“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” – Sun Tzu
Marketing isn’t magic. It does take a bit of guile, a lot of guts and, most importantly, the experience of knowing what works. And we know what works – strategy before tactics.In order to fully understand how strategy before tactics can help your company achieve its goals, we first should define what is a true marketing strategy.
A true marketing strategy defines how your company will reach its goals and objectives. It is the foundation of how you will develop the tactics to reach your audience.
Developing email campaigns and creating a social media identity are excellent tactics. However, without a plan in place to support the “how’s” and “why’s” of a marketing strategy, you will probably fall short in reaching your goals.
In developing your strategy, there are three main questions you need to answer:
- Why do we do what we do?
This can be a difficult question to answer. This question really defines your company’s mission and the purpose for your business. Until you have a full grasp of the “why,” you won’t be able to really move forward. One small tip to help answer this question is to get everyone on the team involved. Ask them this basic question: “What is it about our business and the result our business brings to a client that makes them happy?”
- Who do we do it for?
This is really a two-part question. First, begin to think about who may get the most value from your business and who can your business help? Another tip: look at your most profitable customers. There must be some commonalities among them that will help develop an ideal customer profile. Second, look among your staff. Who falls in line with your company’s culture? Which employee has the attitude to successfully serve your company’s mission?
- What do we do that’s both unique and remarkable?
What about your business is unique and allows you to stand out from everyone else? With this question, it is really important to understand the difference between a client’s expectations versus what truly makes your company remarkable. Good customer service is an expectation and not something that sets you apart. A great way to help solve this is to go straight to your client and talk to them – they are your customers for a reason and can help you understand what makes your company unique.
Like we said before, marketing isn’t magic. Now that we understand how to develop a strategy, in part two we will discuss how to implement it using planned tactics to reach your core audience.
Source: Jantsch, John. et al. “STRATEGY MATTERS” Duct Tape Marketing Web.
