5 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategies

Retailers are relying too heavily on coupons at the expense of more effective digital tactics, according to data from an analysis of ThinkVine customers with average annual sales of more than $1 billion. With the retail market shifting to omnichannel marketing in response to changing consumer behavior, retailers need to rethink the way they plan, forecast and optimize their marketing to keep pace.

With so much happening, it can be difficult to know where to start. And at the end of the day, what really matters is achieving results. By following the five steps below, retailers will be on their way to making better strategic decisions about marketing tactics, timing and spend levels that will deliver the results they need.

1. It all starts with your customer. This has always been true, but is more important than ever because of the diversity of consumers, changes in consumer behavior and the availability of "big" online data. Is your marketing keeping up with changes? With each year, there are new devices, new apps and new ways to reach consumers, who are demanding greater cross-channel consistency and expect more personalization. Start by looking at where and how your target audience consumes media and buys products in your category, then create marketing strategies based on what you find.

2. Think "set," not "path." Searching for that one clear path to purchase that your customers take from awareness to purchasing your product is unlikely to lead you to a pot of gold. Each consumer chooses their own path, some more complex than others. To make a difference, instead of trying to map out every path and optimize the details, use data to determine the right set of marketing activities to drive sales. For example, learning more about how your customers consume media can help you determine which marketing tactics generate awareness that leads to sales.

3. Right data trumps big data. Over the past couple of years, companies have spent a lot of money on solutions that collect, manage and analyze big data. Yet too few companies have turned the insights gleaned from that data into dial-moving results. The biggest data isn't always the data with the most potential. High-volume online data can enable incremental improvements via A/B testing, and detailed historical sales data creates "slice and dice" heaven. Including the right external data needed to answer each of your strategic planning questions and using advanced, customer-focused analytics and simulations can deliver greater returns.

4. Forward looking replaces backward looking. Historical insight is good to know, but you can only influence and change what will happen. Advanced computing power and sophisticated analytical techniques now make it possible to create remarkably accurate forecasts of results before you commit the dollars and time for execution. All analyses aren't created equal, however. Find a predictive analytics partner who has the experience, expertise and technology to give you the forward-looking information you need before your competition does.

5. The need for speed. As consumers demand more personalized information, marketers are turning to automated solutions to execute faster. The adoption of marketing software at the campaign level continues to grow. In most companies, however, marketing planning is still a death march of PowerPoint slides and Excel spreadsheets that can't keep up with your decision cycle. Increase your speed to results and keep pace with market changes by integrating a software solution that encompasses the above four principles across all of your marketing.

Mark Battaglia is the CEO of ThinkVine, a marketing mix optimization software company.