How to Build Marketing Strategy That Moves the Needle
This piece is for brand-side marketing leaders (especially at small to midsize companies) who are putting in the work and ready for that effort to finally translate into meaningful growth.
If you're a Marketing Director at a growing brand, chances are you're stuck in the middle: Expected to think strategically like a VP while also executing like a team of five. And when strategy feels like a moving target - or worse, an afterthought - it's no wonder you're constantly pivoting instead of progressing.
At Dodson Consulting, we partner with marketing leaders who are ready to move beyond half-tested tactics and build a strategy rooted in purpose, performance, and with real organizational alignment.
Here’s how to build a strategy that actually works:
1. Start Where the Business Starts: With Real Goals
It sounds obvious, but many marketing plans are built around campaigns, not business needs.
Before you talk channels, content, or creative, zoom out:
What’s the company aiming to do this quarter? This year?
Are you trying to increase revenue in a stagnant category? A new category?
Are you expanding into a new region or demographic?
Improve margin by shifting to higher-value products?
The more connected your marketing objectives are to the company KPIs (key performance indicators), the more strategic weight you will hold inside the business. Think about it. Your invitation is not just to align. But to translate. Marketing needs to speak finance’s language if you want a seat at the table.
Want to dive deeper into how to translate business KPIs into marketing priorities? Read: Aligning Business Goals with Marketing Strategy
2. Define Your Brand’s Role in Solving Real Problems
You don’t need a full rebrand to clarify your position, but if your brand message isn’t landing or doesn’t feel solid, it is time to revisit the core question: What are we actually helping people to do or solve for?
This isn’t about taglines or visual identity. It’s about understanding the role your brand plays in your customers’ lives and what specific problem you’re solving for them.
Ask Your Team:
Who do we need to reach right now?
What shift are they trying to make in their life, work, or business?
What challenge or tension is standing in their way?
Why are we uniquely positioned to help them move forward?
When positioning is too broad - maybe it has been sitting unchanged while the business evolves - even the best campaigns can fall flat. At Dodson Consulting, we often find that refining a brand’s message, even slightly, brings clarity across everything from awareness-building efforts to conversion tactics.
In other words: when your positioning sharpens, the entire marketing engine, from what people first hear about you to why they decide to engage, starts working more cohesively. And with that, comes power.
Curious how this plays out in real campaigns? Explore: From Concept to Marketing Campaign
3. Audit the Engine Before You Add More Fuel
Before chasing the next shiny channel or tactic, make sure you take the time to look under the hood. Sometimes, this alone can be the unlock that brands need. Ask:
Does your team have the right people, tools, and bandwidth to execute this strategy?
Are internal processes aligned to support your strategic goals?
What’s currently creating drag: approvals, lack of clarity, or misaligned incentives?
Too many plans collapse under the weight of unrealistic expectations. That’s why we help clients build strategies around their actual resources - not in spite of them. If your people have the heart but not the bandwidth or skillsets, solve for that first. Otherwise, even the best strategy will stall out in execution.
Because if a strategy only works in theory, it’s not a strategy. It’s a wish list.
Need a reality check on how internal dynamics affect output? Check out: The Ripple Effect of Brand Strategy
4. Choose 3 Strategic Focus Areas (Max)
Focus is power. Instead of spreading your team’s energy across ten competing initiatives, identify two to three areas that will drive the greatest impact for your brand right now. This might mean updating your core messaging before launching a big campaign. Why? So that your core foundational story is working with you, not against you.
Common focus areas include:
Brand Awareness: Refine messaging, improve SEO, launch PR efforts
Lead Generation: Optimize conversion paths, refresh your paid media approach
Customer Retention: Strengthen lifecycle emails, pilot loyalty programs, gather customer feedback
For each focus area, define:
A clear objective
1-3 key initiatives that support it
Measurable KPIs to track progress
Everything else? Park it. Leave it on the side until it directly supports one of your chosen focus areas. A streamlined strategy not only reduces noise, it builds momentum.
5. Build in Room for Flexibility, But Anchor Your Plan
The best strategies are both structured and adaptable. We recommend setting quarterly review cycles, with checkpoints tied to real-time performance - not just timelines.
Flexibility doesn’t mean abandoning an initiative the moment it underperforms. It means giving your work room to take hold, while staying curious and willing to adjust. Sometimes it’s not the strategy that’s off - it’s the timing, market, execution, or messaging.
Ask:
What’s working and why?
Where is momentum slowing?
What should we stop, start, or scale?
Hot tip: Don’t forget to communicate your learnings back to leadership. A simple visual dashboard or monthly highlights summary can go a long way in reinforcing marketing’s value, as well as help build a stronger case for future brand investment.
For more on keeping your strategy agile and aligned, see: Your Guide to Planning, Pivoting, and Thriving in 2025
6. When to Bring in a Strategic Partner
Sometimes, the biggest block to strong strategy isn’t creativity or effort, it’s perspective. When you’re deep in the day-to-day, it’s near impossible to see the fuller landscape. And when you’re tending to every tree, it’s easy to lose sight of the forest.
That’s where we come in.
Dodson Consulting works with Marketing Directors and Founders to create strategies that are clear, executable, and aligned to actual business objectives - not just marketing outputs.
Whether it’s refining positioning, building a go-to-market framework, or leading cross-functional workshops to get buy-in, we offer the structure and outside perspective you need to move faster, with both intention and metrics.
Final Words
A good strategy is more than a plan. It’s a decision-making tool. It gives your team permission to say no to distractions and yes to the initiatives that create momentum. It doesn’t need to be 40 pages long. But it does need to be rooted in reality, backed by buy-in, and aligned with the metrics that matter most.
Need help getting there? Let’s talk. We’d love to support you in making your next strategic move your smartest one yet.
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