As a marketing consultant meeting with many new prospective clients, I’m amazed at how often everyone wants to jump to tactics. We need a new website. We need email marketing. We need to pump up our PR efforts. We need a new brochure to tell our story.
Nope.
You need a clear strategic plan first.
Then, you can determine what tactics are necessary. A strategic plan is often misunderstood. It is quite a simple idea.
Strategy Before Tactics
The following framework comes from Bernadette Jiwa, an Australian marketer whose model or framework makes this crystal clear. She calls it the 12-word strategic plan and you can learn more on her site. (Don’t forget to check out her books too – simple, clear and well-written marketing insights and advice on story telling).
- Where are you going? The answer defines your DIRECTION? What is your mission or your goal?
- What do you want to come from this direction? These are the outcomes or RESULTS. (vision/outcome)
- What are the potential HURDLES? (what obstacles might get in your way)
- What is your PLAN? These are the action steps you need to take. These are the tactics that help you get to your destination.
I like this framework. Here is a simple articulation of strategy before tactics.
I want to get to the top of the mountain. (Direction/Mission/Goal). The results of this journey will enable me to plant a flag for my country on top and claim ownership of the mountain. (Results/vision/outcome). Climbing 10,000 feet won’t be easy and I need to move swiftly because of pending weather problems. (Obstacles may get in my way). My plan is to hire experienced Sherpas to help me navigate known based on their knowledge of trekking up similar mountains nearby. They know the right equipment to bring and the proper pace to proceed.
It is so easy to jump into tactics. That’s fun. But it isn’t strategic and can be wasteful.
Marketers must be strategic because if you act tactically first, you are just throwing spaghetti against the wall assuming something will stick. Strategy gives you a filter to determine if a tactic fits with your goals. You wouldn’t buy hiking equipment for a trip before you know what type of journey you will be traveling.
Can you write out your strategy in a paragraph? If not, you probably don’t know what direction you are heading.
When I advise clients, I always start with the end in mind.
Need a marketing sherpa to help you set a strategic direction for your brand? Let’s take a hike together. Contact me.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/en/trekking-hiking-mountaineering-245311/
