Building A Strategy Pyramid

The term strategy pyramid refers both methodological approach to running a marketing organization and a particular document that captures and reflects that approach. The notion of a strategy pyramid is a general way of planning a business's activities. In strategy pyramid, the business plan is divided into three layers or level and they are referred to as the strategy, tactics and programs layers. The strategy pyramid of a marketing plan generally takes the basic system and applies it specifically to marketing.

In order to assess a firm's strategic position, the managers of that firm must collect and interpret data regarding the firm itself, its competitors, stakeholders, and the industry. Having implemented a strategy based on this information, the managers of the firm must measure the strategy's effects. The Strategy Pyramid places strategy at the top of the structure, the tactics in the middle, and the programs at the base level. Strategy is all about tactics and programs to make it real.

The Strategy Pyramid emphasizes on building a solid marketing plan structure and the most marketing plans are developed first from the top-level strategy. At the top of the Strategy pyramid, the focus is always on specific markets, market needs, and product or service offerings. Tactics follow the marketing message and the ways it should be transmitted. Programs, at the base level of the Strategy pyramid, provide the specifics of implementation. They include specific milestone dates, expense budgets, and projected sales results.

A marketing plan is basically a written document which spells out the anticipated activities of a marketing organization over a specific time. Marketing plans are often designed to account for activities for a full year or may subdivide activities quarterly. Within a general marketing plan, the layers of the strategy pyramid guide the contents of the marketing documents.

The strategy component of the document is the summarized edition of a company's marketing strategy. The marketing strategy should be designed to support the overall business strategy. The tactics layer of the pyramid sets forth a particular approach or set of approaches that the marketing organization takes to meet its strategic objectives.

The programs layer of strategy pyramid is the most detailed and specific layer of a marketing plan. The programs layer document spells out the specific programs that will support each of the named tactics in the tactics section. This information includes the details about human resources required for each program, budget requirements, preliminary timelines and key calendar milestone dates.

Like the other marketing documents, the marketing plan strategy pyramid is subject to regular updates and revisions. The updates to the marketing plan can be based on changes in corporate strategy that, by extension, change the marketing strategy. Changes in the marketing landscape might require updates to tactics and programs, even if the strategies remain the same. Such as: a new product from a competitor might change consumer demands and that change must be reflected in the plan. In addition to the reviews based on the reactions to market events, it is necessary to review the strategy pyramid document quarterly if you are starting your business.