This Master Class covers:
- A general framework to create (and maintain) a defensible marketing strategy
- How to conduct an analysis of your market (SWOT analysis) using time-tested techniques
- How to map out the analytical process of creating a marketing strategy
- How to analyze your company's basic competencies and weaknesses
- Making your marketing strategy robust and agile enough to adjust to market shifts
If you want to create a sustainable, differential advantage over the competition, a true strategic plan is essential. It causes you to move beyond this quarter's revenue goals and think critically about your brand, your customers, your competitors, and the lifecycle of your product.
If you're looking to move beyond tactics to create a robust strategic marketing plan that will help you rise above the competition, you won't want to miss this Master Class.
MASTER CLASS LESSONS
Complete each of the following lessons to earn your certificate of completion.
First Things First: Defining Your Market
To develop a robust strategy, you first need to take a step back and understand the elements that make up your market. You'll learn how to do this, and what happens if you do it incorrectly.
LENGTH: 20:58 minutes
Customer Analysis: Who They Are and What They Care About
We all know spray and pray doesn't work. Discover who your customers are, how they perceive you, and how to segment them based on the features and benefits that they care about.
LENGTH: 16:39 minutes
Segment to Succeed: A Deeper Look at Your Customers' Needs
In this lesson, you'll develop a deeper understanding of your customers by examining the customer journey, the decision-making process, and how your audience interacts with your content at different touchpoints.
LENGTH: 13:26 minutes
Know the Enemy: Staying Ahead of the Competition
In this lesson, you'll learn how to analyze your competitors and predict their responses to any decisions you might make.
LENGTH: 15:06 minutes
Know Yourself: Analyze Your Position
Time to analyze your own company by assessing your basic competencies and weaknesses, core competencies, digital presence, customer lifetime value, churn rate, and conversion analysis.
LENGTH: 12:35 minutes
Solidify Your Position: Challenge Your Assumptions
It's time to bring together all that you've analyzed so far (and challenge any assumptions you made along the way) to determine the targets of your marketing strategy, how to position your brand, and how to make sure your strategy is agile enough to adjust to market shifts.
LENGTH: 15:00 minutes
Thinking Beyond Today: The Future of Your Market
In this final lesson, you'll learn to use "convergent viewpoints" to predict how things will change over the next 10 years so you can stay ahead of the competition.
LENGTH: 7:27 minutesLevel-up your subscription and GO PRO for access to this and all future Master Classes. Plus, PRO-exclusive webinars, our full course catalog, a personal concierge, and more.
SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCES
These materials aren't required to officially complete this Master Class, but they can help you more deeply understand and better implement what you learn.
- Registration required to access supplementary resources
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Marketing Strategy -- download the Job Aid (PDF)
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Marketing Strategy -- download the kickoff slides (PDF)
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Marketing Strategy -- download the transcripts (zip)
OUR EXPERTS
YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Allen Weiss
Allen Weiss is MarketingProfs founder and CEO, positioning consultant, and emeritus professor of marketing. Over the years he has worked with companies such as Texas Instruments, Informix, Vanafi, and EMI Music Distribution to help them position their products defensively in a competitive environment. He is also the founder of Insight4Peace and the former director of Mindful USC.
Instructional Designer: Kerry O'Shea Gorgone
Kerry O'Shea Gorgone is senior editor and writer at Appfire. She co-hosts The Backpack Show LIVE with Chris Brogan and Punch Out With Katie and Kerry, and serves as Consigliere and Showrunner for Chris Brogan Media. Once upon a time, Kerry was a lawyer (number one in her class at Suffolk University Law School).
