Small business owners like you are jumping straight into Facebook posts, email campaigns, and Google ads without any real strategy behind their efforts. If you’re guilty of doing this, you're essentially throwing marketing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks. This approach is expensive, exhausting, and rarely effective.
In a recent episode of EDGE’s Marketing Minute podcast, EDGE and marketing expert Chad Vandervalk, owner of Purpose Pivot Branding and Strategy, explored why strategy should come before tactics.
The message is simple: without strategy, businesses waste money and time while also failing to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
The Real Cost of Tactics-First Marketing
When your business jumps straight into marketing tactics without strategy, it falls into what experts call the "spray and pray model." Companies put their message out there in as many places as possible and pray it connects with somebody. Not only does this waste money, but it also creates another problem: your business can't differentiate itself from competitors.
The downside of copying or imitating your competitors’ strategies is that you won't differentiate yourself well. One of the key pieces of brand strategy is that they help businesses think about how they're different from others in their market.
Many businesses copy their competitors' social media strategies or ad campaigns, only for them to become background noise. Without clear differentiation, companies end up competing solely on price, and that's a race to the bottom.
Understanding the Difference Between Strategy and Plans
Many business owners get confused about the difference between marketing plans and marketing strategy.
Your plans should look like checklists with specific timing and responsibilities.
Strategy answers the fundamental questions: Who are you targeting? Where will you find them? Why should they choose you?
Think of it this way: strategy is deciding to drive from Calgary to Vancouver to meet with a friend and choosing the best route. The plan is the step-by-step directions with gas stops and meal breaks.
Building Strategy on Purpose, Not Just Profit
One of the most important aspects of an effective business strategy is building it with a purpose beyond profit.
The purpose of a business is to solve a problem for somebody without causing other problems.
This is practical business sense. Companies with a clear purpose show better client and employee retention and are more resilient. When your team understands the deeper "why" behind the business, they become better marketers.
Some of the best marketing actually comes from frontline staff. It's not online marketing or digital campaigns. When your employees truly understand and believe in the company's purpose, they become authentic brand ambassadors.
The BRAND Framework for Strategic Positioning
Strategic brand positioning can be simplified using the BRAND acronym:
BRAVE: Your brand makes a statement and stands for something specific. Companies need to take a stance and communicate it clearly.
RELEVANT: Your brand connects meaningfully with the target audience. This requires a deep understanding of customer needs and pain points.
ADAPTABLE: Your company can pivot tactics while staying true to your core values. Strategy provides the foundation for flexible execution.
NOVEL: Your business offers something unique in the marketplace. It doesn’t need to be revolutionary.
DISTINCT: Your company is clearly differentiated from competitors. Customers should immediately understand what makes this business different.
This framework helps ensure your strategy foundation is solid before building tactical plans on top of it.
Creating Detailed Client Personas
One area where businesses struggle is defining their target audience. Companies often use vague terms like "small business owners" or "busy moms." Or even worse, they want to target everyone. An effective strategy requires creating 1-3 detailed ideal client profiles.
Your client profiles, or “personas,” should include specific demographics, income levels, pain points, and behaviours that drive their decisions. Where do they spend their time online? What keeps them awake at night? What solutions have they already tried?
The more specific you can get, the more targeted and effective your marketing becomes. You will know exactly where to find these people and how to speak their language.
Keeping Strategy Simple and Actionable
Historical examples show that even the largest operations can be summarized concisely. Remember: the D-Day invasion plan fit on one page.
If the largest military operation in history could be summarized on one page, marketing strategies can too. Complex strategies that live in thick binders don't get implemented. Simple, clear strategies do.
You should review brand strategy annually, but assess tactical marketing plans quarterly. This allows you to adapt to changing market conditions while staying true to your core positioning.
Implementation: Where Strategy Meets Reality
The best strategy in the world is worthless if it sits in a drawer. Successful implementation requires systematic approaches and regular review.
Start by identifying what's already working in your current marketing efforts and optimize those activities before adding new tactics. Focus on 2-3 marketing channels at most, based on where your ideal clients spend their time, rather than spreading efforts across every available option.
Train frontline staff to understand brand positioning and share your unique value propositions during customer interactions. Often, the best marketing still happens through genuine human connections.
Moving Forward With Strategy Before Tactics
If your business is currently running marketing tactics without a clear strategy, you can start by asking these questions:
- Why does our business exist beyond making money?
- Who specifically are we trying to reach?
- What problems do we solve without creating new ones?
- How is our company different from our competitors?
- Where do our ideal clients spend their time?
Once you can answer these questions clearly, your business will have a foundation for building tactical plans that actually work.
Marketing strategy isn't about creating the most creative campaign or following the latest trend. It's about understanding your purpose, knowing your audience, and consistently communicating your unique value in the places where your ideal clients are paying attention.
If you’re looking for help to define and implement your business’s marketing strategy, reach out to EDGE Marketing & Design. We have the skills, tools, and expertise to help you stop jumping from tactic to tactic, and start executing a winning strategy for your business.
We even have a service where we can create a marketing strategy for you!
Tune into the Marketing Minute Podcast to find out more about marketing strategy.
August 13, 2025
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