Finding the right fit
by JT Halbisch
Digital marketing has transformed significantly over the past few years, from SMS messaging in the early ’90s to the Internet of Things overtaking email and social as we know it. These evolutionary changes in the marketing world are not “nice to have” but necessary to stay relevant to the current trends. Let’s take a step back and look at marketing’s track record in general. We will find that the shift changes from production to product following by sales orientation and our current focus, market orientation. Market orientation, or customer centricity, is an approach of marketing that focuses on the customer’s needs, both before and after the sale.
If our customers’ needs are the centre of our approach, we should have a fail-proof platform/system to address these specific needs. In any case, the purpose of a marketing plan is to focus your efforts and avoid wasting any resources. Developing a customer persona, followed by a customer journey map, has significantly changed how I plan and structure my marketing strategy. I go into a little more detail in a previous blog, Marketing Handyman, sharing the importance of a marketing tool that fits the mould and identifying potential vital areas that might have been omitted. SOSTAC is just such a tool.
SOSTAC is an acronym for a specific model that addresses six fundamental aspects of marketing: situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action, and control. PR Smith developed this marketing model, and SOSTAC aims to simplify an in-depth situation analysis that advises subsequent decisions about strategy and tactics. (Mullin, 2002)
Why use SOSTAC as opposed to any other marketing model, you may ask? In a recent article written by Dave Chaffey, co-founder and content director of Smart Insights, he and a colleague, Annmarie Hanlon, collaborated on a guide mentioning the most valuable and practical marketing models. They briefly discussed 15 models that stood the test of time, with PR Smith’s SOSTAC being the favourite. To support their [Chaffey and Hanlon] combined opinion, SOSTAC should be considered above other effective models because it is simple and practical. It provides a clear structure that is easy to remember and covers all the stages needed to create and execute any organisation or marketing plan. Still, it is a flexible model that can be utilised at any stage of your business.
In closing, I could attest to the benefit of this marketing tool in a small business. And for someone who struggled with the basics of marketing at the best of times, I’ve been given an easy and practical tool to track the progress and predict specific goals to be met. In earnest, finding the right marketing fit for my business has transformed the outlook for potential growth.
References:
Mullin, R (2002) Direct Marketing: A Step-by-step guide to effective planning and targeting. Kogan Page Publishers
