Strategy – why is it so important?

Since the beginning of time, strategy was always a very important tool to use, whether to champion unforeseen circumstances (macro factors) affecting the business environment or gradually building an empire. Strategy sets out a map towards achieving a goal. It is an instrument that assists the whole process of accomplishing a set target.

Large corporations and business giants have proved that through a well-defined strategy, growth and achievement is possible since strategy helps facilitate the journey to reaching the defined goal. A good strategy includes all the people involved in accomplishing the task, it includes the time-frames and miles stones which will push the momentum of achieving a goal into the next desired target and must include well thought-out risks that might arise along the way. Risks are normally divided into two categories: those that fall under the micro environment,  risks that we can actually have control over, such as:  pricing, employees, promotion, process, etc., known as the 7P’s in our marketing mix, and risks that fall under the Marco environment: situations that can be planned for but are beyond our control. In order to champion strategy, the planning must include full case scenarios of both micro and macro forces in order to be ready to adapt to in case of need. This means that if for example, a company is planning to increase its market share by a specific percentage in a 5 year plan, management has to also keep in mind various other factors in its industry and outside its walls. Changes in government or having to go through a pandemic, as we recently saw, can shift the whole world into a state of confusion. Although this was unprecedented, companies with solid strategic plans would have allocated different measures and procedures to deal with the various situations whether financially, lack of human resources, production lines, etc.

Companies on a global level have to also keep in mind other possibilities such as changes in governments, changes in laws outside their territory, etc.

In the marketing and creative industry, strategy is also part of the ingredients that help a company grow in a healthy and steady way. Although strategies may be more focused towards the end consumer, the same planning and thought process applies.

The main pillars for a marketing strategy include:

• Planning – creating a plan of what the goals are, both short term and long term
• Market Research – carry research about products or services that are similar, including competitors and end users
• Unique Selling Preposition – ask yourself: why is your offering different?
• Marketing Goals – what are the goals that need to be achieved first, what will help achieve them and what are the time-frames planned?
• Review and Assessment – review the plans and asses any situation that may arise
• Marketing Plan – plan all the marketing and fine tune according to budget
• Well Defined Marketing Mix (7 P’s)* – Go through the 7P’s and make sure they fit in to the strategy
• Define Marketing Strategies – define each strategy for each goal clearly, with its own lead-time, process, budget, etc.

Once this process is done, the next step would be to actually create a document which will allow you to delve deeper into each section outlining how each step is going to be done. This process might look a little daunting in the beginning but once it is done, monitoring and fine-tuning as time progresses is what will be required.

*More information about the 7Ps in a future blog ☺

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