Looking for business success? Marketing strategy should be top of your list. With an abundance of competitors in the digital ecosystem, you’re primed to get lost in the noise. Which is why a strategic marketing plan has become essential over the last ten years.
Drawing on the expertise at hand from IE Business School, let’s take a look at some best practices that drive real conversions.
What is a marketing strategy?
When we talk about marketing strategies, we’re referring to the plans businesses use to identify, attract and convert potential customers. They tend to combine the company’s value proposition with key messages, then target potential consumers. A marketing strategy might comprise advertising, public relations, outreach, branding initiatives and more. Ultimately, it’s about differentiating yourself from the pack.
Bear in mind that a marketing strategy is different from a marketing plan. The marketing strategy is an overall vision, whereas the marketing plan is a breakdown of all the steps and necessary resources. A well-defined strategy gives that long-term view over marketing decisions, all while ensuring consistency in messaging across platforms. With time, all of this grows your business and builds up a loyal customer base.
How to create a marketing strategy?
Before you make any decisions on your marketing strategy, remember it should revolve around measurable goals. They could be increased sales, new leads, more brand engagement—just ensure you can measure them. Then, you want to guide all of your objectives through market research.
There are four key areas for marketing strategies which are outlined by the Ansoff Matrix. Each of these approaches is suited to different growth goals:
1. Market Penetration: Increase sales of existing products in existing markets through tactics like discounts or loyalty programs.
2. Product Development: Launch new products for current markets, often using innovation to meet changing customer needs.
3. Market Development: Sell current products to new markets, such as new demographics or regions.
4. Diversification: Introduce new products into new markets, a high-risk, high-reward move.
Once your strategy is clearly defined—grounded in research, SMART goals, buyer personas, and a strong value proposition—the next step is execution. This means translating strategy into a concrete action plan, with clear roles, timelines, budgets and defined deliverables. But implementation isn’t enough on its own. To stay aligned with your goals, you’ll need to track performance using key metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI). These insights allow you to make data-driven adjustments, refining your messaging, reallocating resources, and optimizing your campaigns in real time. Ultimately, a marketing strategy should never be static. Instead, it’s a dynamic framework that adapts with your market.
What are the three phases of the strategic marketing process?
So, what are the elements of a strategic marketing plan? In terms of marketing strategy models, many use a three-step process: Research, budgeting, and execution.
1. Collect & analyze data
Start with thorough research. Analyze internal performance, industry trends, competitors, and audience behaviors. This foundation helps you understand the market landscape and identify how your product or service can stand out as the solution your audience needs.
2. Set budget & allocate resources
With research in hand, define your marketing budget and decide how to allocate it across channels. Prioritize platforms based on where your audience spends time and which tactics offer the best ROI. Use KPIs to guide your choices and monitor effectiveness.
3. Create marketing assets
This is where planning meets creativity. Design and produce the content—ads, videos, social posts, landing pages, and more—that will bring your campaign to life. Whether in-house or outsourced, these assets must reflect your strategy and resonate with your target audience.
How to make data driven marketing decisions?
In 2025, the core business challenge for growth lies in knowing how to make data-driven marketing decisions. With data streaming in from CRMs, ad platforms, social media, and revenue systems, the real challenge for marketers is turning that flood into focus. A data-driven approach means moving past gut instinct and generic campaigns to tap into real-time behavior, precise targeting, and measurable outcomes. By consolidating insights from customer profiles, campaign metrics, sales activity, and product engagement into a single source of truth, marketers gain the clarity needed to personalize content at scale, accurately attribute revenue, and optimize performance on the fly.
But tools alone aren’t enough. Building a truly data-driven culture means aligning people, processes, and platforms around shared insights. That takes investment—not just in technology, but in skills. From upskilling teams in analytics to encouraging fast, insight-led decision-making, success depends on developing both the infrastructure and the mindset. When data becomes the common language, marketing shifts from a reactive function to a strategic growth engine.
With the right education, you can create a winning marketing strategy for any kind of business.
Marketing today moves fast—and guesswork no longer cuts it. As we head into 2025, the most competitive organizations are thinking strategically, measuring what matters, and acting on data in real time. From CAC payback to pipeline velocity, success hinges on marketing leaders who can interpret the numbers, work across teams, and personalize at scale using AI and advanced analytics. It’s no longer just about creativity; it’s about connecting insights with outcomes and driving results that move the business forward.
That’s where IE Business School’s Master in Strategic Marketing & Communication comes in. Built for professionals ready to lead in a data-driven world, the program combines strategic thinking with hands-on experience in branding, digital marketing, and communication. You’ll gain practical tools through global immersion weeks, industry certifications, and career-focused tracks in sectors like tech, luxury, and consumer goods. Designed with real-world impact at its core, this degree doesn’t just prepare you for the future of marketing—it positions you to shape it.
Benjamin is the editor of Uncover IE. His writing is featured in the LAMDA Verse and Prose Anthology Vol. 19, The Primer and Moonflake Press. Benjamin provided translation for “FalseStuff: La Muerte de las Musas”, winner of Best Theatre Show at the Max Awards 2024.
Benjamin was shortlisted for the Bristol Old Vic Open Sessions 2016 and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize 2023.
