Strategy Before Tactics

Challenges of a Marketing Manager:

If there is no greater strategy to your online marketing efforts, then you are not producing revenue, and are simply treading water at the very best. A strategy is a plan that will enable you to reach the goals of your company or organization. The objective of this strategy may be defined by elements such as sales volume, rate of growth, profits, or marketing ROI (Return On Investment). The importance of being specific about these goals cannot be underestimated. How can we develop an appropriate and effective strategy without knowing what we are trying to achieve?Strategies need to be developed with collaboration from many levels of an organization’s hierarchy. At the core of any business plan is, of course, its marketing strategy. Businesses have one primary objective, and that is to deliver its goods and services to their customers. Their growth and profit will be determined by how well they are able to carry out this objective. So what are the best goals and objectives for modern marketing managers to include in their strategy?

To help you make your goal specific, you need to answer the six W’s: (Allen, Olivia).

• Who: Who is going to work to achieve the goal?
• What: What are you looking to achieve?
• Where: In what area of your business is this goal taking place?
• When: How long do you have to finish this task?
• Which: Which resources are you going to use to get this done?
• Why: What will you gain from completing this goal?

The more detailed and specific that you get with the goals in your strategy, the better idea you will have of what needs to get accomplished, and the higher likelihood that you will succeed. Specific goals will motivate your team to achieve a specific metric, and let you know when to celebrate a victory. This means that you also need to decide which results will signify a success. Determining your goals is a crucial step in creating an effective marketing strategy.