Television commercials, radio interviews, magazines ads, newspaper classifieds, direct mail, and etc. are just marketing tactics. Tactics are wasted when applied without a strategy. Take chess for example, you can apply the tactics without a strategy. You can pin pieces, fork pieces, double check, skewer pieces, and apply discovered check. Tactics may win you a few pieces but alone it will not win you the game. The same is true when marketing without a strategy. A good strategy will suggest what tactics to use based on the situation.

A strategy is nothing more than a well thought out plan or method. Your strategy should have a stated objective or outcome. No matter what, your strategy must motivate the prospect to take some action. You have to determine what that action will be.

Your objective could be to get the prospect to come to your website. Or your objective could be to get your prospect to sign up for a newsletter or coupons. Or your objective could be to get the prospect to call you. Or your objective could be to get the customer to visit your place of business. Be crystal clear about your objective.

You need to be clear about your objective because it dictates your actions. If your call to action is a phone call then ensure you answer with a friendly and upbeat voice. If your call to action is to visit your place of business then make sure you open on time. If you offer a coupon then make sure you honor it. If you offer a one-hour free consultation then be sure it's one-hour and free. Make sure you can meet the demand of your call to action, no matter what it is.

What if your objective is marginally successful? What happens when your call to action does not result in a sale? Your marketing strategy should address this. Should you have a process in place to follow up with the prospect? Of course, you should have a process in place to follow up with the prospect.

Do you want to know a secret? Your prospects will do exactly as you ask. My early articles asked readers to sign up for my weekly ezine. And that is exactly what prospects did. Prospects came to my ecommerce website and signed up for the ezine but rarely bought my products. Ouch! Don't repeat this mistake. Ask for the sale first then offer an ezine or newsletter if a prospect does not buy.

So, if you don't get a prospect to buy on first contact then offer to send them a brochure or newsletter. You just want capture contact information. Maybe the prospect wants to buy but has another barrier such as no money today. Remember a prospect is not a stranger! It may take periodic contact to turn a prospect into a customer.

Tactics are more effective when used within the framework of a strategy. Your marketing strategy should have a stated outcome. You must call your prospect to action. You must be able to meet the demand of that call to action. Your marketing strategy should have a contingency to maintain contact with a prospect if they don't buy. It's also good business sense to maintain contact after a prospect becomes a paying customer. It's cheaper to keep a customer then get a new one.

Failing to have a marketing strategy will leave you desperate for customers.