Without Strategy, All Tactics Seem Like Good Ideas

In Duct Tape Marketing, we talk about the importance of creating your  strategy first and then selecting tactics to support that strategy. I think it is  extremely important to write down your goals and strategies in order to revisit, evaluate your progress, and keep them top of mind. A recent experience reminded me of the importance of writing goals down and using them as your starting point for making tactical decisions.

Last week, I attended a workshop about how to be better at networking. Early on, we had a very nice discussion about the importance of having goals - goals related to what we want our business to be as well as setting goals for individual networking events. Everyone was in agreement that being clear about your goals is essential to successful networking.

A short time later we addressed the subject of how to select the "right networking event". The ensuing conversation talked about different local networking events, the good and bad experiences people had with different organizations, tactics for starting conversations, ending conversations, handling business cards, etc.  I was surprised that even though less than 5 minutes ago we had all agreed on the importance of setting goals, not once was the idea of using these goals to evaluate networking events brought up.

This experience reminded me of what John Jantsch calls the "marketing idea of the week" syndrome. Without a clear set of goals or strategy as a starting point, many things seem like "a good idea". A particular tactic may work wonders for me, but unless you have the same target audience and the same core message as I do, your mileage is going to vary.

I believe the key is to build the habit of asking yourself, "How can I use this tactic to support my goals and move me towards success?". Start by writing down your marketing strategy. Refer back to your strategy every time it comes time to make a tactical decision. If you are attending a networking event, pause to ask yourself what you can do during this meeting to help you reach your goals. If you can't think of some specific action items that will move you closer to your goals, your time may be better spent elsewhere.