The Importance of Strategy in Digital Marketing: Why ‘S’ Comes First in the START Planning Process

Why Strategy is the First Step to Digital Marketing Success

In recent months, I’ve been asked several times in interviews about the START Planning Process—specifically, which step is the most important and why. This question keeps coming up because so many businesses struggle with where to begin their digital marketing efforts. That’s why I’m writing this article—to clarify why Strategy (‘S’) is the foundation of the START Planning Process and why it must come first. In the coming weeks, I’ll be diving deeper into what goes into strategy and how businesses can apply it effectively.

Jumping straight into tactics without a defined strategy is a surefire way to waste time and budget. The digital landscape is filled with businesses that launch campaigns without a clear direction, only to end up frustrated when they struggle to connect marketing efforts to actual business growth.

A well-defined strategy is the foundation of every high-performing digital marketing plan. It ensures that every action aligns with a broader business objective—rather than just being another disconnected marketing activity.

The START Planning Process: A Strategic Framework

The START Planning Process is designed to bring structure and clarity to digital marketing efforts. The first phase—Strategy (‘S’)—comes before anything else because it sets the direction, establishes the foundation, and defines success. Without this step, the rest of the process is unfocused and inefficient.

Why S for Strategy Comes First

1. Keeps Marketing Accountable to Business Goals: The primary purpose of marketing is to contribute to revenue, customer acquisition, and retention—not just clicks, rankings, or engagement metrics.
2. Helps Identify the Right Audience: If you don’t know who you’re targeting, your messaging and tactics will be scattered and ineffective.
3. Ensures Smarter Budget Allocation: A data-driven strategy ensures resources go toward the most impactful marketing efforts, avoiding wasteful spending.
4. Prevents the ‘Random Acts of Marketing’ Trap: Without strategy, businesses chase every new trend, leading to inconsistent messaging and poor ROI.
5. Provides a Measurable Roadmap: With a strategy in place, marketing success is defined upfront—ensuring that tactics, assets, and investments align with a business-first approach.
6. Ensures Long-Term Scalability: A strong strategy accounts for both immediate wins and sustainable growth, preventing short-term thinking that may hinder long-term success.

How Strategy Defines the Ultimate Business Goal

The biggest mistake in digital marketing is treating KPIs like goals. Metrics such as clicks, traffic, and engagement are valuable indicators—but they don’t inherently prove business success.

A strong strategy phase ensures that the ultimate goal of digital marketing is tied to real business outcomes. These could include:

• Revenue growth from digital marketing efforts.
• Increased customer acquisition at an optimal cost per lead.
• Higher customer retention and lifetime value.
• Market expansion and brand authority.
• Enhanced customer engagement leading to long-term brand loyalty.

The key takeaway? Marketing success isn’t about vanity metrics—it’s about business impact. The strategy phase connects marketing investments to real, measurable ROI rather than leaving teams to guess how their work translates into business results.

How Strategy Flows into the Rest of the START Process

A well-defined strategy doesn’t exist in isolation—it feeds directly into every phase of the START Planning process:

• Tactics Phase: Strategic goals dictate which marketing channels and campaign structures will be most effective.
• Application Phase: The content, ads, landing pages, and assets developed must align with the strategic priorities set in the first phase.
• Review Phase: Performance is measured against business-driven goals, ensuring that digital marketing is accountable to real impact, not just digital KPIs.
• Transformation Phase: Execution is mapped out in a way that prioritizes what’s most valuable, creating a clear, actionable marketing roadmap.

How Strategy Eliminates Common Pitfalls

A lack of strategy can lead to common digital marketing mistakes, such as:

• Over-Reliance on One Channel: Businesses sometimes invest heavily in a single channel (e.g., paid search, social media) without considering a diversified approach.
• Failure to Adapt to Market Changes: Without a flexible strategy, businesses may struggle to pivot when new opportunities or challenges arise.
• Ignoring the Customer Journey: Effective strategy ensures that marketing efforts align with the different stages of the customer journey—awareness, consideration, and decision.

What Comes Next? The Four Pillars of Strategy

With strategy in place, businesses can confidently move forward with the next phases of the START Planning Process.

But, first, to go deeper within the strategy phase before we move on in “START”, there are four steps in in the Strategy phase:

1. Profiling Your Brand, Audience, and Goals
2. Digital Marketing Audits: Analyzing What’s Working and What’s Not
3. Market Research: Using Data to Drive Smarter Marketing Decisions
4. Goal-Setting and Measurement: Defining Success in Digital Marketing

Conclusion: Start with Strategy for Lasting Success

Without a well-structured and defined strategy, marketing efforts become disjointed, unpredictable, and difficult to scale. The strategy phase serves as the guiding framework for all marketing planning phases—ensuring that every decision is measured against business success.

By defining the ultimate business goal, aligning marketing with real ROI, and ensuring strategic focus, businesses set themselves up for sustained success. The strategy phase is not just a starting point—it’s the foundation that drives every decision in the START Planning Process moving forward.

Next, we’ll drill down into the Strategy phase and explore the first step in developing your strategy: Profiling Your Brand, Audience, and Goals to ensure every marketing action is backed by data and insight.