What is Marketing Strategy?

Marketing strategy comes down to three things:

✔ knowing what makes you stand out,

✔ understanding what your customer actually wants,

✔ and finding the best way to bring the two together.

It’s not just about campaigns, hashtags, or the latest shiny platform. Marketing strategy is about aligning your why with your who and choosing the how that will actually reach them.

Marketing Strategy Is More Than Just Selling

Marketing strategy isn’t about pushing products. It’s about:

• starting with why you exist,

• shaping how you deliver value in a way that’s distinct,

• and making sure the right customers see themselves in it.

When you get this right, you’re not battling on price or competing in the noise. You’re building loyalty, trust, and customers who stick around.

The She Consults Marketing Funnel showcases the key steps to effective marketing by understanding your customer placement and building your marketing strategy from there.

Borrowing from Simon Sinek

One of the most quoted ideas in business comes from Simon Sinek: people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

In Start With Why (2009), he introduces the Golden Circle:

• Why – the purpose, cause, or belief that drives you.

• How – the process or approach that makes you different.

• What – the actual products or services you offer.

Take Apple as an example. Their Why is about challenging the status quo and thinking differently. Their How is sleek design, seamless tech, and user experience. Their What is the actual devices — iPhones, Macs, AirPods. Customers don’t queue overnight for the specs; they buy into the belief.

That’s the power of leading with why.

Why It Matters

Without a clear marketing strategy, you’re left guessing which channels, campaigns, or messages will work and burning budget in the process. With one, every decision links back to your purpose and your audience.

It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people.

Final Thoughts

For small businesses, marketing strategy gives you focus — no more trying to be everywhere at once. For bigger organisations, it keeps teams aligned and your brand consistent.

Guesswork isn’t a strategy. Marketing is.