For many business owners marketing begins with tactics. Someone suggests that printing flyers or making a ‘viral’ video to get the word out is a good idea.
Even if the tactic works this time round it doesn’t mean you’ve got a sustainable strategy for connecting with your audience or building your brand.

Think of marketing as a ladder where you make progress from bottom to top.

Understanding comes before insights, goals before a plan.
Tactics come before evaluation, which leads to progress that then drives results.

The best way to navigate a ladder is one rung at a time. Sure—you can try climbing it faster two at a time, but you’re more likely to break your neck that way. And it’s impossible to make progress by starting in the middle. Shouting from any point on the ladder doesn’t work either.

Once you know where you’re going and why it’s a lot easier to get there.

Image by Bill Selak.