Marketing strategy isn’t a deck. It’s a discipline

Let’s be honest, most marketing plans aren’t strategic. They’re a list of campaigns, KPIs, and budget lines, reverse-engineered into a spreadsheet. They track activity, but rarely guide real, meaningful direction. And yet, we keep calling them “strategic plans.” 

Over the past year, I’ve discussed this subject with dozens of marketing leaders in boardrooms, at roundtables, and over coffee. The same frustration keeps surfacing: we know we need to be more strategic, but we’re stuck in the weeds. We’re firefighting. We’re reporting. We’re reacting. We’re optimising. But we’re not always leading.  

At a recent Revere roundtable I chaired, 'Optimising B2B Marketing Plans: From Strategy Development to Performance Tracking', the conversation turned very candid. The issue isn’t just what’s in the plan, its that the plan itself is often missing, misaligned, or misunderstood. Blunt words from a room full of leaders meant to be owning the strategy and setting the course

The reality and conclusion was that most marketing leaders are expected to deliver strategic impact without the time, space, or structure to be strategic. Somehow, we’ve normalised the idea that strategy is something you fit in “on top of the day job.” But strategy is the job. Without it, marketing becomes a service function, not a growth engine. And certainly not one with a focus on the long-term.

So, what does a real strategic plan look like?

It’s not a 40-slide deck. It’s not a campaign calendar. And it’s not a quarterly report of KPIs that don’t make sense to most people in the business (and quite often, leaders themselves think they are the wrong measures deep down).

A real strategic plan is a living framework. It connects business ambition with marketing execution. to your team, credibility to your function, and confidence to your stakeholders. It helps prioritise effort and provokes meaningful discussion.

Here’s what the best ones have in common:

1. They start with the business, not the brand

Too many plans begin with messaging or channels, or centre on the “big hero” campaign that everyone is excited about. Instead, start with the CEO’s vision. What’s the business trying to achieve? What does success look like commercially? Then define marketing’s role in making that happen. 

A common barrier is timing – marketing is often asked to write their plans before the business and sales strategies are finalised, or in parallel, and are often expected to outline budgets in advance of this insight. Challenging the process or working on the phases of development and review should be considered.

2.  They speak the language of the boardroom

If your plan can’t be expressed in a CFO’s terms, it’s not strategic. Use commercial metrics to tie marketing KPIs to revenue, margin, pipeline velocity, not just MQLs and impressions.

I often use and refer to Gartner’s hierarchy of marketing metrics to challenge thinking in this area. It’s a great framework to consider the audience, granularity, and frequency of reporting. And if your CEO is asking about MQLs….well, put them back in their box!

3. They’re built for flexibility

Markets shift (don’t we know it!) and priorities change. Your strategic plan should be a framework, not a fixed route. Think principles over prescriptions. Build in agility, but don’t confuse that with chaos.

4. They cascade with clarity

A strategy locked in the CMO’s head (or a Google Drive folder) is useless. Your team needs to understand how their work ladders up to the bigger picture. That’s how you build alignment, accountability, and belief.

5. They account for people, not just performance

Not everyone thinks in frameworks. Some need structure, others prefer freedom. Great plans flex to fit different working styles, without losing focus.

You don’t need a better plan. You need to make the plan live. Here’s how high-performing teams do it:

Quarterly recalibration, not reinvention

• Use quarterly business reviews to pressure-test the plan. W
• hat’s working? What’s changed? What needs to shift? Don’t rewrite - refine.

Monthly narrative, not just numbers

• Reporting shouldn’t be a data dump, it should tell a story.
• What are we learning? What are we influencing? What’s the next move? Make the data meaningful, especially for non-marketers.

Weekly focus, not firefighting

• Use team check-ins to reconnect to the plan.
• What are we prioritising? What’s noise vs signal? Keep the strategy visible.

Celebrate progress, not just outcomes

• Strategic work is a long game. Recognise the milestones.
• Share the wins. Keep momentum high.
  

My final thought, and probably the most important one based on my work with marketing leaders: if your plan doesn’t help you say no, it’s not a strategy.

A good plan permits you to focus. A great one gives you the confidence to push back; to say, “That’s not aligned,” or “That’s not the priority right now”. Because without a strategy, marketing becomes reactive. And reactive marketing doesn’t lead; it follows. What brand wants to do that in this market?!

Strategy IS the job. It’s time to own it.

At Revere, we work with ambitious B2B marketing teams to build strategies that don’t just sit in decks, they drive results. If your plan needs a rethink, or you’re ready to elevate marketing’s role in the business, we should talk.