Digital Strategy is Key to Growing Your Business

Published: 21 June 2021

TL;DR

In this conversation with Josh Hall, I share how I moved from web design into my real passion: digital strategy and online brand management. I explain digital strategy as the ‘canopy view’ that sits above your business, brand, and marketing – helping you see the big picture before jumping into tactics. We talk about why strategy matters, how deep listening brings clarity, and why choosing what not to do is often the most powerful move. I share practical examples, including how I helped a travel company pivot during COVID by reframing holidays into research expeditions, keeping revenue flowing without a costly rebrand. Finally, we cover how authentic connections and peer-to-peer networking often attract the best clients – because good strategy is about people, clarity, and delivering real value.

In this podcast on The Josh Hall Web Design Show we explore why digital strategy is key to growing your business.

Here are the 12 big takeaways:

1. What is digital strategy? It’s the canopy view – aligning business goals, brand, and marketing before touching tactics.
2. Examples of digital strategy: Pivoting travel offers, refining messaging, choosing channels – all based on decisions, not trends.
3. Why is digital strategy important? It saves money, reduces overwhelm, and ensures every action connects to outcomes.
4. Deep listening matters: A strategy call begins with listening – the real insights come from what founders say (and don’t say).
5. Gain clarity: Strategy clears the fog, helps you see the wood for the trees, and makes priorities obvious.
6. Choosing what not to do: The hardest – and most valuable – decisions are about what to stop.
7. Consultancy vs. agency: A strategist partners to think and plan; an agency executes tactics. Both have roles, but they’re different.
8. Don’t compare yourself to others: Success looks different for every brand; chasing others’ channels or metrics rarely works.
9. Connection and intuition count: Good strategy balances data with intuition and human connection.
10. Focus on delivering value: Growth comes from consistently solving customer problems, not chasing followers.
11. Dig deep, make an impact: Surface-level actions fade; impact comes from sustained, meaningful choices.
12. Attract clients through peers: Relationships and referrals often drive more growth than ads – your network is strategy too.

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