I get a lot of very specific questions about marketing from people I don’t formally advise.

Typical questions include topics like search engine optimization, web design, or some form of advertising.

If I don’t have a lot of background information, the answer always comes with this caveat: “…but it depends on your unique situation.”

Every situation is unique, and in order to give specific advice to specific questions, I need to know the full context.

That’s why when I create a marketing strategy, I follow a process that builds sequentially from the ground up.

I create layers that build on top of each other. The tactics work together to create synergy, and no single thing works in isolation.

You don’t need to be a guru to create a marketing strategy. You can do it the way I do by following a similar process.

When you follow this process, each piece fits into a logical puzzle. You can then start to make investment decisions based on short-term and long-term goals.

I’ve listed these steps in order of priority. You can jump ahead, but you won’t have the best results unless you complete each phase.

My five-phase method for creating a marketing strategy

Phase 1: Strategy
Know your ideal members, your competition, your advantages, your goals, your uniqueness, and how you’ll measure success.

Phase 2: Platform
Your website is the foundation for the rest of your marketing. Before you think about advertising or anything else, get your website right. Have clear conversion points, invest in good design, make it easy to navigate, use lots of compelling visuals, have social proof, and remember to keep things super simple.

Phase 3: Content
The Internet is content. Create lots of it. That’s what attracts people to your platform, which is where they get educated enough to consider a purchase. Blog content, thought leadership, explainer videos, featured members, testimonials, and more. Create stuff your ideal members want to consume.

Phase 4: Promotion
Once you have a strategy devised, your website is solid, and your content is firing on all cylinders, the next step is to promote like crazy.

This is where social media, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, and traditional marketing tactics come into play. Each promotional strategy is built on the previous three phases.

Use these methods to drive people to your website.

Phase 5: Measurement and Refinement
That which you measure, you improve. Track the key performance indicators, know what success looks likes, see what’s working, change what isn’t, and refine until you have a well-oiled marketing machine.

Too often people start the marketing process at the Promotion phase without investing the time to get the preceding phases done well.

This is the biggest mistake I see businesses making with their marketing, which is why I highly encourage you to take the time needed to get the first three phases done well.

If you need help creating a marketing strategy for your coworking space, learn more about the services I offer here.