Do you find yourself bouncing from tactic to tactic, hoping to find the right approach in your marketing efforts? The world is moving quickly and communication professionals are running themselves ragged trying to keep up. With technology disrupting every facet of our lives, marketing success can be incredibly elusive. So what should you do?

Let’s begin with what you shouldn’t do. You shouldn’t retreat. If the goal is reaching your market in the new communications landscape, retreating to old tactics and hoping they will still be impactful is probably not the best way to advance your career. While old methods may offer some personal comfort, eventually they will stop being effective and your sales pipeline will dry up.

You also shouldn’t merely convert traditional tactics into new media. If you believe converting a printed newsletter into a digital newsletter will bring credibility with your audience in the digital age, you are missing the mark. The same can be said for all digital and physical marketing assets.

What you should do to ensure marketing success is joomla_4elop a strategy. Your strategy must be established before you deploy any tactics.

Today’s communications landscape has brought more than just a change in how we deliver information. It has changed the balance of power in the world of business transactions. Today, customers hold the power. They are informed, connected and looking for true partners who know their needs and are prepared to provide custom solutions that maximize their investments. Customers also demand authenticity. To successfully reach your customers you must have a deep understanding of who they are, what their needs are and how your product or service can help them succeed. Only tactics that are informed by an accurate understanding of your customers will hit the mark. Before you deploy any tactics, you need to ask yourself some fundamental (and traditional!) questions to help joomla_4elop your strategy:

Who is our audience?
1. Who are they?
2. How do they communicate?
3. How do they decide?
4. How do they perceive you?

Who are we?
1. What makes us unique?
2. Who are we today?
3. What do we aspire to be?
4. Where are the gaps?

What is our market?
1. What is the opportunity?
2. Who is the competition?
3. What has changed?
4. Where do we fit in?

By taking the time to understand your customers and research your market opportunities, you can joomla_4elop a comprehensive plan and strategic approach that will connect to an audience of real people who live in a real world and want real community. That’s the key to long-term, sustainable success.