The Marketing Strategy Myth: Why Most "Strategic" Marketing is Just Expensive Tactics

How to spot the difference between real strategy and repackaged tactics—and why it matters for your growing business

Walk into any networking event and you'll be bombarded by marketing people promising "strategic marketing solutions." Ask any marketing agency what they do, and "marketing strategy" will be top of their list.

But here's the reality: most of what passes for marketing strategy today is just tactics with a fancy name.

The Great Strategy Deception

The marketing industry loves a buzzword. And as a result, we've made "strategy" so overused and misapplied that it's lost all meaning—leaving business owners confused about what they're actually buying.

When a marketing specialist tells you they do "SEO strategy," they're talking about optimising your website for search engines.

When they promise "content strategy," they mean creating blog posts and social media content. "PPC strategy"? That's managing your Google Ads.

These aren't strategies. They're tactics.

Real strategic marketing is fundamentally different. It's not about choosing which channels to use—it's about defining your position in the market before you use any channels at all.

The Three Levels of Marketing "Strategy"

Understanding the difference could save your business thousands in wasted marketing budget.

Here's how to decode what agencies are actually offering:

Level 1: Individual Communication Strategies

This is channel-specific planning:

• SEO strategy

• Email marketing strategy

• Social media strategy

• Content strategy

• 
  

What it really is: Tactical planning for specific channels 

Value: Really useful for execution, but won't differentiate your business

Level 2: Communications Planning

This is what most agencies call "marketing strategy":

• A plan covering multiple marketing channels

• Recommendations for which tactics to use

• Timeline for implementation

  
  

What it really is: A comprehensive communications plan 

Value: Better coordination, you know what's going on when, but still tactical thinking

Level 3: True Marketing Strategy

This defines your fundamental market position:

• Who you're targeting (and who you're not)

• How you stand out from competitors

• What you offer and why it matters

• Your positioning in the market

  
  

What it really is: Strategic foundation for all marketing decisions 

Value: Transforms how customers perceive and choose your business

Why Most SMEs Get This Wrong

If you're running a small business or scaling SME, you're already juggling a dozen priorities. When someone promises "marketing strategy" that delivers quick wins, it's tempting to say yes.

But here's what typically happens:

You hire a marketing company that promises strategy.

They deliver a plan recommending LinkedIn ads, a new website, regular blogging, and email campaigns.

It looks comprehensive. It feels strategic.

Six months later, you're spending money across multiple channels with mediocre results.

You can't pinpoint what's working.

Your messaging feels generic.

You're competing on price, one of the most depresssing things to have to do, because nobody understands what makes you different.

Sound familiar?

What Real Strategic Marketing Looks Like

Genuine marketing strategy starts with three fundamental questions:

1. Who exactly are we targeting? 

Not "small businesses" or "homeowners." We're talking about specific personas with defined challenges, motivations, and decision-making processes.

This requires proper market research, including customer interviews with your best clients.

Not your worst clients (they'll just depress you), and not prospects (they don't know enough yet).

Your top 10 customers who keep coming back—they hold the keys to understanding your real value.

2. How do we stand out? 

This isn't about being "better." Better is subjective and easily copied.

It's about being meaningfully different in ways that matter to your target audience.

Real competitor analysis reveals who you're actually competing against.

Hint: it's probably not the obvious choice. Often, your biggest competitor is customers doing nothing or solving the problem themselves.

3. What's our position in the market? 

This crystallises into a clear statement: "For [specific target audience], what [our offering], versus [key competitor features & benefits] we [our differentiators]."

Everything else—your website, your content, your advertising—flows from this foundation.

The SME Strategy Spectrum

The level of strategic marketing you need depends on your business stage:

Startup Phase: 

Keep it simple. Make informed assumptions about your target market and test quickly.

A strategic workshop with an experienced marketing consultant can give you enough foundation to start.

Growth Phase: 

When you're ready to scale, invest in proper strategy.

This means market research, customer interviews, competitive analysis, and clear positioning.

Yes, it costs more upfront.

No, there's no immediate ROI.

But it transforms everything that follows.

Established Business: 

If you've been winging it and wondering why marketing feels like throwing money at a wall, it's time for strategic foundations.

Your tactics might be right, but without strategy, you're just making noise.

The One Target Audience Rule

Here's where most businesses go wrong: they try to target everyone.

Strategic marketing is as much about who you don't target as who you do.

With limited budgets, trying to speak to multiple audiences simultaneously dilutes your impact and wastes resources.

Choose one primary audience. Get crystal clear on their needs, motivations, and decision-making process. Dominate that space before expanding.

The exception? If you serve both B2B and B2C markets (many of our clients do), you need personas for both. But even then, prioritise one as your primary focus.

The Implementation Gap

Here's where many strategies fail: the gap between strategic thinking and practical implementation.

A brilliant strategy document that sits in a drawer helps nobody. Your team needs clear guidance on how to translate positioning into real marketing activities.

This means examples, templates, and ongoing support to ensure your marketing services actually reflect your strategic positioning.

Stop Buying Tactics Dressed as Strategy

Before you engage any marketing agency or outsourced marketing provider, ask these questions:

• Will you interview our best customers as part of this process?

• How will you identify our real competitors (not just the obvious ones)?

• What market research will you conduct?

• How will you define our target audience beyond basic demographics?

• Can you show examples of positioning statements you've created for similar businesses?

  
  

If they can't answer these clearly, they're selling tactics, not strategy.

The Strategic Marketing Multiplier Effect

When you get strategy right, everything else works harder.

Your messaging resonates more deeply.

Your content feels more relevant.

Your advertising converts better.

Your team understands what you stand for.

It's the difference between shouting into the void and speaking directly to people who need exactly what you offer.

Making the Strategic Choice

Real strategic marketing requires investment—in time, money, and mental energy. There's no immediate ROI from a positioning statement. But there's massive long-term value in getting it right.

The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in proper strategy. It's whether you can afford to keep wasting money on tactics without strategic foundation.

Your competitors are making the same mistake. They're buying more tactics, doing more stuff, making more noise.

You have the opportunity to think differently. To build strategic foundations that transform how customers see and choose your business.

The choice is yours: keep buying tactics dressed as strategy, or invest in the real thing.

Ready to discover what strategic marketing could do for your business? Our Marketing Sense Check call reveals whether your current approach is strategic or just expensive noise. Book your complimentary session at yourmarketingdepartment.co.uk/free-call

About Your Marketing Department 

We're the strategic marketing partner for ambitious SMEs who want growth, not just activity. Our outsourced marketing services start with strategy, not tactics—because foundations matter more than quick fixes.