The Ultimate Method of Strategic Planning

Over the past year or so, I have been very fortunate to have personally experienced a startup project from 0 to 1 for a large Internet company. Before this, I had never been so deeply involved in the exploration process of a business model, and I also deeply felt that many of the glamorous and beautiful hot projects, if you peel off the skin and look inside, you will find a bloody and cruel reality and a history of battle.

In the fierce market competition, I gradually broke through my cocoon of cognition about business, marketing and advertising, and strategic planning. I also understood better why Mr. Ogilvy said such a classic saying as “We sell, or else”.

Next, I will focus on some of my new gains in the field of strategic planning over the past year or so, and comprehensively upgrade and supplement last year’s article on planning methodology from a more in-depth and practical perspective.

This article will provide a systematic and comprehensive explanation of planning methodology from the dimensions of "understanding of planning concepts, framework of marketing planning, four main stages of planning, and daily recharge of planners."

1. Understanding of planning related concepts

In the process of formulating marketing plans or advertising plans, we often borrow some broad and macro conceptual terms to frame the core themes and general directions of thinking. For example, "strategy, tactics, strategy, and planning" are some of the most commonly used concepts when writing plans or brainstorming.

However, even for experienced marketing and advertising professionals who have been working in the field for many years, it is difficult to explain the specific meanings and differences of these concepts in a concise and clear manner. Precisely because they are too abstract, different people often have different understandings of them. Therefore, it is necessary to first introduce these main concepts clearly and understand them thoroughly before moving on to the next step.

Many people may think that talking about concepts is vague and it is better to get straight to the point and be practical. However, they do not realize that equal understanding of information is the basic condition for healthy communication. When two people do not understand the information on the same channel, it is easy to cause an awkward situation in communication where everyone is talking at cross purposes and no one agrees with anyone else.

The official explanation of strategy is "Strategy is a long-term plan that is planned from a global perspective. It is an ambitious goal. It often takes a long time to plan a strategy, formulate a strategy, and achieve its goals."

Distill a few of the most key words: overall, long-term, and goal. Therefore, strategy can be understood as the long-term goal formulated by the enterprise based on global considerations.

Strategy is one of the important implementation links of strategy, which usually includes three parts: "analyzing and thinking about the current situation of the enterprise, finding problems and difficulties, and proposing solutions". It is a thinking logic of "WHY" to take such action. Therefore, strategy can be understood as the method and model for an enterprise to achieve its goals and solve problems.

Tactics are some specific action plans under the umbrella of strategic goals and tactical methods, such as who to do what, when and where. Therefore, tactics can be understood as the specific implementation measures taken by enterprises based on strategies and policies.

Compared with "strategy, tactics and tactics", planning is more universal and has more application scenarios. Any planned behavior can be called planning.

Therefore, I believe that a planning scheme is more of a complete planning system formulated by an enterprise, which can include all of strategy, tactics and tactics, or it can only include one of the three.

Let’s take an example of buying a ticket to go home for the Chinese New Year to strengthen our understanding of these concepts: Xiaoshi is from Changsha and works in Shanghai. The Spring Festival is approaching but he still doesn’t have a ticket to go home for the Chinese New Year. So what strategies and tactics does he need to arrange for buying tickets so that he can go home smoothly for the Chinese New Year?

First of all, his strategic goal was very clear, which was to return to Changsha before New Year’s Eve to spend the Spring Festival with his parents.

Then he conducted a strategic analysis and thinking based on the overall situation: air tickets during the Spring Festival were too expensive, far beyond his affordability, so he gave up decisively; train tickets were very tight, and whether he could get one depended entirely on luck, so he could only take them as a backup.

He suddenly thought of a group of Hunan fellows a while ago, where he saw someone looking for a partner who could drive to take a SF Express car home. The journey from Shanghai to Changsha is more than a thousand kilometers, and it is easy and safe for several people to take turns driving, and they can also share the fuel costs together.

After comprehensive consideration, hitchhiking with a fellow villager is the most reliable and appropriate way, so "hitting a ride with a fellow villager" is his core strategy to go home for the New Year.

The next step is to execute a series of tactics: find fellow villagers who are driving home for the New Year and need companions in hometown groups, WeChat Moments, social platforms, etc.; negotiate important matters such as the date of return, route, postage sharing, and exchange of driving; prepare food, milk, water, drinks and other supplies necessary for the journey in advance...

The above planning system, which is composed of the "strategic goal of returning home for the New Year, the strategy of hitchhiking with fellow villagers, contacting fellow villagers/negotiating matters/preparing supplies and other execution tactics", is a complete planning scheme. After sorting out the concepts, we will continue to focus on strategic planning in marketing.

2. Marketing Planning Framework

Everyone knows that the underlying logic of marketing is the insight into consumer needs and conflicts. When it comes to the framework of marketing strategy planning, I personally think that the "4P" model from ancient times is the most appropriate so far.

1. Product strategy

Based on in-depth research on the market environment and consumers, we design products that meet market demand and bring them to market. At the same time, a company's product strategy is not static, but must be constantly iterated as the market environment changes and consumer preferences change.

Take two-wheeled electric vehicles as an example. A few years ago, most of the vehicles on the road in Malaysia were electric scooters. This is because compared with electric bicycles, electric scooters have overwhelming advantages in all aspects (power, endurance, speed, space, appearance, etc.). Electric scooters can only cover a small part of the market among women and the elderly.

For electric vehicle companies, their product strategy must be to design a variety of electric light motorcycles as the main popular models and use a small number of electric motorcycles as auxiliary supplements.

In the past two years, many cities have introduced new policies that only allow electric bicycles that are slower, safer and meet new national standards to be registered. Therefore, the product strategies of electric vehicle companies must also be adjusted according to changes in the market environment and policies in order to adapt to market demand.

2. Price Strategy

Set prices that are in line with consumer expectations and corporate profit goals based on product costs, market positioning, and competing product pricing.

The level of pricing does not entirely depend on cost, but on the consumer's sense of value of the product. There is a very classic pricing principle called "price targeting": that is, to associate your own products with other products in a specific way to influence consumers' value judgment of the products.

A classic example is Starbucks selling mineral water. In Starbucks, you will find that Evian mineral water is sold at 20-30 yuan per bottle. An organization specifically surveyed Starbucks employees and found that basically no one buys mineral water. Then why should it be placed in a very conspicuous position in the store?

The principle of price targeting is used here. First of all, Evian mineral water, as a noble water, can create a high-end environment and enhance the user's psychological perception of the value of coffee. Secondly, the price of Starbucks coffee is 30-40 yuan. When consumers find that a bottle of mineral water also costs 30 yuan, they will feel that the cost-effectiveness of the 30 yuan coffee is very high.

3. Place channel strategy

When choosing a combination of sales channels, the channels must usually be able to accurately cover the consumer's reach scenarios. This is why it is very common for competing peers to concentrate on doing business in one area, such as computer malls, hardware malls, flower markets, food streets, etc.

The most common offline sales channels include "self-operated stores, store shelves, supermarket counters, sales cooperation points, cross-industry cooperation channels, ground promotion points, pop-up stores" and so on.

Common online channels include "official mall/APP/micro mall and other proprietary channels, Tmall/JD.com/Pinduoduo and other traditional EC channels, Yanxuan Crowdfunding/Necessary Mall and other innovative channels, Youzan/Mini Programs/Douyin Store and other social EC channels".

4. Promotion

What kind of publicity and promotional means should be used to enable consumers to complete the complete conversion link of "knowledge-interest-purchase-recommendation"; therefore, an excellent promotional strategy should at least include the following two levels:

• The first is the communication level: using various publicity methods to let more people know and generate interest, such as communication ideas and activities, communication media, social interaction, PR publicity, etc.
• The second is at the conversion level: formulate attractive promotional policies to increase consumers' chances of purchasing, such as limited-time specials, discounts for purchases over a certain amount, coupons for sharing through fission, benefits for old customers bringing in new customers, and bargaining and group buying. At least for now, any marketing behavior is inseparable from the big framework of 4P.

1. Planning Phase 1: Researching the Business

Before you start writing the plan, usually more than half of the time will be spent on preliminary preparation (the more senior the planner is, the less time you will spend on writing PPT); because when you open the PPT, the framework and ideas must have been thought out very clearly, and the plan is just to write down your ideas and refine them.

The following is an introduction to what needs to be done in the first phase of the planning program (part of the content is directly based on the essence of last year):

1) Understand needs and goals

Any plan exists to "solve problems" or "produce effects", so before formally writing the plan, it is very necessary to communicate with the party proposing the requirements many times. Only in this way can you understand clearly what the purpose of this plan is and what problems it needs to solve.

The objectives of a marketing plan typically include: market and user research? Brand strategy and positioning? Brand event? Competitive analysis? Consumer insights? New product launch promotion? Boost sales? Traffic and user operations? Advertising, communication and creativity? Social marketing? Media placement plan? PR public relations? etc.

Take a luxury brand A as an example: the global spread of the epidemic has caused the luxury industry to encounter an unprecedented crisis. The most important thing for Brand A this year is to survive this period, so the needs and goals of Brand A can be broken down into two parts: increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

With clear goals, we can easily find the correct strategic thinking direction.

For example, in terms of open source, you can do live broadcasts online to open up new sales models, train store employees to operate private domain traffic, and appropriately reduce prices and offer discounts to ensure cash flow.

There are many ways to save money, such as closing stores with poor profitability and in epidemic-stricken areas, reducing advertising budgets in the brand market and transferring them to the EC e-commerce department, and canceling annual fashion shows. Only when you fully understand the needs and goals can you find the angle to think about the solution and ensure that the general direction is not wrong.

2) Organize and digest the information

After having a general direction, in order to become familiar with the overall situation of the project, you need to organize and collect a lot of information.

For example, when making a brand positioning plan, the information usually needed includes: market environment and trends, policy direction, social and cultural background, brand and product introduction, competitor brands and products, competitor market actions, consumer attributes and behaviors, consumer perception of the brand (which may not be ready-made and may need to be obtained after research), etc.

Websites that collect reports include 199IT, iResearch, Useit Knowledge Base, Discovery Report, CBNdata, Penguin Think Tank, Analysys, Alibaba Research Institute, etc.; websites that collect marketing cases include Shuying.com, Meihua.com, TOPYS, Online Advertising Community, AdChina, Socialbeta, etc.

Of course, Baidu, Zhihu, WeChat, etc. are also very good platforms for collecting information, but the use of search keywords is a very sophisticated art, and you need to consciously practice your ability to collect information.

Although organizing and collecting information is a rather boring task, as long as you master some collecting techniques, the speed will become faster and faster; however, for many planners, digesting the information is a painful and arduous task.

In a short period of time, you not only have to read all the information, but also understand and digest it, which is both physically and mentally demanding. But this is an indispensable and important link. Only by mastering enough information can we provide sufficient ammunition support for the subsequent idea output.

3) Further research and thinking

Some information is available for immediate use, such as brand and product introductions, market environment and trends, etc. However, most of the information requires further research and analysis to find valuable clues; or further investigation is required to draw the conclusions we need.

For example, when we get marketing materials of competitors, we have to study what its marketing strategy is? What are some commonly used marketing methods? What are the good things that are worth learning from? What are the areas that need to be avoided? wait

For example, after obtaining the basic information of consumers, we need to further use quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires, focus groups, and 1V1 in-depth interviews based on the known basic attributes of consumers to investigate consumers’ understanding and opinions of the brand, as well as understand the real reasons behind consumers’ purchasing behavior.

Research and investigation work is extremely challenging for marketing planners. Usually only experienced planners can skillfully use various research methods and tools and quickly discover valuable clues through the research conclusions. Of course, as long as junior planners learn more, practice more and think more, they will also gain a lot in the process.

2. Planning the second stage: output strategy

The first stage of fully understanding the marketing goals, organizing and collecting information, and further research and investigation usually consumes a huge amount of our time and energy, but it is an essential step; these are all preparations for the second stage of strategy output. Only after sufficient research and investigation can we accurately extract the core strategy of the plan and achieve a fatal effect!

4) Accurately refine core topics

Charles Gidelin, a management consultant for General Motors in the United States, once proposed a famous Gidelin's Law: If you state the problem clearly, you have already solved half of it. This fully demonstrates that identifying the core issue is a very critical link in dealing with any work or matter.

The core question can usually be considered from the following perspectives: Does it conform to the industry market environment and mainstream social culture? Are the concepts conveyed by the brand and the values ​​satisfied by the products correct? Compared with its competitors, does the company have absolute advantages or uniqueness? Is the definition of target consumers accurate? What other potential consumer groups are there? wait

Let’s take the example of luxury brand A as mentioned above: There are many ways to increase revenue and reduce costs mentioned earlier, but which ones are the most effective? What measures can solve the current urgent problems? We can preliminarily judge that launching online live streaming to sell goods, increasing investment in EC, and training store staff to operate private domain traffic are feasible approaches.

However, the specific strategy to be fully invested in for the S-Class requires further small-scale testing. Therefore, for Brand A, the most important core issue this year is to test the most effective way to increase revenue and reduce costs.

The topic of refining a plan is like a doctor examining a patient. He first asks the patient to do some examinations and asks about his physical symptoms. After diagnosing the core cause of the disease, he prescribes the right medicine and gives a reasonable treatment plan.

5) Propose strategies to solve the problem

After diagnosing the problem, what methods should be used to solve the problem or achieve the goal? Usually, both the client company and the agency will have some mature methodologies to solve marketing problems.

For example, Ogilvy’s “360 Brand Compass”, Roland Berger’s “PROFIL Consumer Value Model”, Leo Burnett’s “Humankind Brand Model”, JWT’s “Total Branding”, as well as the growth hacking, traffic pool, and long tail theory that are popular in the Internet era are all authoritative and mature methodologies.

The more methodologies you master, and the more you integrate and use them in combination, the higher the quality of problem solving will be.

This is why in martial arts novels, if a martial artist has learned a lot of kung fu, the standard for measuring whether he can truly become a martial arts master is not how many moves he has remembered, but how many he has forgotten.

Because the process of forgetting is the process of understanding and integration. Only when you understand and apply it flexibly can you truly master it. This is the true meaning of no strategy is better than having one, and the same principle applies to work.

I have been constantly summarizing and thinking about my work and study over the years, and have accumulated some very suitable marketing models, thinking models and doing models for me. These models are usually stored deep in my mind. When I encounter specific problems, I will call out the corresponding model to solve the problem.

The following focuses on a detailed introduction to the "insight" thinking model that marketers need to master most. First of all, we must be clear that the essence of insight is "to discover the reasons and principles behind the objective phenomena of things through studying them." Observation is the surface phenomenon that can be seen by the eyes, and insight is the deep-seated reasons that can only be unearthed after careful analysis.

Insight research is mainly divided into two dimensions: "quantitative research" and "qualitative research". Quantitative research solves the question of WHAT, while qualitative research solves the question of WHY.

Insight research can be roughly divided into three steps: the first step is to design the focus of insight based on the goal, the second step is to use tools such as observation, investigation, and experiment to implement insights, and the third step is to extract core conclusions based on the information and data obtained from the survey.

(Illustration of the thinking model of insight)

The accumulation of these models mainly relies on three means:

1. Learn some classic and useful models, apply them in practice and keep practicing to master them.
2. Based on the models proposed by others, improve them according to your own understanding.
3. In actual combat, we continue to accumulate experience and think hard, and summarize some effective models.

3. Planning the third stage: Refining the process

The problems encountered by the enterprise are clear, and the solutions to be implemented have also come out. The next step is to refine the specific implementation plan and rhythm, and at the same time sort out the logic of the overall plan.

6) Refine the implementation plan

"Strategy is fun, but execution is a nightmare" is a phrase many planners like to use to mock themselves, which shows that there is often a huge gap between strategy and execution. Therefore, strategy formulation is only the first step to success, and proposing a feasible implementation plan based on this is also of utmost importance.

In a complete marketing plan, the implementation plan under the strategy usually covers the following sections:

• Content creative output, common ones include slogans, TVC, main KV, posters, H5, interactive games and other online and offline communication materials;
• Event promotion, common ones include cross-border marketing activities, promotional activities, consumer interaction activities, fission activities, pop-up stores, ground promotion, etc.
• Media placement plan: traditional media include TV, outdoor, elevators, magazines, light boxes, etc.; digital media placement also includes various websites and apps, programmatic DSP, smart TV, TV series and variety show placement, etc.
• Social communication usually includes daily operation of social platform self-media and social communication activities with topics and interactions. The former is more about daily maintenance and communication with users, while the latter is more about more integrated marketing campaigns.
• PR public relations and publicity, common ones include online and offline press conferences, event marketing, KOL promotion, PR promotional materials, CRM management, public opinion monitoring and maintenance, etc.

However, completing such a huge implementation plan involves a wide range of professional knowledge and skills. No matter how awesome and versatile a planner is, it is impossible for one person to handle all the content in the plan.

At this time, the planner has to take on the role of project owner to coordinate the manpower and resources of other relevant departments to jointly supplement and improve the plan: for example, slogans, TVC scripts, event ideas, etc. need to be discussed with the copywriter; main KV, event demo, TVC storyboards and other materials need to be designed and produced; media strategies, delivery combinations and effect estimates need to be completed by the media.

When it comes to developing online interactive H5, small games, small programs, etc., it is necessary to confirm with the technical department in advance whether the functions can be realized; at the same time, for social content, operational conversion activities, live broadcasts, etc., it is best to invite new media operations to participate in the planning. So far, a first draft of the plan has been basically completed.

7) Sort out the logic of the solution

Inexperienced PPTers can easily fall into a misunderstanding: talking about whatever comes to mind. As a result, the audience has no idea what you want to express and your mind is also in a mess. The best way to avoid this kind of messy thinking is to master some logical thinking methods, such as PDCA principle, 5W2H principle, SWOT analysis theory, time anchor sequence, etc.

In the final analysis, organizing a PPT tests the logic of thinking, so you must think clearly about what logic the PPT should use to present it so that others can follow your thinking? How can the information be easily received by others?

For example, in a strategic plan, we proposed to use a large number of celebrities and KOLs to promote the idea. Before that, we may need to use various data and information to deduce the scientific nature of this suggestion, and later we also need to cite a large number of successful cases to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this suggestion, so that it will be very persuasive.

However, if it is the next implementation plan, a complete consumer conversion path can be planned based on the 5A thinking logic: "Aware - Appeal - Ask - Act - Advocate", as well as a specific implementation plan for each step: "Which celebrities and KOLs to choose, which platforms to promote, how to promote, when and how to promote, etc."

This is a skill that requires long-term training and is difficult to explain in a few words. Therefore, I recommend everyone to read a book "The Pyramid Principle", which can not only cultivate the logic of thinking, expression and problem solving, but also train the ability of structured thinking. I believe you will gain a lot after reading it.

4. The fourth stage of planning: proposal preparation

Packaging the story line of a plan and preparing for a proposal are also essential steps to elevate a plan. It is not enough to just figure it out yourself. Only when your ideas are expressed and understood and accepted by others can it be considered a successful plan.

8) Packaging storyline

Making PPT is an art of storytelling. When you use stories to package and narrate the same thing, it will definitely be more memorable than simply explaining some concepts or professional knowledge.

During a company sharing session, our team transformed themselves into animated characters from the movie "Zootopia" based on the ability model and personality traits of each member, and then presented our PPT in the voice of the corresponding animated characters; in the end, we successfully turned a very professional and boring sharing workshop into a novel and interesting storytelling session.

When Jack Ma was a university teacher, there were basically no students skipping classes, and even many students from other majors came to audit his classes on their own initiative.

Luo Yonghao was a star teacher at New Oriental back then. His classes were crazily sought after by students. Eventually, he became a generation of Internet celebrity because his lecture videos were uploaded to the Internet. Both experts have one thing in common when giving lectures: they like to turn what they are saying into stories.

In some competitive proposal situations, the audience may have to concentrate on listening to multiple proposals, which can easily lead to fatigue or distraction. How can you make your proposal stand out and drive away the audience's fatigue and sleepiness? At this time, learning to package the plan into a story line with a theme and a beginning, middle, and end will often achieve twice the result with half the effort (it has been proven to be effective many times).

9) Practice optimization in advance

Before making a formal proposal, the proposer needs to be very familiar with the structure and general content of the PPT, so that he can be at ease and confident throughout the proposal process.

As the saying goes, a good memory is not as good as a bad pen. There are also methods to quickly remember the framework. Here I recommend two of my commonly used ones. You can choose to use them according to your own habits:

• Writing on paper was a popular method in the days before computers became popular. Today, many senior professionals still keep the habit of taking notes on paper.
• Using mind mapping tools is the method I recommend. Mind mapping can help you quickly sort out your thoughts, which is both convenient and efficient. Commonly used mind mapping tools include Xmind, Mindmanager, Baidu Mind Map, etc. After the overall plan is complete, you can practice the proposal in front of internal colleagues. This has three main benefits:

1. You can treat the rehearsal as a formal proposal occasion to find the feeling and rhythm;
2. Colleagues can raise some questions during the process, which are likely to be the questions that others will ask when proposing a proposal. As the saying goes, it is better to be prepared for a rainy day than to be in danger of a hundred battles.
3. During the drill, you may find some areas that are not so smooth, and you can optimize the plan again.

At this point, a planning proposal that embodies countless wisdom and thinking has been officially finalized!

3. Daily accumulation of planners

What planners output are strategies, knowledge and solutions. As the saying goes, "Train your troops for a thousand days and deploy them for a moment." Only by ensuring sufficient input can high-quality mental output be obtained. Therefore, daily accumulation in life and work is particularly important for planners. As a planner, you can consciously accumulate daily knowledge from the following aspects:

1. Curiosity. Maintaining a strong curiosity and passion is a necessary prerequisite

A long time ago, I asked an advertising company CEO who came from a strategy background, "What do you think is the most important quality of a strategist?" His answer to me was to always stay curious and passionate. Today's society is changing with each passing day. Everyone must have a growth mindset and iterate their own knowledge system according to changes in the environment at any time.

In addition, laziness is innate to human beings, and active self-improvement and conscious learning are against human nature for most people; if there is no strong curiosity and enthusiasm to support it, it is often only a short-lived passion caused by the momentary enthusiasm of the brain, and all plans are thrown out of the window after the excitement, or it is a matter of working hard for three days and drying the net for two days.

Learn knowledge, knowledge is the source of all wisdom and the basis of information output. The Internet and social media have made the acquisition of knowledge more convenient than ever before. We have countless ways to learn just through a smartphone, including browsing the news, browsing social media, following public accounts, downloading knowledge apps, visiting knowledge forums, buying online courses, and even watching short videos and live broadcasts.

Compared to the extreme scarcity of knowledge and the huge information gap twenty years ago, knowledge today is like someone has already placed a dish in front of you. All you need to do is decide whether to eat it and which dish to eat.

Of course, the Internet platform is more suitable for fragmented learning methods, but traditional learning methods such as reading books and offline training courses are still very valuable. If there is plenty of time, such learning will be more solid and more systematic.

2. Gaining knowledge. Experience and knowledge determine the perspective of a person.

The most profitable products of consulting firms and advertising companies are often not a large-scale communication campaign that takes months or a beautifully produced TVC; in comparison, seemingly simple things such as a brand name, a corporate positioning, a brand slogan, etc. are often more valuable to a company.

A famous marketing advertiser once said: "Don't think that what I output are just a few simple words. What you buy is every book I have read, every city I have visited, every person I have met, and every thing I have experienced." This is enough to show that the knowledge developed through years of accumulation is very rare and valuable.

3. Think hard. Only by thinking deeply can you gain extraordinary insights.

Don't use tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness! Don't use tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness! Don't use tactical diligence to cover up strategic laziness! Important things should be said loudly three times.

Whether in school or in the workplace, we will encounter this type of people: although they are very diligent and hardworking, coming to school earlier and leaving later than others every day, they just don’t have good academic performance and cannot achieve any results.

This situation often has nothing to do with talent or IQ. As long as you stop and examine yourself, you can find the cause and find a solution. Developing the habit of regular thinking and summarizing will benefit everyone for a lifetime.

4. Communicate more. Communicating with great people can help you grow quickly and stand on the shoulders of giants.

Tuo Buhua, CEO of Logical Thinking, summarized the three guiding lights of his first half of life, one of which was “the mentor who came to him”. When she first arrived in Beijing, she took advantage of a free lecture in the advertising industry and got a business card from Mr. Zhan Xiangguo, the then general manager of Ogilvy Beijing.

More than a month later, her company happened to have a project that required the preparation of proposal materials, so she gritted her teeth and called Mr. Zhan Xiangguo, and successfully made an appointment with him at a sandwich shop to ask him in person how to make a PPT; this interview inspired Tuo Buhua's desire to seek a teacher, and from then on she began her successful career path.

Of course, the person we communicate with does not necessarily have to be a big shot. There is always a teacher among three people. Everyone in our social relationship has something worth learning from. More communication can continuously expand our own cognitive threshold and break through the cognitive cocoon.

5. Engage in actual combat and improve your knowledge system and business experience through continuous practice.

Reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles is an eternal truth. This is what our teachers often told us when we were in school: learn to apply. There is often a gap between knowledge and actual combat. You may not necessarily understand a piece of knowledge even if you know it, and you may not necessarily be able to apply it even if you understand it.

After all, marketing is inseparable from business. Therefore, how to combine knowledge with different businesses is a great subject worth studying, so as to solve the embarrassing situation of planning but poor execution. Only through continuous practice can we internalize knowledge and reach the highest level of winning without any tricks.

Author: Lao Pao

Source: Laopao OG