Let’s talk strategy vs. tactics. They are not the same but they work hand in hand.
STRATEGY is the big picture action plan that takes you where you want to go, and TACTICS are the individual steps and actions that will get you there.
Some people will try to sell tactics as strategy and I want to set you straight right now—there is a difference. Ultimately, strategy is rooted in goals and based on data and won’t change much over time unless something BIG changes in your business. On the other hand, tactics will change to adapt to new trends and technology, different seasons of the year and in your business.
This is my favorite analogy to illustrate the difference…
Think about a tree. Your strategy and goals are the roots, the trunk and the branches. Over time your strategy stays consistent just like the roots of a tree.
Tactics are the leaves. They change and come and go overtime as seasons change. That’s the difference between strategy and tactics.
Tactics will change as new technology and trends emerge and new features are released. But your strategy will mainly stay consistent.
I hope that helps give you clarity around the difference between strategies and tactics. Strategy is built around your goals and your customer. The tactics that you choose need to be based around supporting those two things always!
How to choose the best tactics for your business
Step One: List out all the tactics that would help you achieve your goals (or that you think might help you achieve your goals). Don’t worry about how realistic these tactics are right now. That part comes next.
Step Two: Organize the tactics. Take your list from the page above and place each tactic into the appropriate category. Some may fall into more than one category – add them to both.
Step Three: Choose tactics. Any tactics that fall into more than one category are your sweet spot. Something fall into all three? Jump on those right away. Write down the tactics that you plan to implement based on that criteria.
Step Four: Implement and Analyze. Now that you have chosen your tactics, start to implement them and analyze how they are performing. Remember, we want to see how they are performing as far as how they are helping you achieve the goals in your business.
When you analyze the tactics you implement, you can put more energy and effort into that that are working well.
CREATE YOUR marketing STRATEGY
Want to dive deeper? I created a workbook to help you better understand strategy and to create an easy to follow framework for you to build a strategy that works for you and your business. You can download it below.