With the variety of marketing options at a company’s disposal, its important that a strategy be employed to ensure objectives are met. Many marketing initiatives require a dedicated budget for success. Analytics must be employed to monitor return on investment. The ultimate goal will be increased revenue, a loyal and engaged customer base, which equates to competitive advantage in the marketplace. Strategic marketing planning is how that is accomplished.
“Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contribute to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives” (Wikipedia, 2014).
