In the first installment of our two-part post aimed at clarifying some of the confusion surrounding the common components of a marketing plan, (Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Tactics—GOST) we took an in-depth look at goals and objectives. In this post, we move deeper into the plan to define the more specific/actionable areas of strategies and tactics.

For most people, this is where the real trouble begins.

Actually, for most people, this is where everything begins.

Sit down with a group of people to brainstorm virtually any component of a marketing plan and most likely 90% of what you’ll hear will be a tactic—or at best—a strategy. It seems that as soon as those creative juices get flowing it gets harder and harder for people to look at things from 30,000 feet and things just seem to quickly escalate to “boots on the ground.” So, while in this blog post we’re discussing strategies and tactics after goals and objectives, chances are you’ll have to remind yourself, and others, of the following definitions early on in the process.

Strategies

Following our rule of thumb that the components of a marketing plan (or any plan for that matter) get more specific as you move through the plan, strategies are simply “how” you are going to meet your objectives. So, going back to our fictional line of fidget spinners, if one of our objectives is to “improve international brand recognition,” one strategy could be to “utilize targeted mass media messages” while another could be to “create active online communities.”

Tactics

If strategies are the “how,” tactics are the “what.” This is finally the point where everyone around the table can get into the specifics of what you’re actually going to do. These are the items that act on the strategies that meet the objectives that satisfy the overall goals. So, a tactic for “utilize targeted mass media messages,” could be to develop a :30 TV commercial to run during a popular children’s program. For our second strategy of “creating active online communities,” a simple tactic could be to create a Facebook page or group. In many cases, tactics will be the easiest to come up with and, if you put in the work in the earlier steps, they will be extremely strategic and have a better chance at success.

So that’s it.

Hopefully this has cleared up some of the confusion—at least for now. That said, if you’re like me, you’ll have to revisit these definitions time and time again before they become fully engrained.