The importance of having a marketing strategy

“Without strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless.” Morris Chang, CEO TMSC

by Alli Grant

So, I’m going to ask you a question about your business, and I need you to answer it honestly, okay?

Do you have a marketing strategy?

And by marketing strategy, I mean a detailed plan that outlines what you want to achieve in your business and how you’re going to use marketing tactics to help achieve it.

Simply “doing marketing stuff” like posting on social media, sending e-newsletters and writing blogs doesn’t mean you have a strategy; it means you are delivering lots of tactics. You’re busy doing stuff.

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat,” said Sun Tzu

Harsh? Maybe. But true.

We all know that digital marketing is crucial to the survival of any small business. But in this instance, I’m going to have to challenge Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ slogan and suggest that you don’t just do it unless you know why you are doing it, who you are doing it for, what you are doing, and how you can measure the success of what has been done.

Then you can totally make like Nike!

Strategy and tactics must go hand in hand for a business to achieve a measure of true momentum, but an effective strategy must be in place before any set of tactics make sense.

Generally, small business owners aren’t blessed oodles of time in to which to market their business, let alone create a detailed strategy, so I understand why it seems better to do something rather than nothing.

I have a client who invests quite heavily in social media. The other day we had a heart to heart about why he was doing what he was doing, and he couldn’t tell me. He was posting and running ads for the sake of posting and running ads.

There was no strategy. No goals. No end game. No measurement. Sufficed to say, we put a stop to all social media and have been working on a marketing strategy. Watch this space – I know he’s going to absolutely slay it!

If this sounds like you, it might be time to down tools and strategise. You won’t regret it. Of course, we can help you (insert not so subtle plug for In Cahoots Co here), but to get your started, we suggest you ponder these questions …

Do you know who your target audiences are?
Do you understand your landscape, your competitors, the sandpit that you play in?
Are you using the right channels to reach your audiences, with a clear purpose?
Are your channels optimised and amplified?
Do you have a content plan?
Are you sharing authentic, powerful stories with your audience?
Do you have the digital skills to tweak and pivot as required?
Do you know the keywords for your industry?
Are you measuring your marketing activity?
Do you understand the power of SEO and how to be found?

Answering these questions will help you on your way towards creating a marketing strategy for your business. Otherwise, you’re just firing a gun in the dark.

In Cahoots Co is an Ipswich based Digital Marketing Agency with a laser like focus on combining digital strategy with the art of storytelling; amplifying your brand with purpose. If you are looking for a team to help you achieve digital marketing goals then we are the people you want to be in cahoots with!

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