How important is strategy in sales and marketing? Allow us to use a metaphor to explain…
If you’ve ever been fishing (and even if you haven’t) you know that catching the keeper fish you’re hoping for isn’t easy. To have success, you have to use the right kind of tackle and bait. You have to fish the right body of water at the right depth at the right time of day. You need to know whether you should fish from the shore or on a boat and if you should troll or cast. Yes, there’s always a chance you could get lucky and land a trophy fish even if the situation isn’t ideal. But it’s always better to stack the deck in your favor to maximize results. The same thing applies to sales and marketing…
A Quote to Live By
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
— Sun Tzu
This is a quote that really sums up the importance of strategy. In fact, we believe in it so much here at Adventure Marketing Solutions that it’s on a wall in our lobby and in our email signatures. What does it mean? In a nutshell, that it doesn’t matter how great your graphic design is, how large your prospect list is or if you utilize the “hot” channel to deliver your message, if your marketing isn’t backed by a carefully developed strategy, it is destined to fail.
It may seem obvious that formulating a strategy for sales and marketing is a given. However, many companies don’t do it, and many marketers, including marketing agencies, even minimize its importance. The temptation to rush into the tactics and start reaching out to targets is too great to resist. Because of this, taking the time upfront to develop a strategy can be a major contributor to sales and marketing success.
Sales & Marketing Strategy Points of Emphasis
With a finite sales and marketing budget, you can’t be everything to everyone. To achieve success, you have to have an understanding of the following:
- Which companies are most likely to work with you?
- Which people within those companies can make or influence buying decisions?
- What are the buyers’ purchasing goals, and why do they make the decisions they do?
- Where do they go to make decisions, and what are they looking for?
If you can answer those questions, your sales and marketing results will greatly improve because you aren’t guessing. You will have the knowledge necessary to target the right person at the right company with the right message utilizing the right marketing channel. And if your company utilizes a marketing agency, make sure they are helping you answer those questions before implementing tactics. If they’re not, they’re doing you a disservice.
Have additional questions about strategy or want to learn even more? Call us at 815.431.1000 or submit this form to contact us. You can also visit the Strategy & Planning section of our blog.
