Some digital marketing projects work, some don’t – that is to be expected. But for small businesses in our experience there’s often a common thread running through those that don’t work, and that is that they are using tactics such as SEO and PPC to paper over more fundamental problems with their marketing. This article will look at how you can spot when this is happening and, crucially, do something about it.

Tactics vs strategy

First of all, we need to understand what the difference between a strategy and tactics is:

  • A strategy is an achievable and focused set of steps to help you reach a specific goal.
  • Tactics are the activities that help you reach that goal.

Research from Smart Insights found that nearly half of companies don’t have a clearly defined digital marketing strategy. What’s more, only 12% have a separate document that outlines their activity. This means that many companies are carrying out campaigns without a clear plan or objective. 

A tactics-only approach results in executing digital marketing tasks without direction or measurable objectives. This kind of approach is always likely to be ineffective: it’s going be difficult to tell whether the results are successful or not, and most importantly understand why.

“A tactics-only approach results in executing digital marketing tasks without direction or measurable objectives.”

Below, I’ve collected some examples of phrases we’ve heard that indicate a tactics-only approach:

  • “We need more followers on Instagram”
  • “Let’s post about our brand on TikTok”
  • “We will publish 2 blog articles per week”
  • “Shall we make a podcast?”
  • “Can you make this good for SEO?”

 None of these are particularly bad in any way (except the last one), but if they are not part of a wider strategy, they are unlikely to be effective. If you are asked to execute these things in your company, the question to ask is why: what are we trying to achieve? If the answer to that question is not clear, it shows that there is some work to be done. 

Of course, a good strategy doesn’t just appear from thin air. It takes hard work and a real focus on your particular audience. There’s a reason why one of the most well-known marketing mantras is something along the lines of “When we try to be everything for everybody, we run the risk of being nothing for nobody.” 

 Defining your target audience, and more importantly understanding them, will help you build the foundations for a successful strategy, and eventually a successful business. At the same time, there is a clear path that can be taken to solve these problems.

“When we try to be everything for everybody, we run the risk of being nothing for nobody.”

Entrepreneur.com

Do these sound familiar?

  • “We’re getting traffic but no sales”
  • “We’re struggling to rank against bigger competitors”
  • “Only Facebook Ads/email/partnership campaigns are working”

In our experience, 9/10 this will be down to positioning/categorisation.  Remember, if people are seeing your site or ads and not buying, “more traffic/better SEO/PPC” is not usually the answer. This is a strategic issue and as a business solving this is where your time is best invested.

Positioning and categorisation

April Dunford is one of the best known voices on this subject. While her work is largely in the world of B2B, the points she makes apply to pretty much any business selling online. She states that “positioning defines how your product is a leader at delivering something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about.” This again stresses the importance of knowing your target audience, and understanding how your business solves their particular pain-point.

In short, positioning sets the scene for your product. Where good positioning sets off assumptions about your product that are true, bad positioning sets off assumptions about your product that aren’t true. This leaves sales and marketing teams to do the work of undoing the damage that incorrect positioning has already done. 

“Positioning defines how your product is a leader at delivering something that a well-defined set of customers cares a lot about.”

– April Dunford

Once you know your target audience and how to solve their particular pain-points, it is important to define how customers perceive your brand, where they categorise it among other products and brands they know. Categorisation means that customers are able to slot your brand or product into groups they understand. For example, when you land on a website that sells glasses, it is likely that you immediately understand and make assumptions about a number of things, such as:

  • What glasses are, and why you might need them
  • The price range they tend to come in
  • The qualifications the company might have (optometry)
  • Who the biggest glass selling competitors are

However, not all brands and products will have such a clear and obvious category. In fact, what you think your category is and what the customer thinks may well be different.

Additionally, some brands operate in an entirely new category. This might be a new innovation, or a product that is so different from its competitors they are just not comparable. Understanding if you are competing in an existing category or creating a new one can be key to success.

Getting off the treadmill

If your business is relying heavily on a ‘treadmill’ of tactics such as email campaigns, discounts, and cold outreach, without having a steady stream of revenue from a stable source like organic or PPC, it might be time to review your positioning.

For anyone interested in learning more about this topic, here are some resources from Blink: