I've heard it said that business and marketing strategy is a dry subject, that it hampers creativity and hinders the nimbleness that can be a real asset to the small business.  If your idea of strategy is developing a strategic plan and expecting the world to fit around it whilst it sits on a shelf, then that's probably right.

But is there a more effective - and exciting - way to approach strategy within your business?

Robert Craven, talking about setting a great business apart from the ordinary, says that great businesses are obsessed with strategy, with marketing, and with getting the right team together to move the business forward.  By strategy, he means the broad direction that the business owner wants to move the business in; owners of great businesses are clear about this direction, about what it takes to get there, and about how to judge which opportunities will help achieve their strategic aims.

When I talk about a marketing mindset I'm refering to the ability to think strategically about the business and make marketing decisions accordingly. A marketing mindset can eliminate the "dabbling" that so many small businesses engage in. The marketing-minded entrepreneur will be resistant to being swayed by "opportunities" that seem like bright ideas but which in fact take them off the well-lit route to their strategic destination. Marketing decisions will become easier when you develop a marketing mindset:

• You'll be more responsive to your customers;
• You'll be able to decide which promotional activities will be most effective and cost-effective;
• You'll be able to squeeze the maximum amount of value out of any promotional campaign by integrating all aspects;
• You'll know how to marry your online and offline marketing to greatest effect.

Professor Tony Watson of Nottingham University Business School is a proponent of strategic thinking in preference to the preparation of a strategic plan. He talks about knowing who you are and what you can do in the context of also knowing where you want to go - so there's a clear emphasis on "doing" as well as "thinking" in order to pursue a strategic route incrementally and experimentally. That's what he reckons successful businesses do (albeit that many will develop their strategic plan after they've done their thinking and doing to justify the strategy that has emerged).

Importantly, his work with small businesses has shown that strategic thinking within a business should absolutely not be confined to the board or senior management - the people usually responsible for putting a strategic plan together. Rather strategic thinking should permeate the whole business and becomes a must for everyone, board and employees alike. Which fits with Robert Craven's findings too.

So the evidence certainly seems to be mounting that they way you think about your business, a passion for marketing and getting your team on board is the way to build a great business.

If you'd like to know more about injecting some strategic thinking into your business, then Tony Watson is leading a workshop in Nottingham on 19th January 2010 - Strategic Thinking - What's it got to do with me? Subsidised by the Ingenuity Programme, it costs just £50 to get a whole new perspective on how to make your business a great one.

If you'd like a passionate and professional marketer on your team, there are a number of different ways I can work with you to develop a marketing mindset. Contact Clarity Marketing to find out more.