Blog

Updated July 20, 2017

One of the biggest mistakes an eCommerce business can make today is relying on a single marketing tactic to drive a company forward, generate leads, and increase sales. Real success comes from a solid marketing strategy; a robust all-encompassing plan, designed to fulfill your goals and objectives. This strategy is the plan that ensures all your daily activities or marketing tactics contribute to your monthly, quarterly, and annual business goals.

This all sounds like common sense, but many people struggle with distinguishing between tactics and strategy.  The easiest way to visualize involves looking back to Season 2, Episode 7 of Game of Thrones. In this dialogue between Tyrion Lannister and his sister, Queen Cersei, provides a little insight as to why individual tactics are just a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

TYRION: Stannis Baratheon’s fleet has been spotted sailing north past Tarth. Two hundred ships.

CERSEI: More than we have…

TYRION: Yes. That’s more than we have. He’ll be at our gates within five days…four if he has the wind.

CERSEI: We have strong, high walls. We’ll rain fire down on them from above.

TYRION: ‘Rain fire on them from above’…you’re quoting father aren’t you?

CERSEI: Why not? He has a good mind for strategy doesn’t he?

TYRION: Call it tactics, not strategy, but yes he does have a good mind for it. The best mind some would say…

I like to reference this particular scene because, in correcting the Queen’s misuse of the term strategy, Tyrion is able point out this particular tactic only serves the purpose of winning that day’s battle; it does nothing to address future attacks and the overall goal of obtaining the iron throne. There is definitely some overlap between these two concepts, but it’s important to understand the differences between them.

So let’s look some basic marketing tactics:

• Maintaining strong SEO
• Nurturing leads
• Tweeting
• Posting on Facebook
• Write blog posts
• Designing PPC campaigns
• Market research
• Reaching out to bloggers
• Maintaining updated content
• Tracking analytics
• Making appointments
• Attending team meetings
• Engaging with the target audience
• Attending conferences, seminars and webinars

None of the above provides a “silver bullet” for success on their own. However, using them thoughtfully as part of a larger marketing strategy can make the difference between winning a single battle, and capturing the throne. It is important to know that the tactics above are the actions you take to execute the strategy.

With an understanding of tactics, let’s move on to the more complex issue of strategy. An effective strategy emerges from an outlined list of goals that shows you understand your target audience. If we take a few steps back to Business 101, we know that such goals need to be SMART: specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound.  Sounds pretty clear, but this is exactly where most companies lose focus because their goals are not clearly defined and lack a specific audience.  Marketing tactics should be used to interact with your audience; but a strategy tells you who to go after, how you want to reach them, and why they are your chosen audience.

Look at it this way, if you are not finding success and your sales are dismal, there is not a tactic in your arsenal that can provide a long-term solution.  Of course, a marketing tactic may provide short-term relief, but tomorrow’s battle will be bigger, the competition will bring out the big guns, and you will be left picking up the pieces of a broken company.

Understanding the difference between marketing tactics and marketing strategy will provide you with the map that leads directly to the throne. By defining your overall direction and goals for marketing, you become empowered. You step onto each battlefield prepared and ready for victory by showing the world you deliver products and services that will satisfy their needs.

Need a little help with strategy? Check out our Strategic Planning services.