Why business clarity is essential for an effective marketing strategy
Many business owners approach marketing in a quite straightforward way. They might want a better website, a campaign for a new product or more activity on social media in its various forms. It's not often they stop to consider that they might really need an over-arching marketing strategy, rather than a series of tactical activities.
We sat down with Bree Nicholson, founder of Pep & Gusto (pepandgusto.com.au), to talk about this gap. Bree's spent years working with business owners on strategic marketing, and along the way she's done what many marketers don’t. Before she creates a marketing strategy, she wants to know whether there’s real clarity around purpose, vision and strategy.
Her belief is that if there’s not, no amount of marketing spend is going to deliver the outcomes the owner wants.
Key Takeaways:
Any lack of clarity usually becomes evident in the first ten to fifteen minutes of a conversation, when it sounds like jumping straight to tactics without being able to articulate the business outcomes it's for
Marketing amplifies what's already there. It can't fix an unclear offer, inconsistent delivery, or pricing that's wrong
Strategic marketing isn't about doing more or using more channels. It's about doing the right things, in the right order, for the right reasons
The best referral relationships run on trust and clear boundaries — each partner knowing where their role starts and finishes
How Bree spots the lack of clarity
Bree says it’s usually pretty clear within the first ten or fifteen minutes of an initial discovery chat. She'll ask for specifics about where the owner wants the business to be in three to five years, who their ideal customer is, what makes them different, and what success looks like.
The give-away is when the owner tries to bypass these questions entirely. "The biggest signs they're lacking clarity are when they jump straight to tactics…things like 'we need more social media' or 'we need SEO'…without being able to explain the business outcomes they're trying to achieve," she says.
Often the target audience turns out to be "everyone", the value proposition is hard to articulate, or the customer experience can't be described with any confidence. Marketing, at that point, becomes reactive rather than strategic. It’s a list of activities rather than a serious and strategic plan.
This isn’t just “a harder sell” in disguise
There's an obvious risk in telling a client the thing they’ve asked for isn't quite the right starting point. Bree's formulated a conversation that doesn't feel like pushing them toward something extra they don’t want or need.
"I explain that marketing is an investment, and my responsibility is to make sure that investment delivers the best possible return," she says. Her analogy is a house: marketing is the furniture, but if the foundations aren't solid or the plans haven't been finalised, it doesn't much matter how nice the furniture is.
Rather than selling an add-on, she's helping a client avoid spending money in the wrong place. And most take it exactly that way. "Clients generally appreciate the honesty because they know I'm looking after their business, not just trying to sell another service."
The reaction, initially, is often mild surprise. Most owners expect to talk about advertising or social media, not strategy. But Bree says it tends to shift quite quickly to relief. Once the two of them start unpacking the business together, the client usually realises marketing hasn't failed, it just never had a clear direction to follow. "By the end of the conversation most clients feel more confident because they finally have a roadmap instead of another list of marketing activities."
What changes once the clarity's there
The shift Bree describes most consistently isn't about tactics at all. It's confidence.
Before, the question tends to be something like "what should we post on social media this week?" Once there’s real clarity on purpose, vision and strategy, the question changes to "how does this activity support our business objectives?"
She says that once that shift happens, every marketing decision gets easier…messaging becomes more consistent, the business attracts better-fit customers, and owners stop chasing every new trend that comes along. Marketing stops being a collection of disconnected activities and becomes a coordinated, strategic plan supporting long-term growth.
When marketing isn't the answer
Not every business that comes to Bree is ready for a marketing investment, and she's upfront about it when that's the case.
If a business hasn't clearly defined its offer, isn't consistently delivering a good customer experience, doesn't know who it's targeting, or doesn't have the operational capacity to handle more enquiries, marketing will only amplify those problems rather than fix them.
Another sign, she says, is when an owner is hoping that marketing will solve something else entirely, which could be poor pricing, unclear positioning, or inconsistent service. "I'd much rather have an honest conversation and help them get those foundations right first than spend their budget on marketing that won't achieve the outcome they're hoping for."
At the other end of the spectrum, when a business is already clear on its direction, the conversation is completely different. "We spend very little time trying to understand the business because the foundations already exist," Bree says. Instead, the focus goes straight to identifying the highest-impact opportunities, and the plan comes together faster because every recommendation can be measured against a clear strategy.
The misconception Bree sees a lot
Ask Bree what most SME owners get wrong about "strategic marketing," and you won’t get a particularly thoughtful answer. Most people think it simply means doing more marketing, or using more channels.
In reality, Bree says, strategic marketing is about making deliberate decisions, understanding who you're trying to reach, why they'd choose you, what they need to hear and where, and how every activity ladders up to the broader business objectives. "It's not about doing more, it's about doing the right things, in the right order, for the right reasons."
Where marketing ends and business strategy begins
Bree's happy to facilitate conversations around positioning, customer insight, and value proposition. These are all essential elements of the groundwork needed for any marketing strategy. Where she draws the line is when a conversation moves into broader business territory: organisational direction, leadership alignment, succession, growth models, or significant commercial decisions. That's where she brings in a strategic advisory partner. "That's where specialists like GrowthCatalyst add enormous value. My role is ensuring the marketing strategy aligns with the business strategy they've helped develop."
In Bree's experience, what makes that three-way relationship (client, marketer, adviser) work effectively, comes down to trust. She looks for partners who genuinely put the client's interests first, aren't simply competing for the same work, and understand where their own expertise begins and ends. "The best relationships are collaborative. Everyone respects each other's role, communicates openly and works towards the same outcome." When the business strategy and the marketing strategy are properly aligned, she says, clients simply get better advice and stronger results.
For more effective marketing, there's one thing Bree would tell every owner to do first
Asked what she'd advise every SME owner to do before they ever speak to a marketer, Bree doesn't hesitate: get clear on where you're trying to go.
"You don't need a 100-page strategic plan, but you do need to understand your purpose, your ideal customer, what makes you different and what success looks like."
The clearer the direction, she says, the more effective every marketing dollar becomes, because marketing works best when it's supporting a well-defined strategy, not trying to invent one from scratch.
If you've found this useful and would like to get clearer about your direction and objectives, why not get in touch. If you'd like to talk to Bree directly about your marketing, you can find her at Pep & Gusto.
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