"Why is my website not getting me enough business?"

This is a frequent opening question by many business owners and when you explain that a website is only one element of the marketing mix and there is no simple silver bullet, you can see their disappointment.

The world of digital marketing has become complicated and to navigate your way around is time-consuming and open to many opportunities to waste time and budget. However, get it right and it is awesome!

When asked who planned your strategy and built your website, the answers are either; a mate, a friend of a friend, or I knocked it up in WordPress, occasionally we hear staggering sums of money paid to an agency for pretty designs, however, missing the essential business understanding, core consumer message and technical know-how to make the website easy to navigate or compliant to search engines.

Without strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless.

Morris Chang, is a Taiwanese-American businessman

We like to create an effective strategy that can be measured, we get pride out of seeing the execution take shape and deliver meaningful results.

SOSTAC® The guide to your perfect digital marketing plan

SOSTAC® is a registered trademark of PR Smith

It is an acronym for six fundamental facets of marketing: situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control.

SOSTAC® contains a general marketing strategy which can be applied in various commercial situations. It includes an in-depth SWOT analysis, which helps businesses get ready for marketing campaigns; the main difference is that SOSTAC® also focuses on the implementation stages of the process, on marketing communications and now, digital marketing.

The structure of SOSTAC® is a simple logic that builds on an in-depth Situation Analysis which informs subsequent decisions made about strategy and tactics. It is crystal clear logic enables better decision making and therefore better plans.

We have adapted SOSTAC® to a number of clients specific marketing and commercial situations with great sucess.

1. Where we are now?

Situation Analysis

I take the time to learn about your business and where you want to take it, asking the three big customer questions:

Who? Why? How?

2. Where we want to Go?

Objectives

We all want more customers, more profit and lie on a beach drinking cocktails. Our approach is developing a mission and vision, followed by agreeing Key Performance Indicators (KPi's) to measure performance.

3. How do we get there?

Strategy

The smallest, yet arguably the most difficult part of a plan. The key is having a strategy that keeps your actions focused, along with a process that enables you to execute without taking too much attention away from running your business.

4. Which tactical tools & how much will it cost?

Tactics

Once you know which direction you're going, decide a detailed plan of which tactical tools and how much budget will need to be used to achieve the objectives.

5. Execute to the highest possible standard

Action

Good creative and technical execution is a prerequisite. However, it's just as important to have a tested system, processes, guidelines, checklists and internal communication.

6. Who Measures what, when and how?

Control

Decide who is responsible for matching results to your KPI's on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, progress can be monitored, decision can be taken to tweak activity.

The above is a thought process, a way of thinking about marketing, the method can be very formal, informal, solo, or as a team. We have seen it done on one side of paper, to a 100 plus page report. The best quote to sum this up is "No one plans to fail, only fail to plan".