Strategies

Okay, so you know where you want to go. Now, you just have to determine which roads you're going to take to get there. These are the strategies you'll use in your marketing mix. Your marketing mix is the combination of elements that make up the entire marketing process. By using a variety of modes to reach your goal, you have a better chance of actually doing it. It requires the right combination, however, so be careful when putting it together.

Traditionally, the marketing mix refers to the four P's: product, price, place, and promotion. There are folks who will tell you that those are old-fashioned, and that there are new hip terms to use, but they really all boil back down to... product, price, place and promotion.

We'll go through each of the Ps and talk about the inherent elements in each that can be strategically modeled to help you meet your goals. In addition to the traditional Ps, and probably the most important when it comes to your marketing communications, is positioning. Let's begin there.

Brainstorming In this section, you really need to put on your creative helmet and think outside of the box. Have a brainstorming session to generate ideas. Here are a few tips to get you started: Have a good variety of people involved; include people who know your product, as well as those who know absolutely nothing about it. Don't shoot down any ideas until after the session is over. Even bad ideas can beget further good ideas. Conduct the session in an exciting and creative environment. Start by exhausting all initial ideas and listing them out. Use toys, gadgets, photographs, puzzles and other items to stimulate creative thoughts and ideas. Encourage outrageous thoughts and bizarre ideas. Use your competition by tearing its product apart and thinking about how you can steal their customers away.