Business Strategies and Tactics

By Bill Koelzer, CBC, APR

To have a sale at your store is a tactic. To set yourself up as a discount store is a strategy ( every day is a sale).
Too many firms spend hours in long strategy meetings agonizing about what to do next. Traditionally, firms who spend a lot of time in strategy meetings are not very good planners. They often have a siege mentality because they ARE constantly under siege by competitors in "me-too" kinds of markets. But it is quite easy to turn the tables on an entrenched competitor in a "me-too" marketplace if you use the right tactics . Lacking them, you get nowhere.
To find good tactics, usually you have to discover those things that you can do that your competitor can't . And when you employ those things, they are often referred to as "guerrilla tactics." Typically, firms are too close to the trees to spot potential guerrilla marketing tactics. That's often why they bring in an outside consultant who can see the forest better, i.e. clearly and objectively.

Good planners, however, don't etch their plans in concrete. They are willing to try new things as opportunities present themselves. Compared to doing nothing new to market products, it is often better to "fire, ready, aim" than it is to "ready, aim, fire."
It is mind boggling how easy it is for one firm in a competitive, but perceived as "me too" market like, say, real estate offices, veterinarians, general merchandise stores, collision repair stores, etc., to rise above the pack. But they cannot do this until first they reject what most others are doing in their field and employ tactics that capture everyone's imagination.