Mastering marketing strategy with SOSTAC: A step-by-step guide for success

SOSTAC is a leading planning framework that was originally developed by PR Smith in the 1990’s. SOSTAC is an acronym that stands for:

• Situational Analysis
• Objectives
• Strategy
• Tactics
• Actions
• Control

Each stage of the framework plays a crucial role in creating a marketing plan that is both structured and adaptable. Here’s a breakdown of each phase and how we use it at Granite 5 to build effective strategies for our clients.

This first stage is pivotal in helping us understand the current situation of your business and the marketing environment you operate in. This usual involves a SWOT analysis (strength. Weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) but also can involve reviewing tools such as:

• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• CRM systems such as HubSpot or Dynamics
• Customer feedback surveys
• Customer testimonials
• Competitor analysis
• Search engine performance via tools such as SEMrush or Moz

Understanding your business’s current performance is crucial. It offers valuable context, highlights what’s working and what needs improvement, and allows us to set realistic, achievable objectives.

Once we’ve taken the time to understand your business, we can work with you to set the direction and target for your marketing plan. This involves creating SMART (specific, measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound objectives).

Why is this important? Setting SMART objectives helps provide a clear direction, gets team buy-in, helps to motivate your team, and create benchmarks which success can be measured against.

How do you make SMART objectives?

Specific (S):

• Objectives should be clear and specific. They should address the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of the goal.
• Example: “Increase website traffic” is too vague, but “Increase website traffic from organic search by 20% over the next six months” is specific.

Measurable (M):

• Objectives need to be quantifiable so that progress can be tracked and evaluated. There should be clear criteria for measuring success.
• Example: “Achieve a 10% increase in sales” is measurable, whereas “Improve sales” is not.

Achievable (A):

• Objectives should be realistic and attainable given the resources, time, and constraints the business operates under. They should challenge the team but also be within reach.
• Example: Setting a goal to “Double sales within the next month” might not be achievable for most businesses, but “Increase sales by 15% over the next quarter” could be.

Relevant (R):

• Objectives should align with broader business goals and be relevant to the company’s overall strategy and mission. They should matter to the business and be aligned with its values and purpose.
• Example: If the company’s strategy focuses on expanding into new markets, an objective to “Increase brand awareness in a new geographical region by 30% within the year” is relevant.

Time-Bound (T):

• Objectives need to have a clear deadline or timeframe within which they should be achieved. This creates urgency and helps in planning and scheduling activities.
• Example: “Increase customer satisfaction scores by 10% in the next six months” is time-bound.

It’s important to note that objectives may vary depending on what the business wants to achieve. For example, sales objectives will typically focus on financial performance (revenue growth, profitability, cost-reduction) whereas marketing objectives are more likely to focus on market positioning, brand awareness and customer acquisition.

It’s also worth highlighting that not all objectives are equally important and should be analysed by their potential impact.

The second “S” in SOSTAC stands for Strategy. This stage is critical as it outlines the overall approach, you’ll take to achieve your business goals. While the Situation Analysis gives you a clear picture of where you are, Strategy defines how you’re going to get to where you want to be.

Strategy is the high-level roadmap that aligns your objectives with actions, ensuring that every element of your plan is working towards your ultimate goals. It acts as the bridge between analysis and execution, helping to prioritise your resources and focus on the most impactful activities.

Strategy is concerned with the “what” and “why.” It answers questions like:

• What is the business trying to achieve?
• Who are we targeting?
• What positioning will set us apart from competitors?
• How will we leverage our strengths to take advantage of opportunities or overcome weaknesses?

Key Components of Strategy:

1. Vision and Goals: What are the main objectives? For example, increasing market share, growing brand awareness, or boosting customer retention.
2. Target Audience: Who are you aiming to reach? Understanding your customer personas, demographics, and buying behaviour is crucial for crafting the right strategy.
3. Positioning: How will your brand be perceived in the market? This is about establishing what differentiates your business from competitors.
4. Core Focus: Whether it’s product differentiation, cost leadership, or niche targeting, your strategy should clearly define your competitive advantage.

Tactics are where you define the specific actions, you’ll take to implement your Strategy. While Strategy outlines the overall direction and goals, Tactics are the detailed steps and methods that will bring that strategy to life. This stage is about choosing the practical tools, channels, and techniques that will help you achieve your marketing objectives.

Tactics are focused on the “how” of your plan and include the marketing mix elements such as product, price, place, promotion, and people, as well as the channels and platforms you’ll use to communicate your message.

Key Tactics:

1. Marketing Channels: Deciding where and how you will reach your target audience, whether that’s through social media, email marketing, SEO, PPC, content marketing, or offline methods like events and print advertising.
2. Content Strategy: Outlining the specific types of content that will be created (blogs, videos, infographics, etc.) and where that content will be distributed to attract and engage your audience.
3. Sales Promotions: Determining what offers, discounts, or incentives you will use to attract customers and encourage conversions.
4. Customer Engagement Tactics: Defining how you will interact with customers through different channels, including customer support, social media interaction, and community building. Will you need a CRM in place to measure your results effectively?
5. Budget Allocation: Assigning specific budgets to each marketing channel and tactic, ensuring you get the best return on investment (ROI) across all activities.

The “A” in SOSTAC stands for Actions, which refers to the detailed execution plan of who will do what, when, and how. While Tactics identify the tools and channels to be used, Actions take it a step further by assigning specific responsibilities and timelines to ensure that everything is carried out efficiently. This stage is about operationalising the plan and making sure it’s organised, actionable, and manageable.

Actions ensure that every tactic has a clear owner and a timeframe for completion. It includes project management aspects such as task lists, team roles, timelines, and deadlines. This phase is essential for turning strategic ideas and tactics into real, measurable results.

Types of Actions:

1. Task Assignment: Identifying the individuals or teams responsible for carrying out each tactic.
2. Timeline and Deadlines: Creating a detailed schedule for when each task needs to be completed, including milestones for key stages of the plan.
3. Coordination: Ensuring cross-team collaboration and communication so that all departments are aligned and working towards the same goals.
4. Execution: Putting the tactics into action by following the assigned plan, ensuring resources and tools are available.
5. Monitoring Progress: Regularly checking in on progress to ensure tasks are being completed on time and to identify any potential roadblocks.

At Granite 5, we use the project management system ActiveCollab. Every client has their own specific project board where they can keep to date with every task, see which member of Granite 5 is working on their tasks and time/budget expenditure.

Control is the final stage in the planning model. This step is all about monitoring and measuring the performance of your marketing activities to ensure that your goals are being met. It involves setting up key performance indicators (KPIs), tracking progress, and making necessary adjustments to keep your plan on course. Without the Control phase, there’s no way to evaluate the success of your strategy or learn from what’s working (or not).

Control ensures that you have oversight of your entire plan, helping you identify successes and challenges, so you can refine your tactics and actions as needed. It helps you stay adaptable, continuously improve, and ensure the marketing strategy remains aligned with your business objectives.

Key Components of Control:

1. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Defining clear metrics to measure success, such as sales growth, website traffic, lead generation, conversion rates, or customer engagement.
2. Monitoring Tools: Using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics, social media insights, CRM dashboards) to track performance in real-time and over time.
3. Reporting: Setting up regular reporting schedules to review progress and identify any deviations from the plan. Reports help ensure transparency and accountability across the team. We love to use Google Data Studio as you can pull in wide range of data streams such as SEMrush, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Ads and much more.
4. Adjustments: Using the data and insights gathered from KPIs and reports to make informed adjustments to the strategy, tactics, or actions when necessary. This ensures the plan remains flexible and effective.