Strategy before tactics
From junior marketer to Chief Marketing Officer and everything in between, I’ve worn a variety of hats in my 15+ year marketing career.
But no matter the role, I’ve witnessed and consulted around the same critical mistake time and time again:
Tactics before strategy.
More often than not, companies of all sizes suffer from an unhealthy obsession around the brand, the campaigns, the clicks. Guilty of it myself early in my career. Tunnel-vision around what the world in general perceives as marketing. Don’t get me wrong, those elements are undoubtedly crucial at the right juncture. However, for a lot marketing teams, I consider them distracting and somewhat premature.
When I first meet with prospective clients, I ask them to conduct a simple exercise:
“Can you draw out your marketing-to-sales strategy?”
Not a 50-page word doc or endless slide deck. Literally a pen-to-paper diagram. Every journey. Every touch point. Most can not and that’s where our partnership begins.
The “blue” in Strategic Blue is just that; a granular focus on mapping, building, and monitoring the strategic blueprint that creates an internal atmosphere of accountability.
A blueprint that gives direction and where data flows cleanly downstream. A strategy that lays the roots for a rock-solid digital foundation that allows your marketing team to make informed decisions and run leaner.
Let’s focus. Let’s get organized. Let’s commit.
“We have no way of knowing what lays ahead for us in the future. All we can do is use the information at hand to make the best decision possible.”
About Me
Information at hand. Using it. Making the best decision possible. That quote comes from my favorite actor in one of my favorite comedies. So apropos for life in general and life in marketing.
As marketers, our mission should be to leave behind the world of subjectivity and lay stakes in the world of objectivity.
And that begins and ends with data.
In 2010, I jumped head first into the startup world. Prior to then, I held various marketing roles but none as fulfilling as building something from the ground up. We started as 3. Grew to 10. Then 20. And eventually 40+ dedicated team members who made a united commitment to data. Not just recording it but actually leveraging it.
We were digitally disciplined, forever curious, and stretched our marketing budgets further and further. Nine-million users, 6.5 billion data points later, our journey ended with an acquisition. Data. It works.
One chapter ends, another begins. I needed a break from the startup world. My hair was graying. I moved into the agency world, overseeing both the internal and external marketing teams. We touched clients of all sizes, industries, and tech stacks. An experience that challenged me to my core. Took my brain to places I didn't know existed. An experience that I am forever grateful for and one that I know has armed me to better consult my clients. My hair got grayer.
Experience in marketing matters. I've worked and continue to work with clients who have an amazing product or service but simply lack that blueprint for success. That is what I do best.
First and foremost I am a father to two wonderful children and a husband to an amazing wife. I’m a graduate of the University of North Carolina and reside in Chapel Hill. I enjoy both playing and coaching soccer, getting out on the golf course and spending as much time as I can with my family. I have a fondness for North Carolina beaches, a love for all animals, and wholeheartedly believe we need more compassion and empathy in the world. Everyone has a story. Let’s respect that.
Click HERE to learn more about what we do.
