"Our strategy is to go viral and be reshared by a few influencers who will cement us as a quality brand."

This isn't a strategy. It's a pipe dream, like hoping for a grand slam in the 9th inning with two outs.

I've repeatedly come across these pipe dreams dressed like strategies. The result is wasted effort and time that could've been spent uncovering real insights to develop a good strategy, as Richard Rumelt would say.

An example would be software made for marketers, yet the only way they could be successful is if agencies began using it with their multitude of clients (thus rapidly spreading it). It sounds like an intelligent plan until you realize the probability of success is less than 1%.

The same would hold if I sold a financial product and relied on local banks to pick it up and sell it for me.

Both sound like good "strategies," yet neither would help me make progress in areas I control.

In the end, if the one event doesn't happen, you're screwed.

I call this a lottery strategy or one-in-a-million strategy.

The strategy only works once if you run a simulator a million times. And that one chance of hitting the lottery keeps you believing you have a solid strategy rather than improving your bad strategy.

Rather than coin the antithesis of lottery strategies as Realistic Strategy, I prefer to use the concept of Strategic Pragmatism or Pragmatic Strategy.

Pragmatic, in the context of strategic (marketing) planning, refers to a practical and realistic approach that considers a situation's actual circumstances, resources, and limitations.

In contrast, a pragmatic strategy focuses on identifying practical steps and actions that can be taken to make meaningful progress toward your org's goals. It emphasizes adaptability, flexibility, and a willingness to adjust the strategy based on feedback and real-world outcomes.

The first step on the pragmatic path is to diagnose your current marketing.

Where is it working, and where is it doing little for your bottom line?

• How is the website doing?
• What type of content are we deploying?
• What is the marketing budget, and where is it being allocated?

All simple questions provide you clarity on the lay of the land.

Only after answering them can you develop practical steps to overcome those deficiencies and maximize your strengths.

{Next discuss guardrails and then coherent actions}