The distinction between these marketing foundations comes up often in discussions with small business owners. Many people like to start with a tactic, like “we’ll do some email marketing,” and call it a strategy with no connection to the overall marketing goals.

So what are the differences between goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics?

• Goals: high-level planning targets that your marketing plan will achieve. Usually somewhat abstract and unmeasurable.
• Objectives: the measurable results that combine to achieve a goal. These are concrete and trackable and have a timeline associate with it.
• Strategy: the broad plan to fulfill and objective. Like goals, these are more abstract than tactics.
• Tactics: actionable tasks to support the strategy. Concrete things you can “do.”

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What does this process look like for your small business marketing plans? Here’s an example:

• Goal: to become the market leader in water hose sales by the end of the year
• Objectives
  • Increase brand awareness among target audience members by 20% by the end of the fourth quarter
  • Increase sales by 5% each quarter until the end of the year
• Strategies
  • Use print advertising to increase brand awareness
  • Use seasonal pricing promotions to boost sales
• Tactics
  • Advertise in distributor’s Sunday inserts (e.g. Home Depot) each week through the fourth quarter
  • Place half-page ads in Gardening and Home Improvement magazines every other month
  • 2-for-1 pricing promotion during summer (June–August)
  • 10% off special during autumn (September–October)

So you can see the progression from abstract and somewhat long-term down to the executable tasks what happens where and when.

Once you have a clear vision in mind for the direction of your small business, you can plan through the necessary steps to bring about the realization of your vision.