posts, and building your online reputation. Optimize your blogs and articles with a blend of highly refined keywords. You might want to start off your keyword research with handy tools like Neil Patel’s FREE UberSuggest Tool .

Unfortunately, most companies miserably fail at doing SEO correctly.

If you are interested in knowing more about SEO - and particularly how companies do it incorrectly, check out this article from our CEO:   17 Reasons Why Companies Fail At SEO .

Content marketing strategy for IT companies  #2: Leverage the power of social media

Smartphone with social media icons on it.

Social media is the ultimate channel to become a subject matter expert. Get this: there are over 60 million business pages on Facebook alone. Unfortunately, 87 percent of complaints, questions, and posts made by users to these pages usually go unanswered.

That’s where you come in as a thought leader. You can offer genuine advice, give in-depth answers to questions, and ultimately provide value to potential leads on social media (naturally, as an IT company, we suggest you focus primarily on Linkedin. More on that, below).

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Increase leads with the right strategy.

The same overall strategy also goes for Twitter.

Grow a curated list of followers, and segment them into categories depending on their interests, hashtags, and other factors. While you might be itching to share your new blogs or articles, don’t make it your only standout Twitter activity.

Instead, go the extra mile (that’s what thought leaders do) and check out some of the concerns/questions your followers might have. Answer them. Provide advice, tips, and always stay engaged/connected.

The idea behind a great social media strategy is to build trust, credibility, and relationships, as well as position yourself as a thought leader. Leverage direct messages, video, photos, and other multimedia to make your social media activity stand out.

Content marketing strategy for IT companies #3: Take advantage of LinkedIn

Tablet displaying the linkedin app on it.

Smart IT marketers know that LinkedIn is a marketing gem. After all, LinkedIn is the preferred marketing channel for more than 94 percent of enterprise marketers, and with good reason:

  • 50 percent of B2B buyers say LinkedIn is important in their buying decision
  • 76 percent of buyers of IT products/services get recommendations from their network on LinkedIn.
  • The platform is teeming with tech companies, clients, and professionals to do some ‘Tinder matching for business’ (aka connect companies with service providers). 

To become a thought leader on LinkedIn, post amazing content free of charge in the form of videos, podcasts, articles, blog posts, infographics, and much more.

Don’t stop at that. Also, get involved in LinkedIn groups, offer advice, and answer questions. Your primary goal is to provide value as well as increase awareness of your tech company.

Content marketing strategy for IT companies  #4: PR & guest posting

Woman happily talking through a megaphone.

PR is another remarkable IT marketing strategy that delivers amazing ROI. If done correctly, and in conjunction with other strategies like SEO, email, social media or paid search, PR push can work like a charm to establish you and your tech company as a thought leader. Create a robust PR push strategy that encompasses writing news pieces, magazine articles and sending out press releases.

Your PR could touch on every company’s important milestone, including product launches, events, and other strides that could help paint your company in great light.

The beauty of a well-thought-out PR strategy is that it can help establish a persona for your company. Article and PR placement can also lead to other thought leadership building opportunities, such as webinars, public speaking, and industry interviews.

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As a service provider, you know this as well as we do. Best sales come from referrals, clients changing jobs, and word of mouth. But in today’s world, especially in an industry that has become very commodified like the IT service provider world, offline methods of acquiring new business are simply not enough. They’re not enough to meet your business objectives. They’re not enough to grow as a company.

The most successful IT companies have realized that there’s an alternative method to acquire customers online, without selling. And that’s content marketing strategies IT companies can effectively deploy to reach new customers and increase their business.

At the risk of oversimplifying it, the recipe for success in content marketing has remained more or less the same over the last decade (the specific SEO practices have changed, but the strategy is more or less the same):

  • Build great content that your target audience would be interested in. Ideally, the content should be actionable, relatable and easy to follow.
  • Optimize the content for Google - on-page SEO, content SEO, technical SEO.
  • Use social media, especially Linkedin, to amplify the message around your content, showcase your leadership in front of your current customers and reach new prospects.
  • (Optional) Use the content produced in SEM/ display ads campaigns to reach new, targeted and relevant buyers.
  • Get powerful backlinks, mentions, and shoutouts from other influencing blogs in your industry.
  • Rank, rank, rank, get visitors and convert them to your site.

This is a straightforward process, but if you’ve worked with other content marketing companies in the past, I’m sure you’re aware of the fact that it’s easier said than done.

Content strategy for IT companies is not something that can easily be done overnight. It requires patience, dedication, and the right resources to make it happen. But as long as you stick to this plan, and do everything by the book, I have no doubt you will see the results and a positive ROI from your investment.

For a limited time, Digital Authority Partners is offering a FREE content & SEO audit to IT companies and marketers interested in assessing their current brand in order to build a robust content marketing plan for 2022. Interested? Drop us a note at [email protected] or call us at 312-820-9893 for details.

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How to Market Sustainable Products

  • Frédéric Dalsace
  • Goutam Challagalla

marketing strategy for it companies

Many companies overestimate customers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell. The reality is, social and environmental benefits have less impact on purchasing decisions than basic product attributes do. Consumers buy products to get specific jobs done, and only after they find something that will do that will they look for a product that provides some social or environmental advantage.

Of course, that’s only if they value sustainability. Not everyone does, and marketers need to recognize that. Some customers (greens) place a premium on it, some (blues) value it only moderately, and some (grays) don’t care about it and view it skeptically. The three segments cannot all be approached in the same way. How sustainable product benefits interact with traditional benefits is also critical: They can have no impact on a product’s performance (independence), diminish it (dissonance), or enhance it (resonance). Marketers need to follow different playbooks for independent, dissonant, and resonant products, tailoring their approaches to green, blue, and gray customers with each.

Three paths to success

Idea in Brief

The problem.

Many companies overestimate consumers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell well.

The Opportunity

By understanding how sustainability features interact with a product’s core benefits, companies can devise effective marketing strategies for different consumer segments.

The Solution

Assess whether your sustainable offering’s performance is equivalent, inferior, or superior to that of conventional alternatives. Tailor marketing messages to customers according to how they value sustainability versus traditional attributes.

When companies market the sustainability features of their offerings, they often overlook a fundamental truth: Social and environmental benefits have less impact on customers’ decisions than basic product attributes do. With any purchase, consumers are first trying to get a specific job done. Only after they find something that will help them do that job—and only if sustainability is important to them—will they look for a product that in addition confers a social or environmental advantage. No one decides to buy a chocolate bar to, say, improve the working conditions of farmers on the Ivory Coast. People buy chocolate, first and foremost, because they want to indulge in a small pleasure. No one decides to buy an electric car to prevent climate change. People buy cars because they need transportation; reducing their carbon footprint is an ancillary benefit.

  • FD Frédéric Dalsace is a professor of strategy and marketing at IMD.
  • GC Goutam Challagalla is a professor of strategy and marketing at IMD.

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Strategic Marketing for Driving Growth

Boost customer value and business growth with integrated marketing strategies that blend proven paradigms and the latest innovations.

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Associated Schools

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What you'll learn.

Drive integrated, customer-centric marketing strategies

Ensure marketing activities contribute to company success

Thrive in the era of digital marketing and digital business models

Expand your personal and professional network

Course description

Strategic agility and an unyielding focus on growth are essential for the success of any organization, especially when new technologies such as generative AI are profoundly changing how businesses acquire, engage, and retain customers. In Strategic Marketing for Driving Growth, you will prepare to succeed in today's rapidly evolving marketplace, and learn how to lead growth initiatives through innovative marketing approaches and cutting edge go-to-market practices. Whether you are a marketing executive, growth officer, or general manager, this program will take you deep into essential marketing principles and strategies that enable you to build and sustain a leading edge in your industry—and catapult your business to the next level. You will emerge with the advanced skills needed to generate more value for customers, capture more value from the marketplace, and ultimately drive more business growth.

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Analyze how digital technologies are transforming industries, business models and marketing—and prepare to build your own digital strategy.

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Aligning Strategy and Sales

Maximize revenue and growth by ensuring that sales execution is closely aligned with strategic priorities.

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Digital Marketing Strategy

Learn the proven frameworks and foundational tools you need to design, implement, and manage a successful digital marketing strategy.

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