Marketing Strategy vs Tactics: Why Your Business Needs Both

Picture this: You’ve just developed a brand-new product, the first of its kind. It’s an AI powered dog toy with all the bells and whistles; everything your customers (and their dogs) want. 

You’re excited to launch it, so you go talk to your marketing guy, Dave. Now Dave is great, he knows every tactic in the book. He’s got ideas… 

“Let’s do two Instagram posts a day from now on. No, three Instagram posts!”

 Then Jack, one of the new guys, pipes up from the behind a computer screen: 

“You can’t just do that!” He blurts out. “We should be running an ad campaign and leading people to our website. That’s where they’ll buy.” 

Whose suggestion do you go with? Is either right? Does it even matter? 

Well yes. But also no. See what we’re looking at here is a classic case of Marketing Strategy vs Tactics. 

And to answer the title question, you should be using both. I’ll explain later, but first…

What’s the Difference Between Strategy and Tactics?

So, what is the difference between strategy and tactics? To keep it short: Strategy is your long-term overarching plan, while tactics are the little things you do to see your plan succeed. 

In the example above, Jack has the strategy. Run ads, lead customers to the website, then convert them there. It’s a classic strategy, simple but solid. But you’ve still got to think about where you’re running the ads, what kind of ads they are, what your offer is, whether you use a picture of a man or some cute dogs, etc. 

That’s where Dave’s idea comes in. Three Instagram posts a day. This is the tactic he wants to run with, attempting to keep the new product front and centre on their customer’s Instagram and maybe even get picked up by the algorithm for a bit of viral success. 

Jack’s idea focuses on the overarching plan (the strategy), while Dave’s highlights a particular action (a tactic). Simple, right?

Why Businesses Often Confuse Strategy with Tactics

A common mistake we see as a marketing agency is businesses jumping straight into tactics without a clear strategy. 

Like Dave, they’re posting on Instagram 3 times a week to try and grab some attention. Many are implementing multiple other tactics as well. They’ve optimised all the buttons on their website to be the perfect size and colour, they’ve set up tracking on their website, they’re getting their boss featured on podcasts and industry news. 

Problem is, all this is only connected by a vague idea of “building the business”. They’re doing these things because someone said they had to, or a guy on Youtube told them it was how to succeed with marketing. 

This isn’t an unusual story either. With new tactics like fancy AI tools and ideas from influencers popping up constantly, business owners feel pressure to keep up. They try one thing after the next without stopping 

And when you’re doing so much it can feel like a strategy, when really it’s just a collection of ideas and activities with no clear direction.

Why You Need Both Strategy and Tactics Working Together

So, Dave’s idea was to post on Instagram three times a week. It’s a pretty popular content marketing tactic, but I think we can do better than that. How about we advertise on Instagram as well, announcing the new product with a bold red heading that says AVAILABLE NOW AT A TOY STORE NEAR YOU. 

And when someone clicks on the ad, they’re taken to a page with a video of a dog playing with the ball, some reviews of the company, and a map where they can see exactly where their nearest stockist is.

You see? Now we’ve got strategy and tactics combined into a fully-fledged marketing plan and we’re ready to make some money. 

Marketing strategy and tactics are not either/or, they’re a partnership. Used together, your tactics become more focused, with each action given purpose and aligning with your broader business goals. 

This allows you to measure success more accurately because you’ve defined what success looks like in your strategy and even make better use of your marketing budget by investing only in channels and activities that support your strategic goals.

How to Build a Marketing Strategy

As we’ve learned from the above example, a marketing strategy can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. There are a few ways to make it easier to create one though. Here’s a template you can use to put together a basic yet robust marketing strategy for any business:  

What are your goals for the marketing campaign? (Revenue, sales, leads, conversions, or something else?)

What separates your business from your competition? 

What kind of customer are you targeting? (Target market and ideal customers)

Which of your product/services’ unique or special features can your marketing focus on? 

Which of the unique features will best resonate with what your target market wants? 

Where can you find your target market? (Online, at trade shows, on Facebook, etc.)

How are you going to reach them? (This is where your tactics come in)

What tactics are your competitors using?

How are you going to track whether you’re hitting your goals or not? 

With all this in place, you’re well on your way to running a successful marketing strategy. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re looking at traditional marketing or digital marketing strategy vs tactics either. Regardless of your situation, a carefully considered marketing plan incorporating both strategy and tactics will deliver great results.For a more detailed guide to putting together a marketing strategy, the Queensland Government’s Business Website has a fantastic guide that covers some legal and financial aspects as well.

It’s Time to Get Out There and Try It Yourself!

Hopefully this blog post has given you a bit of direction for your next marketing campaign. Marketing and sales are the lifeblood of any business, so having a clear plan for yours, even if it’s basic, is going to make a world of difference. 

And when you’re ready to grow beyond what you can do yourself, why not give the team at Racket a call? We can guide you through your marketing options and help you create a strategy that will launch your business far beyond what you thought possible. 

Contact us today to book a free meeting.