What is Intentional Marketing?

What does Intentional Marketing mean, and how should you be doing it??
Well, intentional marketing is a lot like great branding. Intentional marketing embraces the highest level essence of your brand and continues to offer value for its customers at every turn. It’s like a 4-star resort where no details have been spared. Always.

To be intentional in your marketing strategy means this:

• You’re very in touch with your brand and company mission
• You’re very in tune with your customer’s wants and needs
• You consider the needs of potential customers
• Everything you do and say has a purpose and leaves a lasting impression. (Even in the business cards you use or product packaging)
• You see outcomes, strategies, and foresight in all of your marketing efforts
• You aren’t lazy in your efforts and you’re always thinking of ways to woo your clients (your office is 100%, your website is 100%, the experience is 100%, marketing materials are 100%, etc)
• You believe in details, quality and always strive to be above average and consistent with these aspects.

Examples of Companies Who Use Intentional Marketing

Apple, Disney, Nike, Tiffany & Co., Whole Foods Market are all great examples of companies who are great with intentional marketing.

Have you ever stayed at a Four Seasons Resort or visited Disneyland park or even purchased an Apple product? Everything that you experience from beginning to end with each one of those companies uses intentional marketing.

How do you Deploy Intentional Marketing Tactics?

1. Plan ahead. Always be planning ahead with your marketing strategies and goals. Plan every move precisely and with a clear vision of the outcome you’re seeking and execute that plan with your best tactics.
2. Understand the scope, objectives, and goals you need to reach. Plan according to who you intend to reach and how you plan to reach them. Depending on how wide or narrow your target audience is will determine how much money needs to be budgeted to execute properly, and far in advance you’ll need to plan.
3. Make sure you and everyone on your team clearly understand your target customers like they know their own friends. In my Branding Course, I teach ways to get to know your target customer like a personal friend. Learn her, know her and make her happy. Create all of your copy, creative around this special target customer. Stop trying to speak to everyone.
4. Use a project management tool like Trello, Asana or Slack. Keep your team and tasks tight! Stay on track and with the schedule.
5. Again, there is no such thing as over-planning. Rushing to market with a half-ass/half-executed marketing plan = wasted time, wasted efforts and wasted dollars $$$$$.
6. Once launched, measure results. If there is time and room to make improvements or adjustments, do it.
7. Once the marketing efforts are complete, measure again. Read the results and analytics of each campaign and determine ROI.

Intentional marketing means having an eye for detail, knowing what you want to accomplish, knowing your audience and brand and having the patience, capital and tenacity to stick with it and follow through with tight execution.