Strategies, tactics, activities…what are the differences?
No matter the size of your business, you need a marketing strategy. You might already have one, but it’s a .doc file that hasn’t been opened since 2011. It cost a lot of money at the time, and it’s 30 pages of strategies, tactics and activities.
The differences between strategies, tactics and activities are tricky to pin down. It’s a topic I see clients and marketers alike struggle to explain. It used to catch me out, too, but knowing and understanding the differences is an important step to using them well. That’s why I’ve developed some simple, plain-language definitions. No complicated flowcharts, no infographics.
So, what are the differences?
Positions, maps, and steps
If you take nothing else away from this article, take this:
Strategy identifies a strong position and a route to reach it; tactics are the map; activities are the actual steps you take.
Still reading?
If you haven’t stopped reading, that’s great, because as always — the devil is in the details.
Before we begin, you need a clear and measurable objective: let’s say increasing online sales by 40% over the next 12 months.
Your strategy identifies key positions that will help you achieve that objective. It identifies the best possible route to take. Unlike an objective, your strategy isn’t just a destination. It’s about making sure your business controls as many routes to that destination as possible.
Tactics form your map, with details, shortcuts and landmarks. They’re practical, identifying what you need to prepare to ensure you’ll get to the strategic position. They have a destination in mind, they’re focused, they’re easy to achieve and easy to explain.
Activities are the actual steps you take and can be planned to the tiniest detail. But they’re also the part with the most variation: your activities can change rapidly depending on any number of factors. It’s a good idea to plan your steps, but you also need to know what to do when the terrain changes.
What do bad strategies look like?
Sales growth is a common and important objective for many businesses. But more often than not, businesses use an array of tactics without a true strategy — or, they use a strategy so broad it’s almost meaningless.
For example, let’s say one of your marketing objectives is to increase online sales by 40% over the next 12 months. You might be tempted to pay for Facebook advertising, run a friends and family referral competition or offer ‘first purchase’ discounts. The other direction might be to look at a strategy like “Grow our social media audience”, or even worse, “make a viral ad”.
The trouble with these examples is that they’re risky, isolated, and poorly informed tactics and activities. Is your Facebook audience reflective of your existing (paying) customer database? What’s going to make these referred friends and family members buy a product? Does your social media audience actually buy anything? And have you got any real idea of how to make something ‘go viral’?
A good strategy gives you the answers to all of these questions.
What do good strategies look like?
Powerful marketing strategies do a few very important things:
- Decide your direction and inform future decisions
- Define your competitive advantage and your identity
- Determine where you put your resources — and where you don’t
Let’s take that sales growth objective again: we want to increase online sales by 40% over the next 12 months. How can we achieve this?
The first step should always be to consider your audience. Every marketing strategy is about informing and persuading an audience to think, do or buy something.
Since I’m all about growth, here’s a little free bit of advice for achieving it: always start by thinking about your existing customers. They’ve already bought from you — they’re the most likely people to do it again.
With that in mind, our strategies start to take shape. Start by putting your energy and resources into existing customers. Move them to the online platform, and then making sure they keep buying.
Now we can firm up these strategies:
- Strengthen online presence within your existing customer base
- Develop a new online value proposition
- Prioritise increasing customer lifetime value
(By no means an exhaustive list — it’ll take more work than that!)
Strategy 1 is about gaining a new position by using what you have already . It means ensuring your existing customers are aware of your online offering.
Strategy 2 is about defining your competitive advantage and positioning your brand.
Strategy 3 is about allocating your resources to growing your most likely revenue source: existing customers.
By employing these strategies, you have a clear route to achieve its objective.
But here’s what’s important: it defines what you don’t do (for now). Mass media advertising campaigns are out. You aren’t focusing on gaining brand new customers. You definitely aren’t going to run a viral campaign. Yet.
What are tactics?
OK, I’ve got some strategies, but what do we do now?
Tactics are a map. They outline what resources you’ll need, and provide a plan for what steps you’ll take. For example, taking just the first strategy:
Strengthening online presence and recognition with existing customers.
…an effective tactic might be this:
Contact database of customers with a loyalty offering of free shipping on their next online order
Note, it’s not telling you how to contact those customers: that’s the next bit. But your tactics set out a clear map. Your tactics involve contacting existing customers, a loyalty offering, and directing those customers to complete their purchase online.
Great tactics are short, snappy, and direct.
What are activities?
And now, the steps. Continuing our example from above:
Strategy: Strengthening online presence and recognition with existing customers.
Tactic: Contact database of customers with a loyalty offering of free shipping on their next online order
Activity: Create a Campaign Monitor email to existing clients with active email addresses, detailing the offer and linking to the site
These are pretty basic, but you get the idea. Activities are the most specific: they’re the actual steps you must take.
Of course, the real skill with activities is working with the unplanned. That’s things like retweeting a great testimonial for your online shop, or sharing a magazine review of your product with a link to purchase.
These things can’t be predicted, so be smart: plan and execute your activities, but keep your eyes on the road ahead.
Summary
Understanding the differences between strategy, tactics and activities is vital. Even marketing agencies can be guilty of developing weak strategies, and the most common failing is confusion. Sometimes this comes from complicated language, and sometimes it comes from trying to do too much.
Keep it simple, make it clear. Define your destination, pick your route, draw your map, and start walking.
For small business owners, a powerful strategy is as much about confidence and peace of mind as it is about achieving objectives. Investing in a good strategy is your smartest move, and the best thing is that it’s never too late.
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Next week’s topic: why is your marketing strategy more than one page long?
