Goals, Strategy & Tactics

I want to take a step back and define goals, strategy and tactics. Because the word strategy has been tacked onto every single thing. What used to be called a media plan is now media strategy. There's social strategy. There's business strategy. Because, done well, these can all be types of strategic thinking. But it gets confusing. If I have a social media strategy, then do I have a strategy, strategy? All of these strategies should be flowing down from a 30,000 ft brand or communication strategy. They shouldn't walk alone.

I'm going to blame LinkedIn for attaching the word strategy to everything. It makes it sound more important. And I myself have used the term visual strategy to indicate that it's not just "pretty pictures," but visuals rooted in communication. I'm really just excited there's a new overused word on the block to take the place of design. I would like to have that back now.

Goals

Very simply what you want to accomplish.

More customers on Tuesdays. Sell 100 croissants a day. Increase awareness. Change a negative perception. Why are we all sitting around talking about this – the answer to that question is the goal.

Strategy

This is where you figure out how you might be positioned to accomplish a goal. Strategy is a thought experiment based on research.

Let's take the 100 croissants example from above. Maybe your bakery offers the most flavors (variety). Maybe you only use European butter in your croissants (quality). Maybe you're the only bakery in 50 miles who sells croissants (exclusivity). Each of these things gives you a differentiation that you can use as a basis for communication. It's not only about what you do, but what you do relative to your competition. It's often lazy to say, "we're the best." Everybody says that. Why are you the best? Give me reasons.

The strategy you choose will inform every piece of messaging that falls out of it. That means that no matter the tactic, there will be consistent messaging.

Tactics

These are the things you're going to do. Tactics are applied strategy.

And just about anything can be a tactic. Let's say we decide that our croissant strategy is that we offer the most flavors, and therefore we want to own the competitive position of variety and fun – not your grandma's bakery. It would probably make sense to introduce a flavor of the week on social media. Maybe there are some tweaks to the logo or branding to make it feel a little like Baskin-Robbins "31 Flavors." Maybe each flavor has a funny name on the menu. Maybe you host croissant birthday parties. How about a flavor tasting at the local farmer's market. Ads that catch folks when they're having their morning coffee. A discount promotion on that flavor that didn't quite work out. ALL these things ladder up to owning the strategic position of variety and fun and help you sell croissants.

But you need the big strategy in order to figure out any of this. And it should be much easier to come up with ideas when you have a strategic north star to guide you. Because there are a bazillion potential tactics to sort through. With a solid strategy, you don't have to reinvent the wheel at every turn, or try to work out whether or not you should participate in the state fair butter sculpture contest. No, you shouldn't. Although the "European butter" bakery should totally do that.