Strategy Before Tactics: A Marketing Workshop for Small Businesses

Description

Most small businesses market backwards. They start with tactics: a new website, a social media post, a direct mail piece, an ad… without ever answering the questions that make those tactics work: Why does your business exist? What does winning actually look like? And who, specifically, are you trying to reach?

This workshop introduces a proven strategic framework that combines two of the most respected approaches in modern business strategy, adapted specifically for small businesses that don't have Fortune 500 budgets, but still need Fortune 500 clarity.
Through a guided discovery process, you'll work through the foundational questions that most marketing skips over entirely: your purpose, your competitive positioning, and the specific audience you're working to unlock. The result isn't a marketing plan; it's the strategic foundation that makes every marketing decision smarter, clearer, and more effective.

This isn't theory. It's a working session. You'll leave with tools you can use immediately.

We are honored to have a very special guest speaker for this event. Dustin Gladwell is an award-winning Creative Director and Marketing Strategist with extensive experience in branding, creative direction, and copywriting. Several of his clients and work include Fortune 500 companies and large organizations such as Apple, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, NBA Latin America, Maserati, Applebee’s, the US Air Force, and The University of Miami. He currently teaches Strategic Campaigns at Elon University's School of Communications, where senior students build real campaigns for real clients using the same frameworks taught in this workshop.
A US Army Combat Veteran, he is also the co-founder and Managing Director of CharlieMike.org, a non-profit for Military Veterans and First Responders.