Market Closeout
Creating a marketing plan with AngusLink.
November 19, 2025
Building out a strategic plan is a tedious and often frustrating process. I’ve spent more hours than I would like to admit in strategic-planning sessions of one sort or another. More times than not, I’ve been wholly unsatisfied with the process. Either it became a watered-down version that described what we were already doing, or it lacked enough substance to be a true guiding document for what we were doing daily.
The process itself has value, because it forces you to think about things in a strategic way, but the value of the plan beyond the planning process is usually minimal.
I lead with this bit of pessimistic rhetoric because I think most people’s experience is similar. We even struggle defining common terms like goals, strategies and tactics.
Personally, I have an engrained dislike for what I consider to be a preference for planning over action.
I would argue nearly every producer should be adopting the strategy of determining which tactics are working the most effectively so they can scale them and take advantage of them appropriately.
I saw a meme the other day where it was argued that it was far better to act on a bad plan than to try to create a great one. The argument was that you simply need to get started, discover what works and doesn’t work, and adjust quickly. As they say, “everyone has a game plan until they step into the ring and get punched in the face.” Good plans are your focus, and they are both rigid and ever-evolving.
Getting the process started
This is the formula that seems to work best for me when creating a strategic plan.
Goals are the foundation. They keep you from getting sidetracked and provide direction and focus. Goals represent the change you wish to make in the world; they motivate you. Goals allow you to monitor your progress, streamline and improve your decision-making progress. They push you to acquire new skills, and they provide confidence and clarity.
Strategies are the most ambiguous part of a strategic plan, because they represent your best, most educated guess of what will help you achieve your goals. They are your guide or North Star for your tactics. Strategies are what you hope to accomplish by your work or tactics. If your strategies are correct, you will reach your goals.
Goals are something you can share freely with the world. Strategies tend to be pretty encompassing. You can share them with your competitors, because rarely are people willing to change strategies because they are too invested in their own or too lazy to change. Strategies change less often than goals, but far less frequently than tactics.
Tactics are the hundreds of steps you will take to make your strategies a reality. They change frequently. Tactics fail and are discarded or changed. It is a perpetual process.
Tactics are where you will spend much of your time, but they are only effective if they flow directly from your strategies that flow from your goals.
Most strategic plans fail because there was not enough time spent on forming the goals and strategies in the beginning, and not adjusting tactics quickly enough.
Tactics to fit your situation
The goal of most cattle marketing plans is similar and centered around gathering premiums, creating a brand or loyalty from key buyers, ensuring market access, and increasing net margin to the operation while positioning oneself for success in the future.
Strategies to achieve these goals are also routine — something along the lines of producing the right cattle and putting them in front of the right people at the right time.
Tactics tend to vary quite a bit. Generally, they will revolve around creating the right genetic inputs, managing those genetics appropriately (vaccination, health, nutrition, market access, etc.), and then determining when and how to market those cattle most effectively (video, auction market, direct, retained ownership, etc.).
Some of these tactics are generalized, they don’t differentiate you because they are widely implemented. Others will be specific to your environment, your marketing plans, your goals and your strategies.
I would argue nearly every producer should be adopting the strategy of determining which tactics are working the most effectively so they can scale them and take advantage of them appropriately.
One of those tactics would be to take advantage of the AngusLink® program to help differentiate and describe your cattle, giving buyers the information they need to purchase with confidence, and to leverage the marketing scope and reach that the AngusLink program provides.
If you are interested in discussing how the AngusLink program might fit into your overall strategic plan for marketing your calves, give us a call at 1-800-383-5100.
Editor’s note: Troy Marshall is director of commercial industry relations for the American Angus Association [Lead photo by Shauna Hermel.]
Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 11-B
Topics: Marketing , Management , Genetics , Feedyard , Feeder-Calf Marketing Guide
Publication: Angus Beef Bulletin
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