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Why Strategy Matters
By jon | February 27, 2008
The simple and amazing fact is that most small to medium size businesses have no marketing strategy. None. At best they have a media schedule, like ‘This quarter we’ll run some radio spots and do a print ad.” That is not the same thing.
A marketing strategy is a plan to make money. A media schedule is a plan to spend money. There is a difference, believe me.
What do I mean by strategy? I mean begin at the end result and work backwards, laying out the steps. Your end result is more sales (how many?). Which means more leads (how many?). Which means attracting those leads with a compelling message (what message?). Which means delivering the message (using which media, costing how much, with what ROI?).
There are many more pieces to place in between, but when I start work with clients even these simple elements are usually missing.
The solution isn’t difficult, and what it demands is more a mental effort than a ton of time. You’ll find plenty of tools out there to help, including of course my Marketing Action Program. The key thing is to make the decision. Stop throwing advertising mud against the wall. Have a strategy!
Topics: Marketing |