Is Marketing Strategy for 2020 scaring you?
What is Strategy? Indeed, what is Marketing Strategy?
To me, a business with a strategy is a business with a sense of direction.
SOSTAC
In the 1990s, PR Smith very kindly developed the SOSTAC model, which is still used and referred to today. In fact, I’m a big fan of using this model. It is particularly useful when trying to understand a customer’s business. I suppose you could say that I try to “lift the bonnet” of the business to understand what is going on “under the bonnet”.
What does SOSTAC mean?
Situation – where are we now?
Objectives – where do we want to be?
Strategy – how do we get there?
Tactics – how exactly do we get there?
Action – what is our plan?
Control – did we get there?
Any customer that has worked with me is familiar with me asking these questions, albeit I don’t scare them by mentioning SOSTAC models! I simply have a conversation with customers to get a better understanding of their business – what has worked, what hasn’t and what they want to achieve. This is particularly useful for businesses that have attempted various marketing efforts unsuccessfully previously. Many businesses are a little sceptical of marketing, normally because it “hasn’t worked” before. However, when I drill down to understand why or what didn’t work, the glaringly obvious thing for me is that no objectives were set.
Most businesses say that they just wanted to increase sales or brand awareness. However, when I ask did they measure where they were at and what specific number they had in mind they gawk at me!! If you don’t set specific objectives, it is really hard to measure the results at the far end.
Planning for 2020
With all of the talk of planning for 2020, setting goals and objectives for the new year, don’t get overwhelmed. Keep things simple and go back to basics. Write down where you’re at right now and where you’d like things to be by this time next year. Now, it’s not enough to just do that! You need to map out how you’re going to reach that goal or objective. What marketing efforts will you need to do that you didn’t do before. Or, what marketing efforts will you do differently.
Lush Marketing specialise in Marketing Strategy, Training and Outsourcing. We’d love to help you if you’re struggling with any of this for your business. Contact Jill Lush, Thought Leader in Digital and Strategic Marketing to find out more: