Marketing strategy
A document that tells you what to do – and what to stop doing. Not a slide deck you save after reading and never open again.
- 5 questions every business needs to be able to answer
- 2 meetings, and a document you can actually work with
- What to start, what to stop and what to do differently – with the reason for each
30 minutes online, free. We'll run through the 5 questions roughly and you'll see where the answers start to wobble.
A strategy isn't a list of channels
Most documents called a “marketing strategy” are really activity plans. How many posts a month, how much for ads, when the newsletter goes out. Useful, but that's a consequence. A calendar isn't a strategy.
A strategy answers what those posts should say and why anyone should care. Who the customer is, what they're dealing with, how you differ from everyone else who solves the same problem, and how to say it so they understand. Once you know that, the channels almost pick themselves. If you don't, no channel will fix it.
The second thing a strategy does and a plan doesn't: it tells you what to stop doing. That's the uncomfortable part. Almost every business runs some activity that leads nowhere, and nobody cancels it because money has already gone into it.
5 signs
It's not only businesses that don't do marketing that lack a strategy. Most often it's the ones doing a lot of it – each piece on its own.
3 or more ring true? Then you're not missing a campaign – you're missing a framework. I explain why tactics without a strategy don't work in a separate article.
5 questions every business needs to be able to answer
This is my entire method. It's not complicated – it's uncomfortable, because by the third question you usually find you don't answer the first two the way you thought.
Who am I?
Not what's in your company registration. What you stand for, how you work, what you'd never do. Without that, businesses sound like their competitors.
What do I sell?
What the product actually does for the customer, not what it is. Nobody buys a drill – they buy a hole in the wall.
Who do I sell it to?
Specifically. Not “businesses,” but which ones and in what situation. The narrower the answer, the better the copy.
Why should they care?
What problem it solves and how badly it hurts. “Saves time and money” is what everyone says – that's not an answer yet.
Why me?
The hardest question. Not “quality and service” – everyone claims that. What customers get from you that they can't get anywhere else.
If a business can't answer one of them, there's a gap. And that gap shows up in every campaign you pay for.
Who's behind this
I've spent over 10 years in marketing on both sides of the table – inside companies and as an outside partner. Big brands like ČSOB, O2, Tchibo, Under Armour, and Palmknihy, and online stores where the owner does the marketing in the evenings.
I'm not an agency with an account manager. I'm one person who remembers you – and tells you what you don't want to hear, too. My capacity is limited, and I won't take on more work than I can handle.
2 meetings, and a document
Most of what needs to be known is already inside the company – nobody has put it together yet.
Diagnosis (60–90 minutes). We go through the 5 questions and look for where the answers get stuck.
Plan. Between the meetings, I go through your data, website, and competitors. At the second meeting, you get a document: what to start, what to stop, and what to do differently – and why.
How to do it without me
Strategy isn't secret technology, it's discipline. If you have the time and the nerve to be honest with yourselves, you can do it on your own. This is the process I use.
Interviews
With customers, not a questionnaire. What they were dealing with, what they considered instead of you, and what made them decide. The more the better – how many depends on budget and scope.
Everyone separately
The owner, sales, and marketing each answer the 5 questions on their own. The differences between the answers are worth more than the answers.
Cross it out
List what your competitors claim. Anything you claim too, cross out – that's the price of entry to your industry, not what sets you apart.
1 sentence
Who, what, and why you. If it won't fit into one sentence, it hasn't been thought through yet.
The “stop” list
Activities running on autopilot. For each one, ask what would happen if you dropped it. Often nothing.
When an outside view makes sense: when the answers in step 2 split and nobody inside decides which one holds. And in step 3 – what sets you apart is the hardest thing to see from the inside, because everything you do seems normal to you. I cover every step in detail, including what to prepare, in my article on how to create a marketing strategy.
“David knows his field very well, he listens, and he's remarkably versatile – he gets a feel for the brand, proposes a plan, knows how to set up the marketing tools, understands your needs, and delivers what was agreed.”
Edita DostálováRedbit
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to create a marketing strategy?
From the first consultation to the finished document, usually 3–4 weeks. There are just 2 meetings; the rest is work on your data and materials. If you're in a hurry, it can be compressed – but not into a week.What will you need from us for the strategy?
Access to your analytics and ad accounts if you have them, sales figures, and someone who knows your customers first-hand. If anything is missing, I'll say so right away – and often that's the first finding.Who needs to be in the strategy meetings?
The person who decides on the budget and the person who talks to customers. Without the first, the plan doesn't get approved. Without the second, it's built on guesswork.Will you stay on while we put the strategy into practice?
I can, but I don't have to. Some clients implement the plan themselves, others want me to stay on as an outside perspective. That gets decided after the plan, not up front.How much does a marketing strategy cost?
It depends on the scope. My base rate is €100/hour, and you get an exact quote up front with no hidden items. The initial consultation is free.
Not sure whether you're missing a strategy?
In 30 minutes, we'll both know. We'll run through the 5 questions roughly and you'll see where the answers start to wobble. Whether we end up working together is a question for later.
