Most businesses think they are strategic, but they are actually tactical. Strategy and tactics are big subjects but let me give you an example using an online business I worked with recently.

They built a sales funnel that sold a digital product. Once a client bought, they were presented with two up-sells and one down-sell depending on what combination they bought.

They thought they were strategic by offering the up-sells and down-sell, but really, they were just being tactical. The promotion broke even, and they stopped marketing that product. That’s tactical thinking.

Once I did some digging and found out what the lifetime value of a customer was, I explained that not only would they make money if they broke even on the front end, but they could comfortably lose a certain amount and still make money.

Not only that but by sending them a “Thank You” gift it allowed them to collect their physical address. I then designed a direct mail campaign that cost $5,000 and brought in $25,000 in the first month.

I could go on here about how I built out their business, but the point I want you to get is this. By thinking about the big picture in the lifetime relationship you can have with your client it will allow you to think more strategically.