Joe ran a working session on how to build a minimum viable marketing strategy. The goal was to help marketers step away from oversized decks and create a plan that is clear, simple and easy to act on. The whole workshop was built using a GPT that Joe created, which you can explore here.
Below is a summary of his main lessons and examples, written with the help of AI (so please excuse any tiny errors).
Table of Contents
- 1. Why most strategies become too big
- 2. The three questions that form the core of any strategy
- 3. When a deck becomes too large to help
- 4. Building the Minimum Viable Strategy
- 5. Setting goals that influence real work
- 6. Choosing a small set of measures
- 7. Turning strategy into weekly behaviour
- 8. Use the GPT to build your own version
1. Why most strategies become too big
Joe opened with a simple truth. Strategy often grows until it becomes unusable. Teams add frameworks, slides and layers of detail that look impressive but do not help anyone decide what to do next. The workshop began by stripping this back.
Key point: A strategy that people cannot remember will never guide behaviour.
2. The three questions that form the core of any strategy
Joe introduced the foundation of the session. Every working strategy needs to answer three questions.
- Who are we here for
- A clear audience with a shared problem.
- What problem do we solve
- The specific friction that your product or service removes.
- How will they know we exist
- The channels and moments that bring your work to the audience.
- Everything else builds on top of these.
3. When a deck becomes too large to help
Joe shared examples of strategies that were long, polished and not used. A strategy becomes ineffective when it requires translation or when the content exists only for presentation. The group discussed common warning signs and how to spot an overgrown strategy early.
4. Building the Minimum Viable Strategy
The heart of the workshop was the minimum viable strategy framework. Joe guided participants through each part.
- Audience
- Problem
- Promise
- Proof
- Path
- Measures
The session included live exercises where people filled each section out for their own business or role.
5. Setting goals that influence real work
Joe taught a simple method for choosing goals. A good goal guides choices during the week. A weak goal sounds inspiring but gives no direction.
Participants practiced rewriting vague goals into specific ones that support the strategy they had built.
6. Choosing a small set of measures
Joe suggested choosing three types of metrics.
- One outcome
- One behaviour
- One sanity check
This creates clarity without overwhelming the team.
7. Turning strategy into weekly behaviour
The final part of the workshop focused on application. Joe asked participants to test whether their strategy helped them prioritise time, choose channels and explain decisions to stakeholders. If it did not, they refined it until it did.
8. Use the GPT to build your own version
Joe closed by showing how the entire workshop was built using a custom GPT that helps marketers build a minimum viable strategy step by step.
You can use the same tool here.
It walks you through the audience, problem, promise, path and measures, and creates a clear strategy you can use immediately.