I hear, over and over again, that classic line: „Our strategy is to be more active on social media.”
Well, that’s not a strategy! It’s like saying your life plan is to breathe more often.
Or that the shopping list is the recipe for stew. In short, tactics are about doing things right (buying good onions). Strategy is about doing the right things (deciding to make stew today, not papanași). And that, in the long run, you want to live longer.
1. What is strategy in marketing?
– It is the plan of attack: Define the ideal customer, the message, the channels and MORE importantly how you measure success. It is the clarity that tells you: „This year we focus on segment X with message Y”.
– It is the harmony of the 4Ps (Marketing Mix): ensures that Product, Price, Placement and Promotion are in harmony. A premium product cannot be worthless and promotion is inappropriate. Strategy aligns them to make sense TOGETHER. –
It is intelligent allocation of resources: You look at what you have in the „pantry” (budget, people, time) and decide where to invest for maximum impact. You don’t start doing LinkedIn, TikTok, and street billboards just „to be”. You choose one main battle and apply that one.
– It is customer knowledge: Why ads on Google and not reels on Tik Tok? Because you know that your ideal customer (buyer persona) spends time there. It’s the conscious choice of the channel that will bring results
– It’s the unique value proposition (USP): It’s that „something” that makes your offer unique. Maybe it’s the guarantee, maybe it’s the speed of delivery, maybe it’s .. I don’t know what.
2. What is tactics in marketing?
If strategy is the recipe, tactics are the actual cooking. It’s the daily work, the „sweat” that you see, measure in clicks and analyze in reports. Tactics answer the question: „Okay, concretely, what are we doing today?”.
– Content Art: This includes writing copy, filming a Reel, designing in Canva. Yes, even the famous post plan is a tactic, a tool that organizes the execution of the content strategy.
– Paid Media Surgery: This means setting up and optimizing campaigns. Adjusting bids, doing A/B testing, and stopping what doesn’t work. It’s a lot of technical, finesse work.
– Email Marketing: Sending the weekly newsletter, setting up automations for new customers, and segmenting lists. Each email sent is a tactical action.
– SEO Bees: Keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building. Hundreds of small, constantly repeated actions that execute the organic growth strategy.
In conclusion:
Without a recipe (strategy), you have a hard-working chef (tactics) who cuts vegetables haphazardly and makes smoke that would scare the fire department. Without a good chef (tactics), the recipe (strategy) remains just a pretty picture on a website. And you’re stuck with peanuts.