
6 Steps to an Authentic Marketing Strategy
Your strategy is what makes your tactics work. A good marketing strategy covers the follwing steps:

Step 1:
Your purpose
People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The future of business is all about the heart. Having a purpose to pursue, in addition to making a profit, will attract more people, and the right kind of people, who want to be a part of that purpose.

Step 2:
Your solution
What you solve is more important than what you sell. What is the real problem that your product or service solves? What makes your solution unique to the alternatives? Attract new customers by being relevant to your people by creating or strengthening a strong point of difference that is both truly unique & appealing to your market.

Step 3:
Who you serve
Trying to target everyone dilutes your efforts and connects you with no one. To succeed in today's environment, meaningfully serve and delight a core group of people. Understand who they are and how you can use this information to attract new customers and the right type of customers.

Step 4:
The value you provide
What value, beyond your actual product or service, do you provide? Translating the things you do and the features your product or service has into real benefits allows customers to easily understand how purchasing from you will improve their life somehow. When you make it easy to see this, it’s more likely they’ll act if what you have is for them.

Step 5:
Building trust
Understand the perceived barriers customers face when purchasing a product or service like yours and what you can do to lower their risk and build trust.
There's safety in numbers. Learn how you can 'show proof' in your marketing to help build trust.

Step 6:
Your story
Businesses spend most of their time marketing the cookie, when it's the fortune that sells. Your story is how you evoke a feeling that drives a connection with your business. Through the manifestation of the above elements you know who the story is for and what the message is, now you need to decide how and where to tell it. .