What Does it Mean to Think More Strategically?

Strategy and strategic thinking concepts are simultaneously crystal clear and wildly vague. The intent of strategy – in this case, marketing strategy – is to be the guiding light for marketing activities. Its core purpose is to provide the marketing “what” that informs the marketing “how.”

What are we trying to accomplish? = strategy

How are we going to do it? = tactics

In my experience, I’ve seen people at all levels of an organization mix strategy and tactics. Many people vying for that big promotion at work are often told, “You need to think more strategically.” It's not exactly helpful feedback to receive.

What does that mean? How do you think more strategically? What if your role has no say in the company's strategic direction or marketing strategy?

You can still think strategically within your role without direct input into setting the overall strategy. Strategic thinking is about connecting your work to the company’s business objectives. It’s about understanding and communicating how your marketing efforts contribute to the bottom line, impact other departments, and advance the company.

Let’s look at these a bit more in-depth. 

1. Understanding Your Direct Impact 

Step one is understanding where you fit within the larger organizational ecosystem. By understanding your role and its impact on the company’s success, you can start looking at your position more strategically. Here’s what that looks like:

Start by identifying your core function and the value you bring to the organization. How do your activities contribute to overall success? For example, do your content marketing efforts drive leads to the sales team? Maybe your social media efforts have significantly improved the support team’s customer satisfaction. Your direct business impact can help you determine how you positively affect the business.

Next, map your activities to the organization's goals. You’re not just executing tasks. You need to understand how they connect to the broader objectives of the business. For example, if the company aims to increase market share, how does your latest campaign contribute?

You’ll likely need to work with other departments to get the necessary information to measure your impact. You might need sales information after running a campaign, or maybe you have an events team that can provide attendance numbers after you help them with their promotions. Working cross-functionally can help you gain a holistic understanding of the organization and its priorities, and it’s a great way to build relationships and allies you can call on in the future. 

2. Knowing Your Impact on Others 

You’ve examined your work internally to see how your contributions impact the business; now, you need to examine how you impact others. Strategic thinking involves understanding the ripple effect of your actions. This part is about hitting your team’s KPIs and knowing how your work influences others inside and outside the business.

Consider the customer journey. How does your marketing impact the customer experience at every touchpoint? Are you building brand loyalty and advocacy? How are you influencing internal stakeholders? For example, maybe your market research informs product development. Perhaps the sales enablement materials you created have helped the sales team close more deals. Some of this may be anecdotal feedback, but it’s still valuable information to share.

A critical aspect of strategic thinking is looking beyond the immediate results. Consider the long-term consequences of your actions – both good and bad. Is your current strategy contributing to sustainable growth? Is the brand reputation you’re building contributing to the company’s bottom line? 

3. Aligning with the Bigger Picture 

When thinking more strategically, you need to also look beyond the confines of your department and identify how you're actively contributing to the overall progress of the organization. Keep up with industry trends, emerging technologies, competitive threats, and new opportunities. This will allow you to better anticipate shifts in the market that could impact your company's success.

With this information, you'll also be able to look beyond the present day and start proactively anticipating the future. By finding possible roadblocks early on and developing strategies to overcome them, you'll be able to make sure the company is well-prepared to navigate challenges. This will help mitigate risk and build confidence in within the marketing team and other departments.

Being part of the strategic planning process is also a good way to build your strategic thinking skills. This is where you can offer your unique insights and perspectives on how your and your team's work can help achieve the company's business objectives while also advocating for the integration of marketing strategies into the overall business strategy. If you're not in a position to join the strategic planning sessions, bring up your ideas in your 1:1 with your supervisor or ask if you can sit it on one or more of the sessions.

Conclusion

"You need to build your strategic thinking skills" is a vague statement, but there are ways you can work on it and highlight your strategic impact on your team and the company. By understanding your role within the organization, measuring your impact on other teams, and aligning with the company's bigger picture, you can elevate your contributions and position yourself for future promotions and success.