Is the land between strategy and planning getting murkier?
Just when we thought we couldn’t be busier, we’re seeing this heightened sense of need and urgency to bring back all of the campaigns and projects that were pre- covid, plus continuing with the new ways of working that we’ve adapted to in the last 6 months or so.
But with little time, and the need to act fast, is strategy and planning merging like they never have before?
First things first – strategy and planning are two different things. The strategy is the how. How will we grow our engagement scores, market share, and brand trust, in line with business objectives and audience needs? And the plan is what you are going to do to achieve these things.
We’ve been working in unchartered territory for a while and so often, we are jumping straight into the tactics before we’ve had time to adapt the strategy.
Particularly in communications and marketing – we are jumping straight into channel planning before we fully understand the active insight of our audience, that shows us the best how before we jump to the what and when.
It’s true, we need to act fast, and so it’s necessary. But it is vital for those making the quick decisions and adapting activities, to have constant up to date knowledge on their audience, strategy, and their brand relevance so they can connect with people in the right way.
Recently, trying to achieve this successfully has been an absolute minefield, but the biggest thing to avoid is not doing anything. You must not stay quiet. Always remember, your business is full of people, and it connects with people.
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How has their reality changed?
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What is on their mind?
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How can you help them solve a problem or make their life better?
Although this article is very specific to marketing and sales in the pharmaceutical industry, I think it brings pertinent topics across the wider industry.
My key thoughts and take-aways are:
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Don’t get too caught up with having to follow a full strategic process if there are too many hoops to go through that will significantly slow you down.
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Always stay fully informed of the audience, and your relevance in the broader landscape to help with your decision making.
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Always find space to dig deep into strategy – even if it’s not as often as you would like.
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Create a strategy and plan with a slide, so it can be easily adapted depending on reality.
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When a decision to go is made, act quickly, otherwise you will lose your time to make an impact and will always be playing catch up.
