The latest in my series based on my new book, ‘Marketing Strategy’, brings us up to the second T in STRATEGY: Tactics
Chapter Six of my new book, ‘Marketing Strategy’ by Jenna Tiffany, contains absolutely everything you could ever want to know about campaign tactics.
Every marketer loves a good tactic. That’s why we got into marketing in the first place, right? Nobody signed up to comb through lists or to become experts on the GDPR. We want to get creative, to come up with those incredible Don Draper-esque ideas that launch campaigns into the stratosphere.
And you can, by reading Chapter Six of my book!
However, before you dive in, I’ve got something important to tell you.
There’s a reason why Tactics is the sixth chapter of my book, with plenty more before and after it. Remember, my book is called ‘Marketing Strategy’. It’s important to remember that all those amazing tactics you’re going to come up with are nothing if they’re not embedded in a good, solid strategy.
What’s the difference between strategy and tactics?
If you’ve followed me for any amount of time then you are used to my feelings about tactics. Or, rather, my feelings about emphasising tactics at the expense of strategy.
Tactics are what I call the ‘shiny’ side of marketing. It’s in devising tactics that we give our creativity free reign. Imagery, scripts, fonts, colour-schemes, celebrity backers, quirky promotions...all of that fun stuff falls under the ‘tactics’ heading.
Which is great...so long as it’s all informed and backed up by a wider strategy.
Let me explain with an extract from my book:
“Strategy is the map which takes you to your destination.
Tactics are the vehicles you use to get there.
Tactics are the ‘how’.
Strategy is the ‘who, what, where, when, and why’.“
Let’s dig a little deeper.
Sun Tzu is one of the greatest strategists of them all. More than two millennia ago, he defined strategy in ways which are still relevant today.
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Strategy and tactics work together, hand in hand. Neither on their own is nearly as effective as they can be together. Unfortunately, however, many marketing campaigns today tend to be ‘noise before defeat’– throwing tactics around without much strategy.
Remember General Motors? The car company that famously went out of business in 2009 for their reluctance to keep up with changing times? For decades, their ‘strategy’ was little more than a fixed deck of tactics. Later in the chapter we uncover the damage this did to the brand.
Most modern marketers are well versed in the execution - the tactical ‘how’ - of a marketing plan. However, not many have been taught, learned, or experienced the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘when’ of strategy. “
An over-reliance on tactics combined with little to no strategy is what’s brought retail to the sorry state it’s in today. The endless price-slash cycle that I discussed here is largely down to blindly chucking tactics at a problem without the deep strategic work that could help solve things.
I could talk a lot about this (and I do! Buy my book and see 😉 ), but for now, the takeaway is this:
Tactics are fun. Tactics are important. But tactics are only effective when they’re part of a much larger strategy.
Everything you ever needed to know about tactics (and more!)
All in all, you shouldn’t flip straight to Chapter Six when you order my book, and ignore the rest! At least, not unless you’re aware of how important a wider strategy is 😉
However, when you do get to Chapter Six, here’s what you can expect:
- A full overview of the most popular marketing tactics.
- Rich and detailed descriptions of each marketing channel, including their histories, their audiences, and their most practical uses for modern marketers.
- An explanation of SEO and search engine protocol, to help get your tactics in front of the right audience.
- A look at what the future holds for marketing tactics, and how we can push the envelope even further.
- An insightful interview with Victoria Peppiatt, COO and co-founder of Phrasee.
I’m particularly excited about the interview with Victoria. She’s an amazing woman who’s done incredible things in the world of AI, marketing, and more. I’ll leave you with a taster of her interview:
“Do you think AI has a role in a marketing strategy?”
‘Marketing technology is a critical component of any marketing strategy today. The marketers of the future are already building it into their plans.
We've applied high technology to every part of the marketing mix... except copywriting. Because we've always assumed that language was the unique domain of humans, and humans alone. But what if we were to apply the same level of rigor to copywriting that we do to every other part of the value chain? That's what Phrasee does, and that's the game we're changing and why it should be a component part of any strategy.’
To read more of Victoria’s fascinating insights into AI and marketing, buy ‘Marketing Strategy’ here.
About Jenna Tiffany
Jenna Tiffany, award-winning marketer, has been recognized as one of the top 50 marketers to follow in the world. She is the Founder and Strategy Director at marketing agency Let’sTalk Strategy, providing strategic consultancy services across the digital marketing mix. She is a Chartered Marketer and awarded Fellow of the Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM) with over ten years’ marketing experience, and has consulted on marketing strategy with brands such as Shell, Hilton and World Duty Free.
Jenna is a keynote speaker, having spoken at hundreds of marketing events worldwide and is an elected member of the prestigious DMA UK Email Marketing Council. Jenna is also a qualified teacher regularly teaching marketing at universities. She regularly gets interviewed for her thoughts on marketing strategy and the latest trends.