When forming your organization’s strategy and plan, it is quite natural for the flow to go from objectives (what we want to accomplish), to strategy (how we will go about it, leveraging our unique strengths and capabilities) to tactics (the specific steps involved, time frame, resource deployment, etc.). However, it is also possible to invert this process. That is, building a strategy from a tactic. Here’s an example.
Some years ago, a colleague and print sales specialist told me of one of the most successful and profitable campaigns he had ever sold. It had to do with a professional hockey team, then new to the metropolitan area that, after several moribund seasons, finally caught a spark and made a deep run into the playoffs. Suddenly, as tends to happen, fans took an interest in the team, jamming their home arena and buying up their team paraphernalia. While my friend had done some work for this team, the opportunity to do even more was upon him.
Wanting to capitalize on their new-found popularity, the team called him in to help with an aggressive season ticket sales promotion. Direct mail pieces, brochures, posters, and other high-end printed items were put in play. And, according to my friend, the campaign was a success, resulting in a better-than-expected outcome for the team (and for my friend’s printing company). All good (although I did mention that he might have been the one to reach out to the team first, not the other way around!).
Read the rest of this story on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
