How to fix issues from execution with no strategy and strategy with no execution

There are two issues I usually see within businesses who have dabbled in marketing and don’t really understand why it’s not working.

These are:

- Execution without strategy

- Strategy without execution

Most problems and growth issues will largely fall into one of those two categories but the good news is that both are completely fixable by joining forces with the other.

How does execution without strategy happen?

There’s a tendency with SMEs and startups to feel like they’re already behind. They’ll open up LinkedIn and see that x company has filled the pipeline by spending a gazillion on paid ads, or that y influencer creator has built a massive following in z space.

Which are mostly embellished half truths shrouded in vagueness. Some examples include:

• The I generated an absurd amount of money in a currency that looks bigger than my own in a world record timeframe posts

• The I built my own marketing an sales teams only using agents and here’s how this makes me a x-figure overnight success posts

• Add in anyone claiming that they are ‘leveraging the full power of AI and everyone that isn’t will lose’

All pretty harrowing stuff if you’ve just started out and are trying to be taken seriously. But it’s because of what I’m calling turbo FOMO that more and more businesses are sinking budget into channels that don’t deliver ROI because it's not linked to any direction or goal.

The most common situation I’m hearing about is businesses hiring junior marketers who are great at creating social assets and growing a following but it’s not delivering results. The CEO is confused as to what’s not landing, yet the marketer can see the numbers the posts are delivering. No one understands why it’s not working. Or what should be working. Or what even working actually means.

That would be because there needs to be a strategic underpinning of activity in place and you will need to start building a strategy that links together the execution. And then identify if the channels you’re using are the correct ones.

Start by asking:

• Who are your clients?

• What do they need solving?

• Where do we meet them?

• How do we delight them?

• What are the metrics to report against this?

If you need help building your strategy, then take a look at this blog: Building your strategic brand foundations to achieve long-term results

Businesses that have a strategy but no execution? 

There’s two ways I’ve seen this happen

1️. A business is caught in decision paralysis. There’s one person signing everything off and they’re either busy or unsure of what good looks like.

2️. No one is the strategy owner or enforcer. There’s no marketing leadership owning it to deliver and it’s left to a few members of the team to execute. There’s colours and TOV all over the place and 12 different logos across channels.

Number 2 is easily solvable with a fractional leader at the helm, helping you to start building out the execution engine until full-time employees can be bought on board to start executing that vision day to day.

Number 1 is the tricky one. If you’re a leader currently stuck here it could be because you’re unsure of how to translate the strategy into activity or you’re looking for perfection before it lands.

I've worked with a number of businesses that have found themselves trapped in decision paralysis and it affects EVERYTHING. No messaging gets agreed, no posts go out on social, sales say whatever they need to on calls (whether there's a process or not). It's usually because everything is via committee. As the founder, alongside an expert marketing leader (fractional or otherwise) you will be able to make more decisions more quickly with expert advice, so trim down the discussions and focus on what matters.

Figure out why there's a disconnect between the strategy and your vision too. Maybe the work doesn't reflect who you are or your values, or maybe it could feel quite generic. Answering these questions will start to shape what it ultimately is that's causing the decision paralysis.

Want to know what it's like working with a fractional CMO/marketing leader, I've put together this guide: How I work with B2B businesses as a Fractional CMO.