How To Create Effective Marketing Strategies in 2026

A marketing strategy is a necessary part of running a business, whether you’re a scrappy startup or an established brand. It’s what keeps your team focused and aligned on promoting your business. 

There are many things to consider when developing a marketing strategy. This guide simplifies the process, with insights from top marketing experts and business owners to help you create successful marketing strategies. 

What is a marketing strategy?

A marketing strategy is your overall action plan for reaching potential customers and turning them into loyal buyers. A marketing strategy includes:

• Your goals and objectives

• Your unique value proposition

• Market research findings

• Target market details

• Key messaging

• Top marketing channels 

Marketing strategy vs. plan vs. tactic vs. channel

The terms marketing strategy, marketing plan, marketing tactic, and marketing channel are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Here’s how they’re different: 

• Marketing strategy. A marketing strategy is the long-term blueprint for your entire marketing effort. It details your overall goals, as well as the channels you’ll use to reach your target audience.

• Marketing plan. A marketing plan is a condensed, action-oriented version of your strategy. Plans are usually used for short-term campaigns. 

• Marketing tactic.Marketing tactics are the specific actions your brand takes to accomplish marketing goals. For example, if you want to drive traffic to your website, you can run ads on Google or offer time-sensitive discounts on social media. 

• Marketing channel. A marketing channel is the medium you use to communicate with and sell products to your audience. Brands typically use a combination of digital, offline, free and paid channels. 

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7 Ps of marketing

• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place
• People
• Packaging
• Process

The 7 Ps framework helps you create a comprehensive marketing strategy that covers what you’ll sell, to whom, and how you’ll implement your plan. Your strategy should address the following:

Product

Your products are the foundation of your marketing strategy. For each item you sell, answer these questions: 

• What problem does it solve? 

• Who is your solution for? 

• What makes your solution unique? 

• How would a customer use your solution? 

• What key points do customers need to know about your solution? 

Price

How will you price your products? Choose a pricing strategy that fits your market position:

• Competitive pricing: Use competitor prices as benchmarks.

• Premium pricing: Price higher than competitors to signal quality and exclusivity.

• Value-based pricing: Price based on perceived value.

• Penetration pricing: Set lower prices to enter new markets.

• Cost-plus pricing: Add a markup to production costs.

Make sure your pricing has room for promotions, so that you can offer discounts without compromising your profitability.

Promotion

Promotion covers how you’ll reach and persuade your target market. This strategy includes all your marketing channels, such as social media, email campaigns, and ads.

Outline your promotional strategy with a thorough marketing plan. This will cover: 

• Market research, addressing who your audience is and who your competitors are

• Measurable goals, for example “Drive 1,000 sales per month over the next six months”

• Marketing budget and breakdown of how your funds will be spent

• Messaging strategy, defining key brand messages that all your campaigns will communicate

Place

This is where customers can make a purchase. It includes:

• An ecommerce website 

• Social selling platforms (like TikTok shops)

• Online marketplaces

• Retail locations

• Events and pop-up shops

Although you might sell in multiple places, ecommerce platforms like Shopify let you sell from the same inventory.

People

People help you run your business—and they directly or indirectly influence the customer experience. This group can include staff members (like a marketing team member or customer service representative) as well as external partners (like a supplier). 

For example, refrigerator brand Rocco’s marketing strategy extends to the people who deliver its Super Smart Fridges. “We have humans going into your home. That is an incredible moment of trust,” Rocco cofounder Sam Naparstek says.

Instead of working with a typical appliance delivery company staffed by subcontractors, Rocco chose to partner with a delivery service staffed entirely by full-time employees. The people who deliver Rocco fridges are knowledgeable about the product and prioritize customer education. 

“You’re going to have a really strong interaction with our people,” Sam says.

Packaging

Your product’s packaging is a marketing tool that works well beyond the confines of a marketing campaign. Its purpose is to provide additional value for your customer and your business by way of creating a positive first impression of your brand identity—ideally, one that’s memorable and shareable.

There are two layers of product packaging: primary and secondary. Primary product packaging is the packaging of the product itself, before it goes in a shipping box with added materials. Secondary packaging is the packaging products are shipped in. Both are an extension of your brand, and may be customized at an additional cost. 

Process

Process is what translates theoretical marketing strategies to concrete tactical actions. Some processes—especially creative processes like concepting marketing campaigns—will be human-led. Others can be automated, such as email drip campaigns.

Why you need a marketing strategy

A good business marketing strategy, allows you to optimize your time and money on tactics that support your overall goals. A cohesive marketing strategy helps you:

Connect with your target audience

With more than 25 million online stores globally catering to every preference and price point, customers have more choices than ever. A marketing strategy helps you identify your ideal customers and capture their attention, improving brand visibility. 

Stand out from competitors 

Your marketing strategy guides how you’ll gain and maintain competitive advantages. Conduct market research to learn about your competitors. This can reveal what gaps you can fill and how to position your brand.

When Compartés CEO Jonathan Grahm decided to launch a line of chocolate bars, he visited grocery stores like Whole Foods to see what competitors were doing in terms of packaging.

“I wanted to make my chocolate different. I wanted to make it look like fashion, not like what everyone else had on the market. So I did and I created this crazy, amazing, vibrant packaging,” Jonathan says on an episode of Shopify Masters. 

Compartés’s creative packaging design stands out—and has since become a cornerstone of its marketing strategy.

Stay true to your brand values

Even as you participate in new trends or expand your product offering, a marketing strategy can anchor you through change—so you remain true to your brand values.

Bombas is a perfect example of this. The brand started with socks before expanding to t-shirts, underwear, and slippers. Since it has always had a clear idea of why it exists—for every item purchased, an item is donated—it has been able to grow without losing the core elements of its identity. 

“The how and what … will change over time,” cofounder Randy Goldberg says on Shopify Masters. “The why is constant. Being able to answer that is something that all founders should be thinking about.” 

How to create effective marketing strategies

1. Conduct market research
2. Define product-market fit
3. Set measurable marketing goals
4. Choose your marketing channels
5. Focus on customer retention
6. Plan your marketing budget
7. Measure and adjust

Ready to create your marketing strategy? These steps help you understand your audience, clarify your value, and set achievable goals: 

1. Conduct market research

Your target market defines who the customers are that you want to sell to. “If you understand who this group of people is and what set of experiences they have, you can relate to them through shared experiences,” says Ezra Firestone, founder of digital marketing brand Smart Marketer.

To identify your target audience, use both qualitative and quantitative research:

• Analyze competitors. Study their social media platforms, brand voice, and how they talk about their products. Look at which audiences engage with them most.

• Check analytics. Use tools like Shopify Analytics and Google Analytics to learn about your audience’s demographics and behavior.

• Interview potential customers. Talk to people who follow or buy from your competitors. Ask them about their purchase decisions and what they’d improve about the products.

• Create surveys. Use tools like Shopify Forms to learn about your audience’s interests, hobbies, location, income, and occupation.

• Meet customers in person. Set up at farmers markets or street fairs to have casual conversations with potential customers about what they’re looking for.

• Study industry trends. Review reports from Nielsen, Forrester, or Pew Research. Use Google Trends to track product popularity.

• Review sales data. Once you have sales, analyze spending patterns, customer locations, and popular products.

Use this research to create a buyer persona—a detailed profile of your ideal customer that includes their demographics, interests, challenges, and goals. This persona will guide your marketing decisions and help you build an audience that converts.

2. Define product-market fit

Product-market fit is when your product meets the demand of customers. To test your product-market fit, you can try a small launch first. 

This is one method tinned seafood brand Fishwife used to validate its product. “We did this tiny little micro-launch of 100 beta boxes, which sold out in less than an hour,” cofounder Becca Millstein says on Shopify Masters. “It was just very clear from the get-go that people were excited about the product.” 

You should continue to make the product-market fit clear long after launching. When customers visit your website, they should understand how your product solves their problems. Ask yourself: 

• What’s the “why?” behind your products?

• What problem does your product solve?

• Why should customers choose you over competitors?

Your answers will shape your messaging, from your homepage to product pages and landing pages.

3. Set measurable marketing goals

Clear goals keep you focused and help you create campaigns that support your business objectives. Use the SMART goal framework to set goals that are: 

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Relevant

• Time-bound 

For example, instead of “increase sales,” set a SMART goal like “increase sales by 25% over the next six months.” This goal is trackable, has a deadline, and feels achievable—which helps keep you motivated.

4. Choose your marketing channels

Focus your marketing strategy on channels where you can move beyond just broadcasting sales messages to build meaningful connections with your audience. Maintaining accounts on multiple channels that have different purposes but work in complementary ways can help you extend your reach. 

Your marketing content—from social media posts to emails to blog posts—should reflect your understanding of your customers’ needs and how you solve their problems.

5. Focus on customer retention

Your marketing strategy should also address how to keep the new customers long term. You can do this through community engagement, personalized communication, and reward programs. 

For example, when a new customer makes their first purchase, ask them to opt-in to email communications. If they agree, add them to a post-purchase email flow to offer coupon codes for future purchases. You can also request product feedback and reviews, and collect user-generated content. 

Consider launching a loyalty program to reward customers for making purchases or completing other actions, like referring someone. 

6. Plan your marketing budget

Your brand doesn’t have unlimited funds to spend on marketing, so develop a marketing budget to direct spending where it will make the most impact. Your budget can vary based on your goals and strategy.

To begin planning your marketing budget, decide what percentage of your revenue you want to spend. According to Gartner, businesses typically spent 7.7% of their total company revenue on marketing in 2025. Then, consider your goals and whether they are feasible with your proposed budget. 

One way to keep your marketing budget manageable is to start with organic efforts—as opposed to paid ones—and learn more about what your audience responds to. 

“If you start with paid, you’ll spend money to produce non-predictable outcomes,” says Taylor Holiday, CEO of ecommerce growth agency Common Thread Collective. “The good work of your first hundred to a thousand customers has to come from organic efforts. This builds a foundation that will help you effectively use paid media later.”

7. Measure and adjust

Digital marketing provides many data points, making it easy to track and calculate metrics including:

• Conversion rates

• Customer acquisition costs

• Payback periods

Shopify Analytics has pre-built reports that give you insights on conversions. Using QR codes and shareable links, you can track marketing campaigns across email, ads, and social media. 

You can test campaigns with minimal budgets and clear cut-off points, keeping costs low until you find what works. Once you identify successful strategies, you can scale them quickly and confidently. This wealth of information helps you make smarter marketing decisions.

Rod Johnson, cofounder of specialty coffee and tea brand BLK & Bold, uses Shopify Analytics to collect first-party data about customer behavior on the brand’s website, which has helped him shape the company’s marketing strategy. 

As he says on an episode of Shopify Masters, “The access to data—and how you’re able to analyze it—lets you manipulate it into a story that you ultimately can tell.” 

For underperforming campaigns, monitor marketing analytics to find opportunities for improvement. For instance, if your data shows that Facebook ads containing social proof have high click-through rates, try adding customer reviews or user-generated content to campaigns that lack them.

6 tactics to boost your marketing strategy

1. Create conversation on social media
2. Build topical authority to compete against more established brands
3. Give customers a memorable experience
4. Publish informational video content
5. Start a robust influencer marketing program
6. Embrace AI

Here are a few marketing tactics that can help you get more sales, make connections with your audience, and increase brand awareness. 

1. Create conversation on social media 

In 2025, internet users spent an average of 141 minutes per day on social media.

A social media marketing strategy helps you reach and engage with customers where they already spend their time. You can use both organic and paid tactics to market your products on social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Snapchat.

But to make real connections with people on social media, you have to move past a broadcast approach. Shopify expert Ben Zettler says to think about “what’s going to create conversation.”

For example, The Honey Pot, a feminine care products brand, creates conversations around menstruation with its Period Diaries series. As the brand shares “deeply human moments,” it asks other customers to submit their own diaries for a chance to be featured. 

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A post shared by Honey Pot (@thehoneypotco)

2. Build topical authority to compete against more established brands 

According to Backlinko’s 2025 analysis, 59% Google users click on only one page in a search session. If your content ranks higher than that of more established brands, you could stand out and get more traffic.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher on search engine results pages. That marketing strategy is what Los Angeles–based nursery Plant Material credits with its success. “We appear in search results alongside Home Depot and Lowe’s,” confounder Matthew Burrows says on an episode of Shopify Masters. “We’ve been really focused on SEO since day one so that we could pop up and compete without a lot of ad dollars. Now, we’re competing with national chains despite operating with a small team.”

While SEO takes time, it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can use free SEO tools, like keyword planners, to make your efforts more efficient. 

3. Give customers a memorable experience 

Word-of-mouth marketing turns your current customers into brand advocates. It’s particularly powerful since customers say friends and family are their most trusted source for product recommendations, according to Statista. 

One way to increase your chances that customers will recommend your brand to others is by treating customers with care. That’s how baby clothing brand Francis Henri grew. “I have just always truly believed that if you have a wonderful customer experience and a superior product, people come back,” founder Katherine Oyer says on Shopify Masters.

While word-of-mouth marketing campaigns can work hard for your business, you can also create a referral program using referral apps from the Shopify App Store. Just download an app, choose your incentives, and promote your program.

4. Publish informational video content

Content marketing is a type of inbound marketing that builds trust with audiences through useful content, such as blogs, videos, social media posts, podcasts, and infographics. Social videos are one of the most popular content marketing tactics, according to Statista. 

Viral pickle brand Good Girl Snacks regularly uses videos to provide its audience with serviceable content, like recipe ideas. 

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A post shared by good girl snacks (@goodgirlsnacks)

Cofounders Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar have weekly brainstorming sessions to come up with video ideas. “We just sit for two hours and go through strategy for the month: What’s coming up? What can we make content of?” Yasaman says on Shopify Masters.

5. Start a robust influencer marketing program

Partnering with key influencers can be a valuable option for your business. According to a 2025 Sprout Social study, 49% of shoppers make at least one purchase a month inspired by influencer content.

There are several ways to get started with influencer marketing. You can send influencers free products in the hopes they’ll post about them (also known as creator seeding), host influencer events or brand trips, or pay influencers for sponsored posts. 

Beauty brand Kopari does a little bit of each, measuring the success of its influencer campaigns with post-purchase surveys. “In post-purchase surveys, we ask specifically, ‘How did you hear about us?’ And very often someone will note a specific influencer,” says Toral Patel, vice president of Korari, on an episode of Shopify Masters. 

6. Embrace AI 

AI marketing is the use of artificial intelligence tools to automate and make your marketing strategy and operations more efficient. A few use cases include: 

• Targeted advertising. According to a 2025 Statista survey, 43% of marketers said that the best use for AI was targeting audiences. AI systems can parse through first-party data to help you create even more targeted social media and search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns. 

• Personalized recommendations. AI can use customer purchase history and other behaviors to deliver personalized product recommendations. In a Contentstack survey of more than 600 shoppers, 70% said that recommendations based on their past behavior made their online shopping experience better. 

• Creating content. To make content creation easier, you can use AI to help you brainstorm topic ideas and draft posts. As a matter of fact, 85% of marketers use AI tools to create content, according to a 2025 report by Coschedule.

Accessories brand Ridge uses generative AI to efficiently create ads. After feeding its best ads into an AI tool, it generates new versions that are personalized to various audience segments. 

“You want as many tickets as possible, as many ad variances as possible,” CEO Sean Frank says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “What you see and what you like is going to be totally different from what I see and like.”

Improve your marketing strategy

Marketing isn’t always straightforward, and finding what works takes time and testing. 

If your current strategy isn’t delivering results, go back to basics. Talk to your early customers and ask what excited them about your brand. Learn what they want to see from you, and use their insights to refocus marketing strategies and develop a comprehensive plan. 

Remember: The stronger your foundation, the better prepared your brand is for long-term growth.