Marketing Tactics without Strategy: A Model of Bad Marketing

August 11, 2021 by Christine

The marketing department has never had a reputation as part of the company most concerned about looking far into the future. That said, very few traditional marketers would tell a client to use marketing tactics without strategy.

Unfortunately, that’s changing. 

The term “certified digital marketing expert” is now thrown around like confetti, usually by those who have little experience or formal training in the science of branding and marketing—or the sales process. 

A Google search will quickly reveal many self-appointed digital marketing gurus who fail to distinguish between marketing strategies and tactics. And that is a very significant oversight. The fact is successful marketing takes both discipline (i.e., strategy—a written plan) and execution (i.e., tactics—the people and the tools).

“What do you want to achieve or avoid? The answers to this question are objectives. How will you go about achieving your desired results? The answer to this you can call strategy.” –  William E. Rothschild, Rothschild Strategies Unlimited LLC

Marketing strategy and tactics must go hand in hand for a business to achieve true momentum. But an effective strategy must first be put in place for any set of tactics to make sense. Choosing your marketing tactics without strategy is just bad marketing. Having a well-founded strategy is necessary to win the battle for your customers’ attention—and the marketing war. 

One rant we constantly repeat right here at Viral Solutions is this: Marketing strategy must supersede marketing tactics. Marketing strategy does not need to be complicated. Marketing tactics without marketing strategy is the noise before defeat!

Make no mistake, successful marketing takes both discipline and execution.

“If you can’t describe your strategy in twenty minutes, simply and in plain language, you haven’t got a plan. ‘But’ people may say, ‘I’ve got a complex strategy. It can’t be reduced to a page.’ That’s nonsense. That’s not a complex strategy. It’s a complex thought about the strategy.” – Larry Bossidy, Former CEO of AlliedSignal

What Is the Difference between Marketing Strategy and Marketing Tactics?

To understand why you shouldn’t implement marketing tactics without strategy, you need to know the difference between them. Fortunately, it’s not as complicated as you may think…

• Marketing strategy is the game plan you use to win in the marketplace. It’s your playbook for the playing field. It’s also how you size up and identify your competition and quantify your niche.
• Marketing tactics are how you deliver and execute your strategy to maximize and optimize your opportunities. Marketing tactics are the tools, widgets, gadgets, and methods by which you reach our customers. 

In short, strategy tells you which tactics to use. Tactics are how you implement your strategy.

If you’re like many business owners, you may also confuse objectives, goals, and missions with marketing strategies. So, let’s look at the difference between these concepts too…

• To become an industry leader is NOT a marketing strategy—it’s a goal. 
• To serve your customers well, with diligence, integrity, and common values is NOT a marketing strategy—it’s a mission. 
• To double your sales by the end of the year is NOT a marketing strategy—it’s an objective.

The Problem with Overly Tactical Marketers Who Use Tactics without Strategy

Overly tactical marketers may have a set of “proven” tactics and software tools at their disposal to impress you. But many make the mistake of not creating a road map of how they’ll help your business arrive at the desired destination. In fact, most have no clue where, who, or what they are going after. Tactics without strategy is a recipe for how to get lost. 

In the last 10 years, we’ve seen a wide array of new tools and techniques built into computer software. Don’t misunderstand our point—we love these tools for saving us labor and providing critical analytical data that guides our strategy and tactics. But software is not a substitute for long-term planning. 

Unfortunately, overly tactical marketers have inundated today’s small business owner, presenting themselves as marketing gurus. Often with poorly trained staff behind them, they select their mode of implementation and execution before doing any research or gathering critical data. 

Here’s the thing…

Just because most marketing tactics today use digital channels does not mean strategy has died as an art! In the world of marketing, a systematic and methodical approach is still the way to go. And that requires research, supportive data, and a strategy that is unique to your brand. 

Of course, marketing tactics are certainly an essential part of the marketing plan. After all, each tactic functions as a delivery mechanism. And there’s a lot of excitement and focus on specific tactics such as… 

• Influencer marketing
• PPC
• Content marketing

But they shouldn’t serve as the starting point. Trying to use marketing tactics without strategy won’t deliver the long-term growth you’re looking for. 

How Should You Choose Your Marketing Tactics?

As mentioned before, marketing strategies and tactics work together. However, strategy must come first; otherwise, you’ll end up wasting time and money on tactics that don’t fit your plan, your industry, or your target audience. 

So, let your strategy guide you, and follow the steps below to choose the right tactics…

1. Determine who your perfect customer is, including demographics and psychographics. How else will you know what tactic to use to find where they hang out? Once you know exactly who your perfect customer is, create a customer avatar to help you speak directly to that customer.
2. Learn and understand that market segmentation is how to position your brand for optimal success. To know if your success is optimized, you need to set clear objectives for each target audience. Then, you need to support that optimization with hard data to remove feel-good emotions from the decision process.
3. Methodically map the marketing process with strategy and then determine which marketing tactics are working by analyzing the data. It’s an art, and it’s also the only way to know what is working and what is not.

What to Look for in Your Next Marketing Expert

Here are some key qualities to consider when choosing your next marketing expert:

1. They Understand Your Brand and Goals. 

A marketing expert knows that if your unique brand and goals aren’t clearly defined yet, they need to be. They’ll also focus on having a well-researched strategy in place before worrying about choosing the tactics.

2. They Can Realize Your Vision. 

The marketing agency or individual should demonstrate expertise in marketing throughout the funnel. Are they willing to adapt their approach to meet your business needs? A good marketing guide will set realistic targets and suggest meaningful metrics to track your campaign performance. If their recommendations don’t work for your business, they should be willing to experiment until they find an approach that does.

3. They Understand How to Use Data.

A decent marketing consultant will want to understand your brand from the targeted customer’s point of view. They'll ask for significant data or will research available data. They’ll also be committed to using recognized marketing models and principles as the foundation of your campaign. Further, they’ll know how to use data as the foundation of testing, segmentation, and strategy.

4. They Have a Proven Track Record. 

One of the best ways to judge if a marketing expert can deliver is to look at their record. They should be able to provide evidence of the ROI of past clients’ campaigns. Check out case studies, testimonials, and portfolios. 

5. They Can Meet Your Budget. 

Make sure quotes are realistic and their billing practices are transparent. A good marketing consultant will make sure to match their services to your budget. Otherwise, they may be making unrealistic promises, intending to bill you later for inevitable cost overruns. 

Avoid any marketing consultant or guru who says or believes that he or she can deliver an effective marketing campaign using tactics without strategy. 

Further, stay away from any so-called expert who says that…

• Any group of people born in a certain era is how they solely define your target. Tens of millions of people would fail any test of segmentation.
• It’s possible to advise you without any data. Or, the data on its own without analysis will be enough to guide your campaign. 
• Gut feeling or knee-jerk recommendations without testing, segmentation, strategy, and data collection are foundations for providing advice. 
• There are multiple concepts for your brand to try rather than establishing what it is you stand for. 
• They are a trusted advisor…UNLESS they earned it over time. It’s not something you can purchase. 
• A standardized approach is appropriate for your company. Remember, your marketing strategy should be unique to your brand. 
• A dissertation on the prowess or their association with a set of tools, gadgets, or tactics is what makes them a marketing expert. That only makes them proficient at the use of some methods. 

“One of the signals of a bad consultant is a comfort with making big decisions with no data, and one of the most reassuring things you can experience from a good consulting firm is a resolute refusal to avoid knee-jerk recommendations without data first being collected.” –  Mark Ritson, Brand Consultant.

How to Decide on a Strategy That Works for You

Ask yourself how you plan on winning in your respective marketplace. Will you aim for a low price or strategically differentiate your product or service? 

• Low-cost strategy: You must understand how responsive the target market is to changing prices. You also have to continue to drive down production costs without sacrificing quality. 

With this strategy, you need to analyze your company’s revenues and costs to know if it can sustain the low prices needed to squeeze out the competition. Typically, a low-cost strategy focuses on reaching customers where you are offering a commodity. Your target audience is quite broad, and you have the capital to buy a market.

• Differentiation strategy: With this strategy, you focus on meeting a specific market’s needs well. Your unique offering must demonstrate its relatively high value to the target market, so customers are ready to pay more for a higher perceived benefit. For this strategy to work, in-depth market research is critical to understanding customers’ needs and preferences. Your company must continue to innovate to stay ahead of the competition and build your brand’s reputation in its niche offering.

Those are your two fundamental choices. That’s it!… 

Often a business will combine the two strategies to achieve the results they seek. The aim here is to make the most of your scarce resources.

Takeaway

Creativity is fundamental to business growth. But executing a vision, an idea, or a theory is hard work and requires research, data, and a strategic plan. 

“Ideas are cheap. Ideas are easy. Ideas are common. Everybody has ideas. Ideas are highly, highly overvalued. Execution is all that matters.” – Casey Neistat, Co-Founder of Beme

Once you understand the difference between marketing strategy and tactics, you can avoid the pitfalls of using tactics without strategy. An organization that does an excellent job with marketing tactics is one that…

• Sets a clear vision 
• Defines the strategic target with a multitude of demographics and psychographics 
• Adheres to the strategic target
• Ensures everyone with a hand in developing the brand message, tactical marketing delivery methods, and customer communication work together 
• Encourages the team to articulate the same overall brand idea, values, and unique proposition

We’ve explored the distinction between marketing strategies and tactics and how critical a systematic approach is to your success. Now it’s time to take the first step to marketing success. Request a FREE 20-Point Marketing Audit and Review today!

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Filed Under: Business Tips Tagged With: b2b marketing strategy, Business Strategy, infusionsoft certified consultant, marketing plan, marketing strategy, marketing tactics, strategic planning, Strategy Session with Viral Solutions