What Is a Marketing Strategy? Definition and Examples
A marketing strategy is your decision about whom to target and why they should choose you. Here is a clear definition and six strategy examples that suit small businesses.
A marketing strategy is your overall approach to winning customers: which customers you will focus on, what you will offer them and why they should choose you rather than someone else. It is a set of decisions, made before you choose any particular advert, post or email.
It helps to separate three words that are often mixed up:
| Term | Answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy | Who and why | Be the first choice for busy parents who want healthy takeaway food |
| Plan | What, when and how much | Family meal deal launched in September, promoted for 8 weeks with a £300 budget |
| Tactics | The individual actions | School newsletter advert, email to past customers, posts on local Facebook groups |
The strategy guides the plan; the plan organises the tactics. Our guide on how to write a marketing plan covers the next step.
What a good strategy contains
- A chosen target: a group of customers you can describe clearly.
- A reason to choose you that matters to that group and that competitors do not offer as well.
- A way to reach them that fits your budget and time.
- A goal that tells you whether the strategy is working.
Choosing a target means accepting that you will not appeal equally to everyone. That feels risky, but a message aimed at everyone tends to persuade no one.
Six marketing strategy examples for small businesses
The businesses below are illustrative, but each strategy is widely used.
1. Specialise in a niche
A general accountant becomes "the accountant for independent restaurants". The website, case studies and talks all speak to restaurant owners. Fewer people are interested, but those who are see an obvious fit, and referrals within the niche spread quickly.
2. Own your local area
A hardware shop concentrates on being the best-known option within a few miles: a carefully kept Google Business Profile, reviews, sponsorship of local clubs and an email list of nearby customers. See our guide to local SEO for small businesses.
3. Grow through existing customers
A dog groomer focuses on rebooking and referrals rather than chasing strangers: booking the next appointment before the dog leaves, reminder emails and a thank-you for every referral. Keeping customers usually costs less than finding new ones.
4. Teach what you know (content marketing)
A garden designer publishes practical guides to planting for small gardens. People find them through search, trust grows and some become clients. This takes patience but builds an asset that keeps working. Read more in our guide to a content marketing plan.
5. Compete on convenience
A laundrette adds collection and delivery booked online. It does not try to be the cheapest; it tries to be the easiest. Every message stresses time saved.
6. Build a premium position
A bakery chooses to be the special-occasion choice: custom cakes, consultation appointments, clean round prices and a portfolio of past work. It turns down cheap, rushed orders to protect the position. Our article on pricing psychology explains why the way prices look matters here.
How to choose your strategy
- List your most profitable and most enjoyable customers. What do they have in common?
- Ask a few of them why they chose you. Use their exact words.
- Look at what competitors emphasise, and find something important they do poorly.
- Check that you can deliver the promise every time, not just on a good day.
- Write your strategy in two sentences. If you cannot, it is not clear yet.
Questions
What is a marketing strategy in simple terms?
Your decision about which customers to focus on and why they should choose you, which then guides everything you do in marketing.
What is an example of a marketing strategy?
A general accountant specialising in independent restaurants, so that all its marketing speaks directly to restaurant owners, is a niche strategy.
What is the difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan?
The strategy sets direction: target customers and positioning. The plan sets out the specific actions, budget and timetable that put the strategy into practice.
Read next
How to Write a Marketing Plan (With an Example)
A marketing plan turns good intentions into a timetable. Here is what goes in one, how to write it in seven steps and a worked example for …
Marketing Plan Template for Small Businesses (Free to Copy)
A marketing plan does not need to be fifty pages. Copy this one-page template, see how each section works with a filled-in example, and use…