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Ever since George Bush said "strategery" in 2001 and maybe since the dawn of snake oil, any reasonable person could be forgiven for being skeptical when it comes to strategy. Despite its regrettable use as a self-important catchall euphemism for slacking, strategic planning is still vital. Believing your business can build success solely on its founding visions and dispense with the bother of a formal business strategy is a risk no business can afford to assume.

Who could blame savvy owners and managers for convincing themselves that detailed planning is just for corporate bigwigs with time to sit in ornate offices and think fancy thoughts? Small means nimble and agile; not slow and ponderous. Who would criticize the scrappy street fighter for taking a more informal and improvisational approach to selling their products or services? The passion, the shoulder-to-the-grindstone ethic, and people-to-people skills of their close-knit workforces give them the edge to win. Right?

Wrong. No business can survive; much less thrive, without building a plan that spells out revenue and earnings targets as well as the way to achieving them. An effective strategic plan requires an expression of the challenges and opportunities the business faces. It also requires clarity on the methods and means required to meet those challenges.

And there's something else that's mandatory. Without it, all the planning in the world is pointless.

Isn't That Special

In the film "City Slickers," Jack Palance asks Billy Crystal if he knows what the secret of life is.

Crystal doesn't know.

"Just one thing," Palance answers.

Crystal asks what it is.

Palance's reply? "That's what you've got to find out."

While taking the form of some old cowboy's silly, circular riddle, it is still the essence of your strategic marketing. It may also explain why people find marketing strategy so dubious. What senior management has to find out, and its entire organization embrace, is that one thing: that single most important reason why customers choose its offering.

That single reason is called the Unique Selling Proposition. And a frightening number of companies have no idea what there's is. The USP must be distinguished from any sort of demand stimulus (like pricing or special offers), set of product features, or even their attendant benefits. "Service" doesn't count either, unless you can demonstrate how your service is unique.

Despite so few companies being able to articulate their USP, uncovering it is simple: find out what is the most important reason your customers chose you.

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