Driver 2: Strategies over tactics

Time to strategize

The truth is that most small to medium size businesses think that they have a strategy, but more often it boils down to them using tactics instead.

So, let’s begin with what we mean by the two terms. While both are important to have in your company, a strategy is far more effective to spur growth than tactics are. A tactic is something you do to achieve a short-term target, like hitting enough revenue to meet operating costs. A lot of business owners stop there and do not think about a larger strategy that their business will follow.

A true business strategy takes all inputs, outputs, processes, and policies and shapes them to achieve your company’s core purpose—a clear strategic plan.

Here are some examples of strategies and a corresponding action or tactic that would support it.

Your job as the business owner is not to become distracted and solely focus on what gets a company through the week or month. This time frame is too small and forces the owner to be tactical instead of strategic. Look further into the future and plan a one year, five-year, and ten-year plan. Yes, easier said than done, so let’s look at ways you can be more strategic with your business. We also recommend that if you are new to creating strategy that you find some of our additional resources or book time with one of our team to mentor you.

What are you doing now?

Look at your business and take stock of the current tactics and strategies being used. Again, tactics are the mechanisms, approaches, methods, steps, the outputs you used to accomplish or deploy that big picture strategy. 

Some of the clues that your marketing is tactical and lacks an all-encompassing strategy could include the following:

• Are you advertising products but have a weak brand?
• Are you advertising on Google but have few reviews?
• Are you requesting referrals but do not have a written policy?
• Are you branded but fail to tell how, why, and what makes you attractive as a business?
• Do you see your customers as profit and not clients you are protecting?

Tactics are good, but making sure each tactic used adds to a larger strategy is the way to go as this way leads to much greater growth.

Analyze your current strategy.

• What is the purpose of your company? This helps inform your tactics.
• List the best companies in your region. They are successful in your region for a reason what are they doing can you emulate it?
• What is big business? Have you ever thought about it deeply, studied it? What makes McDonald’s so successful, for example, what are their tactics?
• Break down the tactics and strategies for at least 10 companies in your city. Are there any that you are doing, improving, or borrowing?

What is the final form of your company?

After you have taken the time to analyze your current strategy and you have information about what other companies in your city are doing to grow, you should be in a position to think about what your strategy should be going forward. You may find it helpful to gain inspiration for your strategy by revisiting your company’s future vision and the core values that it upholds. You want to make sure that your strategy algins to those central components. There are three fundamental parts of creating a strategy. These include:

1. Goals – the targets and aspirations of the company
2. Metrics – a way to track your progress towards the business’ goals.
3. Actions (Tactics) – the specific way you choose to make progress.

Strategy is always thought of “what is the high-level goal or target?” and then everything that comes after it is a series of sub-strategies and tactics. You work layer by layer until you get detailed actions that you can take, and you know what, why, when where and how these actions will take place.