Strategy and tactics

Although on many occasions, especially in the usual language,  strategy and tactics are used as synonyms, the truth is that they are very different. The strategy is the definition, organization, planning of an accumulation of actions on an almost global scale; the tactic, on the other hand, refers to the set of specific actions that will be implemented to achieve an objective, that is, on a more precise, singular and punctilious scale.

The strategy is the systematized plan, the scheme that links the different actions; tactic , on the other hand, refers to the realization of concrete actions to achieve various objectives.

What is the tactic?

Tactic, borrowed from military language, is the realization of concrete actions (whatever they may be) to achieve a certain objective. That is to say, we speak of a specific praxis, with a factual reality and we could even say singular, to differentiate it from the strategy.

This name comes from the Latin tacticus, which means “to put in order.” As we said, it is a term that comes from the military field (means of action on the battlefield), but has long been used in the business world in broad strokes as the execution of tasks to achieve objectives.

Tactic characteristics

With what has been said, certain characteristics of the tactic can be highlighted. First of all, you must always have a goal, otherwise it would be a mere isolated task; secondly, it is always part of a strategy, understanding that it is on a larger scale, a systematic plan or that it systematizes each of the actions (seeing it as a relationship of all parts is not bad).

Examples of tactic

We said that the tactic carries out a strategy, because it is precisely the first that deals with the particular action. In this sense, you can think of a company that implements a new communication system to find out the curiosities, desires and concerns of its customers with the clear objective of increasing productivity and where the strategy is to develop a new flow of information. It is also possible to think of certain modifications of an information portal so that the reach is to larger audiences, which arises precisely from a strategy, by broad definition, that systematizes all the transformations.

What is strategy?

A strategy is a systematization or plan that groups together a series of tactics to achieve a goal. A single tactic would be an isolated task, with almost no horizon, but it becomes a tactic when together with others you are steeped in a strategy, which therefore also defines an objective. Recapping: the strategy organizes a variety of actions, which are tactical, to achieve a desired goal. Questions about times, ways of execution, responsibility of people, even resources or possibilities, everything is pertinent to the world of strategy.

Characteristics of the strategy

The strategy also has certain characteristics, so that finally the tactics are developed and the objectives are achieved, the horizon of any type of action of this nature. Therefore, the strategy must be easy to understand, it must exhibit coherence, efficiency, be carried out in a reasonable time and there must even be a measurement, since it is always necessary to examine what has been done to continue improving (this is what is known as optimization). .

Strategy examples

The strategy models depend on each association or company, but it is also true, unlike tactics, that there are pre-existing or archetypal ones. There we find integration strategies, where not only suppliers are taken into account but also the competition itself; growth strategies that refer to business expansion (accurately measure the possibilities of finding new markets, which can be contracted by modifying the same company in its time, organization, division of labor departments, opening new branches, etc); reduction strategies, which is precisely the reverse of the aforementioned process; to advertising strategies, with the aim of projecting a certain image of the company, using all kinds of resources and channels.