Marketing Strategy Consulting
You have a strategy. A concept, perhaps from an agency or a consultant. It looks professional. And six months later — nothing has happened. That is rarely due to bad intentions. Almost always, it comes down to five structural mistakes.
A marketing strategy is not a document. That is the first and most common misconception. A document is the output of strategic thinking — but it is not the strategy itself. Strategy is a living process: observe, decide, act, learn, adjust. In 7 out of 10 consulting engagements Simon Förstemann encounters, the strategy exists — execution design does not.
Buying a strategy and filing it away buys expensive theory. Developing a strategy collaboratively, iteratively, anchored inside the business builds a tool that actually works. The difference between those two approaches is the difference between a plan and a result.
Key Takeaways
Many strategy documents are impressively detailed. Forty pages, granular audience analysis, channel matrices, twelve-month content calendars. The problem: the more complex the concept, the less likely it is to get implemented.
A good marketing strategy fits on one page. It answers: Who do we want to reach? With what message? Through which channels? Toward what measurable goal? What do we track? Everything else is commentary. When small businesses and SMEs receive a 60-page strategy document from a consulting firm, the first thing that happens is paralysis — not action.
External consultants and agencies often produce brilliant strategies for businesses they know from the outside. The problem: the people who have to implement the strategy were not part of developing it. They do not understand the reasoning. They do not identify with it. They execute half-heartedly.
A strategy developed together with the people who will live it is always better than a perfect strategy imposed from outside. Commitment comes from participation, not from a presentation. This is why Simon Förstemann's marketing consulting approach treats strategy development as a collaborative process, not a deliverable.
Who is responsible? That question sounds trivial — but in many businesses it goes unanswered. Marketing is the CEO's job. Marketing is the marketing team's job. Marketing is what the agency does. When everyone is responsible, no one is responsible.
Every strategy needs one person who makes decisions, sets priorities, and is accountable for results. Without that, even the best marketing strategy remains theory. This is especially acute in SMEs and small businesses where team members wear multiple hats and clear ownership is easily lost.
How do you know the strategy is working? If you cannot answer that question after three months, a critical component is missing: milestones and feedback cycles.
Good marketing strategies have these built in from day one: What do we measure after 30, 60, 90 days? What is the earliest leading indicator that tells us we are on the right track — or not? When do we adjust? Without these checkpoints, six months disappear before anyone notices the strategy is not working. By then, the budget is gone.
Strategies are often designed for ideal conditions: full capacity, sufficient budget, clear responsibilities. The reality in most businesses — especially SMEs and small businesses — is different: half-time for marketing, a tight budget, multiple priorities competing at once.
A realistic marketing strategy asks: What can we actually execute with the resources we genuinely have — not the resources we wish we had? Ambition is good. Overcommitment is expensive. Simon Förstemann, growth strategist with 14 years of experience across 6 ventures including a Red Dot Award-winning brand, has seen this mistake cost businesses 16 months of wasted budget before they course-corrected.
The consulting approach at forstemann.de: we always develop the strategy that works in your actual reality — not the ideal strategy for a business with unlimited resources. The best strategy is the one that actually gets executed.
Next step
Let us look together at where the gap is between concept and reality. Thirty minutes is enough for an honest first assessment — no slides, no pitch, just a direct conversation with Simon Förstemann.
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What is a marketing strategy?
A marketing strategy answers four core questions: Who do you want to reach? With what message? Through which channels? Toward what measurable goal? It is not a document — it is a living process that must be reviewed and adjusted regularly. A strategy that collects dust on a shelf is not a strategy; it is expensive theory.
Why do most marketing strategies fail?
In 7 out of 10 cases, marketing strategies fail not because the thinking was wrong but because of five structural execution gaps: the strategy is too complex to implement, it was developed without the team who will execute it, no one owns accountability for delivery, there are no milestones or feedback loops, and the plan was built for ideal conditions rather than actual resources.
How long does it take to develop a marketing strategy for an SME or small business?
A well-founded marketing strategy for an SME or small business can be developed in 2 to 4 weeks when the fundamentals are clear. What matters more than speed is depth: Was the strategy developed collaboratively with the team? Is it realistically implementable with current resources? Are accountabilities clearly defined?
What makes a good marketing strategy consulting engagement?
Good marketing strategy consulting does not deliver a finished document and walk away. It develops the strategy together with the people who will execute it, grounds the plan in real available resources rather than ideal conditions, and builds in feedback cycles from day one. Commitment comes from participation, not from a presentation deck.
How do I know if my marketing strategy is working?
A working marketing strategy has built-in checkpoints: what you measure after 30, 60, and 90 days; the earliest leading indicators that confirm you are on track; and defined thresholds for when to adjust. If you cannot tell whether your strategy is working after three months, you are missing execution design — not strategic thinking.
Do I need a marketing consultant or a marketing agency?
An agency executes. A consultant helps you decide what to execute and why. Most SMEs and small businesses that struggle with marketing do not need more execution — they need strategic clarity first. Simon Förstemann works as an independent marketing consultant, not an agency, which means no channel bias and no incentive to sell you campaigns you do not need.
About the author
Simon Förstemann
Growth strategist & marketing advisor with 14 years of experience. 6 ventures founded, 3 exits, Red Dot Award and German Design Award winner. Works 1:1 with decision-makers — no agency, no workshops that lead nowhere.
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