General Principles

Some things to keep in mind when making strategy decisions are

Be creative.
Consider policy and environment-level changes when appropriate.
Keep your audience's perspective.

The marketing strategy you develop should be closely linked to the results of all of your formative research (including your secondary data collection and problem description). It should be easy to see the connections between the components of the marketing strategy and what you know or have learned about the target audience. The key insights you found in phase 2 when you were analyzing your data should play a role in the strategies you develop in this phase.

Tip

Completing a table like the one below can provide a self-check that you have connected the marketing strategy components with your formative research results.

Data Collection Method	Key Finding from Research	Component of Marketing Strategy that Addresses the Key Finding

This type of table will allow you to easily see the link between formative research results and your marketing strategy. It can also help you document decisions made at this stage in a clear, concise manner and facilitate sharing with partners and stakeholders.