Circle of Marketing: A Guide to the Marketing Lifecycle

Welcome to the circle of marketing! Just as a circle has no beginning or end, marketing is an ongoing process that revolves through various stages. This guide will walk you through the full lifecycle, providing an overview of each phase along with tips to succeed.

Whether you’re a startup looking to gain customers or an established business seeking growth, understanding this cycle is key. Like a wheel that turns, effective marketing repeatedly moves across each segment in a seamless flow. Let’s explore what makes this circle keep spinning!

Different Stages of Marketing

Below, we have share the various different stages of marketing that is used in marketing of every product or businesses.

• Research
• Plan
• Create
• Execute
• Evaluate

Stage 1: Research

The first segment on the marketing wheel is consumer research. This involves understanding your buyers, identifying their pain points and defining your brand’s solutions.

• Gather Insights

Conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups and buyer persona analysis to gain insights on consumer needs and behavior. Empathize with the customer journey to determine motivations during the buying process.

• Define Goals

Research should reveal problems you can address and goals you can achieve through your offerings. Outline these clearly before creating campaigns.

• Assemble Tools

Prepare market research reports, build buyer profiles, chart customer maps and acquire relevant data to assemble your toolkit before acting.

When this segment is complete, you can plan campaigns backed by audience intelligence rather than assumptions.

Stage 2: Plan

Every circus master thinks strategically before showtime! This planning stage is where you craft engaging campaign ideas based on research. Just plan for the marketing strategy using the  Unit Circle Chart and analaye charts after some interval of time to evaluate performance.

• Set Objectives

Define specific, measurable goals for business metrics like website traffic, lead generation or sales targets.

• Plot Timelines

Structure campaigns week-by-week with defined budgets, platforms, creatives and Evaluation frameworks accounting for internal capacities.

• Design Personas

Map campaign ideas to target buyer personas using tone and content tailored to their preferences for maximum impact.

Meticulous plans set you up for effective ongoing campaigns instead of one-off efforts.

Stage 3: Create

With crystal clear plans, turn to developing catchy and convincing creative assets across formats.

• Produce Engaging Content

Craft compelling copy, design aesthetically appealing visuals, develop interesting ad videos, curate meaningful case studies etc. tailored for platforms like Facebook, Instagram etc.

• Localize Messaging

Customize creatives for different geographies and languages with region-specific cultural sensitivities built into the messaging.

• Pilot and Test

Float limited samples to capture feedback through surveys and focus groups. Refine extensively until assets optimally resonate with audiences.

Memorable creatives that stick influence purchase decisions. Master this cycle segment for winning campaigns!

Stage 4: Execute

Showtime! This is where campaign activities kick off across channels through meticulous execution.

• Time Actions

Stick vigilantly to activity schedules detailed in your plans for well-paced campaigns. Leverage calendars to organize workflows.

• Track Efforts

Monitor campaigns via standardized reports to capture engagement rates, lead stats, traffic metrics and other impactful numbers tied to goals.

• Optimize Spend

Keep optimizing bid amounts and budgets allocated across platforms and creatives based on performance. Automate where possible for efficiency.

Flawless execution ensures your creative ideas actually achieve planned outcomes successfully.

Stage 5: Evaluate

Like assessing audience reactions post-show, this reviews performance to inform future initiatives.

• Measure Metrics

collate numbers on key performance indicators from campaign dashboards into evaluation reports that become reference benchmarks.

• Spot Trends

Analyze response patterns across segments and platforms to uncover campaign strengths, weaknesses and emerging opportunities through data trends.

• Strategize Improvements

Identify poor performing areas needing revision along with potential channels, segments and messaging worth enhancing for bigger impact next time.

Evaluating through metrics steers growth for subsequent marketing cycles.

And then…we come full circle! Consumer research begins again, absorbing evaluation insights before launching refreshed planning.

• Research thoroughly to empathize before creating
• Plot engaging campaigns with specific objectives
• Localize messaging and pilot creatives before release
• Flawlessly execute timed actions across channels
• Evaluate analytically through measured metrics

And just like that, you have mastered the entire marketing wheel! As you move across these stages repeatedly, each turn will gain momentum to build an unstoppable marketing cycle.