Why the Best Marketing Strategies Start With the Business Goal
My name is Shawn Strawser, and one of the biggest lessons I have learned throughout my career is that marketing becomes much more effective when it starts with a clear business goal.
That sounds obvious.
But in practice, many companies begin with tactics instead.
They ask:
Should we run Google Ads?
Should we post more on social media?
Should we send email campaigns?
Should we redesign the website?
Should we invest in SEO?
Those can all be good ideas.
But none of them should be the first question.
The first question should be:
What are we actually trying to accomplish?
Tactics Are Not Strategy
A tactic is something you do.
A strategy explains why you are doing it and how it contributes to the larger goal.
Running ads is a tactic.
Publishing blog content is a tactic.
Sending emails is a tactic.
Improving a website is a tactic.
The strategy connects those activities to an outcome.
That outcome might be:
- Increasing qualified leads
- Growing revenue
- Launching a new service
- Improving retention
- Entering a new market
- Increasing appointment volume
- Growing e-commerce sales
- Building brand awareness
- Developing more repeat customers
Until the business goal is clear, it is difficult to know which tactics deserve the most attention.
More Traffic Is Not Always the Goal
One of the easiest marketing metrics to celebrate is website traffic.
More visitors sounds positive.
And often it is.
But traffic by itself does not guarantee business growth.
A website can attract thousands of visitors who never become customers.
Another site may attract fewer people but convert a much higher percentage.
That is why I like to ask:
What do we want the traffic to do?
Do we want visitors to call?
Schedule?
Purchase?
Request information?
Join an email list?
Visit a location?
Once that is clear, the marketing strategy becomes more focused.
Start With the Desired Outcome
When I evaluate a marketing opportunity, I like to work backward.
Start with the outcome.
Then determine what needs to happen before that outcome can occur.
For example, if the goal is more sales, we may need:
More qualified leads.
To generate more qualified leads, we may need better visibility.
To improve visibility, we may need stronger SEO, advertising, content, partnerships, or outreach.
But maybe visibility is already strong.
Maybe the real issue is conversion.
In that case, generating even more traffic may simply send more people into a process that is not working.
That is why diagnosis matters before execution.
Sales Experience Changes How You Look at Marketing
My background in sales has strongly influenced the way I think about marketing.
In sales, the result is usually clear.
Did the account close?
Did the customer buy?
Did revenue grow?
Marketing can sometimes become disconnected from those outcomes because there are so many metrics available.
Impressions.
Clicks.
Followers.
Engagement.
Traffic.
Open rates.
All of those numbers can provide useful information.
But they should support a larger business objective.
Otherwise, it becomes easy to confuse activity with progress.
Ask Better Questions Before Spending Money
Before launching a campaign, I believe businesses should ask several questions.
Who are we trying to reach?
What do we want them to do?
Why should they choose us?
What problem are we solving?
How will they discover us?
What happens after they respond?
How will we measure success?
What happens if the campaign works extremely well?
That last question is often overlooked.
Marketing can generate demand, but the organization needs to be ready to handle it.
Marketing and Operations Have to Work Together
This is something business ownership has reinforced for me.
A successful campaign can create operational problems if the company is not prepared.
Imagine doubling incoming leads when nobody is available to respond quickly.
Or driving a large increase in orders when inventory cannot support it.
Or generating appointments faster than the team can serve them.
That is not sustainable growth.
A good marketing strategy considers the entire business.
Marketing cannot operate in isolation.
Define What Success Looks Like
Different organizations define success differently.
A company may care about revenue.
Another may care about new customer acquisition.
Another may want to enter a new market.
Another may need to improve profitability rather than increase volume.
That distinction matters.
For example, generating more customers is not always the right goal if those customers are unprofitable.
Sometimes the better strategy is attracting fewer but higher-value customers.
Marketing decisions should reflect the economics of the business.
Set Measurable Objectives
A vague goal like:
“We want to grow.”
is difficult to build around.
A more useful goal might be:
“We want to generate 50 additional qualified leads per month.”
Or:
“We want to increase online sales by 20 percent.”
Or:
“We want to improve our website conversion rate.”
Now the strategy can be measured.
You know whether progress is happening.
You can test different approaches.
And you can make better decisions about where to invest.
Not Every Channel Deserves Equal Attention
One of the advantages of starting with the goal is that it helps prioritize marketing channels.
A local service business may benefit heavily from Google search and local SEO.
An e-commerce company may need a different mix involving product search, email, organic content, and paid advertising.
A B2B company may rely more heavily on outreach, relationships, referrals, and targeted content.
There is no universal marketing mix that works for every business.
The right strategy depends on the audience and objective.
Understand Where the Customer Already Is
A strong marketing strategy also considers customer behavior.
Where do people look when they need the service?
What questions do they ask?
What influences their decisions?
How long does the decision take?
Do they need to speak with someone?
Do they compare several providers?
Do reviews matter?
Does price matter?
Understanding the customer helps determine where marketing resources should be placed.
Your Website Should Support the Goal
A website should be designed around the role it plays in the business.
If the goal is lead generation, the site should make contacting the company easy.
If the goal is e-commerce, the purchasing experience should be simple.
If the goal is building professional credibility, the site should demonstrate expertise, experience, and trust.
That is one reason I built ShawnStrawser.com.
The website has a specific purpose.
It creates a central place where people can learn about Shawn Strawser, my professional experience, my sales background, my approach to marketing, and the work I am involved in today.
The purpose determines the structure.
Measure What Happens After the Lead
One of the most important lessons from sales is that generating an opportunity is only part of the process.
What happens next matters just as much.
If marketing generates 100 leads but only five receive effective follow-up, the organization may conclude that the campaign failed.
The campaign may actually have worked.
The breakdown occurred later.
That is why I believe marketing teams need visibility into what happens after the lead is generated.
How quickly did someone respond?
Was the lead qualified?
Did the person schedule?
Did they purchase?
If not, why?
The full funnel provides a much clearer picture.
Keep Improving the Strategy
Marketing strategy should not be treated as something you create once and never revisit.
Markets change.
Competitors change.
Customer behavior changes.
Technology changes.
The business changes.
That means strategy should evolve.
Measure the results.
Identify what works.
Find the weak points.
Make adjustments.
Then repeat the process.
Marketing gets stronger when it becomes a continuous cycle of execution and improvement.
Avoid Chasing Every New Trend
Marketing changes quickly.
There is always another platform, tool, tactic, or technology getting attention.
Some of those innovations are genuinely valuable.
Others are distractions.
A clear business goal makes it easier to evaluate new opportunities.
Instead of asking:
“Is everyone using this?”
Ask:
“Can this help us accomplish our objective?”
That simple question can prevent a lot of wasted time and money.
Strategy Creates Focus
One of the biggest benefits of good strategy is focus.
Businesses usually have limited resources.
Limited budgets.
Limited staff.
Limited time.
You cannot pursue every opportunity equally.
Strategy helps determine what deserves attention and what can wait.
That focus improves execution.
What My Career Has Taught Me
My career has taken me through advertising sales, inside sales, outside sales, new account development, digital marketing, and business ownership.
Across each of those areas, I have seen the same basic principle hold true.
The clearest goals usually produce the clearest decisions.
When you know what success looks like, you can determine what activities are most likely to produce it.
When you do not know the goal, marketing can become a collection of disconnected tactics.
The Question I Keep Coming Back To
Before deciding what marketing tactic to use, ask:
What business result are we trying to create?
Then work backward.
Who needs to take action?
What has to happen before they do?
What obstacles are preventing it?
Which marketing channels can help?
How will we measure the result?
That process creates a much stronger foundation than simply starting with the newest marketing tool.
The best marketing strategy is not the one with the most tactics.
It is the one that most clearly connects marketing activity to business growth.
About Shawn Strawser
Shawn Strawser is a marketing strategist and sales professional with more than 20 years of experience in advertising, business development, new account acquisition, digital marketing, and growth strategy.
Shawn Strawser’s career includes bringing in more than 300 new accounts within six months and becoming the only Marketing Consultant at SEPI in more than 40 years to exceed $500,000 in annual sales.
Today, Shawn focuses on marketing strategy, digital growth, business development, and building practical systems that connect marketing activity with measurable business results.