How to Build an Effective Service Or Product Marketing Strategy - 5 Best Strategies

By Kris Bovay

Developing an effective strategy to continuously improve your product or service needs to be number one on your business action plan. Why? Because without an effective, and evolving, product marketing strategy (or service delivery strategy), your business will struggle to succeed.
Strategy development can be intense and complex; and the cost of time, resources and money for the development of every element of your marketing strategy for brands can be high.
Most small business owners invest in up-front development of products or services strategies and, once they are launched, they do little to develop that strategy and do little to build it into their overall marketing and business strategy. In fact, the new product or service is often launched, and then expected to 'take off' on its own. When the launch fails or sales don't hit targets, the blame for failure is often pointed to the sales or operations group, or the economy. I've even heard the customer being blamed for failing to buy the goods or services being offered.
Product Marketing Strategy: 5 Best Strategies (note: service delivery strategy is used interchangeably)

1. What many small businesses fail to do is to ensure that their product strategies are continuously enhanced and adapted for market conditions; as well as being adapted as the goods or services move through their product life cycle. A newly launched service (or good) needs marketing strategies that capitalize on the introduction, growth, maturity and declining stages of its life cycle. A positioning strategy that takes into account the product life cycle stage is effective and much more likely to succeed. In the introduction stage of a new product launch, you need to consider pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies. Are you entering a market with similar goods or services, or a new market entirely? For example, pricing strategies for goods with lots of competition might include a market penetration price strategy or a promotional price strategy. Whereas, a pricing strategy for entry into a highly technical field with few competitors could more successfully use a price skimming or market skimming strategy.
2. As much as pricing strategies need to be closely aligned to product and to product life cycle, consideration must also be given to differentiation strategies. Are features and benefits easily copied or imitated or bettered by competitors? If the answer is yes, you must be able to find another point of differentiation (for example, an outstanding and unmatched warranty program or same day/no charge shipping). Often the goods you launch are unique and differentiated at the beginning of their life cycle, but competitors catch up quickly and can often pass you in the race to win the buyers heart, mind and dollars. Differentiation strategies must be built to keep evolving and to make it difficult for competitors to copy you.
3. Is the promotional program you developed for your launch, appropriate for the ongoing evolution of the goods or services? For example, do you need more personal selling now? Or will direct marketing mail campaigns help you to establish brand recognition and build demand?
4. Do you need to re-look the distribution strategy for your goods or services? Is the distribution channel working effectively? Do you need additional merchants or retailers or affiliates? Review and analyze your sales history. Ensure that you have a clear understanding of where your product or service is selling, who is doing the selling, how it is being sold, what the sales lead time is, and all other distribution data. Find where the sales are growing and where they are not. Fix the problems. Test new distribution techniques. Monitor and measure your efforts and try to build a program that will help you not only with one product or service, but with many.
5. Consider diversification of your goods or services as a strategy for brand growth. Through diversification you can support and build your existing business while spreading the costs over other goods and services; some might be related, but other goods could be unrelated to the existing product line. The best diversification strategy ensures that you focus on brands that have limited competition, add minimal incremental cost to your operation, and that your customers want!

Your product marketing strategy must be continuously improving, and must have an effective brand management focus to move forward; ahead of your competition and ahead of your market. Building, growing and protecting your goods or services sales must be at the center of your strategy. Your purpose in building a strong brand marketing strategy is to grow your sales and to grow your share of the market. Focusing on your marketing mix strategy and strategic planning, and then acting on your plans, will move your business forward.
Once your product is past the introductory stage, you will need to adapt your product marketing strategy and consider other product life-cycle stages and strategies.
Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc, a business and marketing services company. Kris has 25 years of experience in leading large, medium and small businesses. For more service and product strategies - and other small business resources and services - go to http://www.more-for-small-business.com/ Copyright 2008 - 2009 Voice Marketing Inc.
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