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Strategic Planning Services

Build Long -Term Thriving Marketing Success With

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning in Columbus, Ohio, is developing a comprehensive strategy to achieve your business objectives. It helps you identify strengths and weaknesses, set realistic goals and a unified message, and create a roadmap for success.

Strategic Focus

Losing focus is so easy and yet so costly.

Look behind the bold edifice of any major achievement, and you’ll find strategic planning. Whether you’re launching your first big campaign or rocket to the moon, you need a durable strategic plan to map your course, identify weaknesses and opportunities, align teams behind a clear mission and set the goals and tactics to bring about success.

Without a well-crafted strategic plan, your company may be slow to respond to changes in the marketplace, miss out on opportunities, struggle to attract top talent, and lose focus on what’s truly important to your customers and your own bottom line.

Strategic Planning Services Columbus Ohio
The Benefits

Let us help you plan for progress and determine your unique strategic goals.

If you want to create a successful business that grows and thrives in Central, Ohio, it’s time to contact us today to learn more about our strategic planning services and how we can help you take your business to the next level.

Strategic Review

Get on the same page from top to bottom and end to end with messaging, collateral, branding, media, and more. Gain actionable insights about how your company is viewed internally and externally and how to unify direction across operations, aesthetics, and asset allocation.

Website Audit & Optimization

Based on the discovery phase, we provide a high-level brand, technical and competitive review of your current website. We recommend whether a refresh, reorganization, or rebuild is the best solution. After the initial migration, website updates, and fixes, we will scope out the best path forward to a fully optimized website experience for you and your users.

Stakeholder Research

We take the temperature of your stakeholders, including customers, non-customers, executives, vendors, suppliers, staff, and social media followers. We develop the various personae with whom your brand needs to connect and utilize the power of story to compel them to take action.

Brand Development & Design

With the knowledge gained from our research and review, we create a complete brand guideline, including brand uses, target personae, and overall brand strategy and messaging. We also make a full line of newly designed internal and external marketing assets (business cards, job site banners, email signatures, and more).

Marketing Strategy & Implementation

We create and execute a holistic marketing strategy that clearly tells the company story, includes tactics, advertising assets, and messaging. These new marketing assets and implementation will establish an external value proposition while focusing on building a superior and recognizable brand.

Improve ROI and Increase Sales

The four pillars of ROI success are analyzing, refining, strategizing, and measuring. As a component of your well-informed strategic plan, every aspect of ROI is an important measure of success as we work with you to build your brand, convert visitors to devoted customers, and contribute to your long-term success.
Our Process

The Process of Getting Started is Simple

At Social Firm, we believe in simplicity. The less confusion, the better—for both your business and your customers.

Step One

Discovery & Research

During this phase, we gather information about your company, its environment, and its pain points, including talking to principal stakeholders, reading reports, and researching the market.
Step Two

Assessment

What is your company’s personality, resources, and assets, and how are they being developed and allocated? Does your team, from the C-Suite to the mailroom, share the same values and goals? Are they apparent to your customers through consistent marketing collateral and messaging?
Step Three

Recommendations

Based on the research and resource assessment, we develop a series of recommendations in an actionable plan for feedback and approval, along with any updated cost estimates. We determine what key assets to refresh or create, from website, brand guidelines, and logos to collateral, messaging, and media mix.
Step Four

Implementation & Measurement

We launch your campaign and track its progress with sophisticated analytics tools that measure conversions and KPIs to ensure continued marketing success.
Lack of a Strategy

A going concern, now going, going, gone.

It’s estimated that nearly 600,000 businesses fold each year. Your business can quickly go from being a “going concern” to going, going, gone. Without a comprehensive strategic plan informing your decisions, you’re likely to waste time and money, have no way to set and measure goals, motivate your team, connect with customers, and remain in business.

A thoroughly-researched strategic plan provides your company with a roadmap toward success. Your team can now focus on what matters and work proactively toward measurable, shared goals.

Going Out of Business
Client Reviews

Trust is Everything

Please, don't take our word for it. We truly appreciate our clients, and sometimes they let us know how much they appreciate us, too.

News & Insights

Marketing News & Insights

What’s new and happening in the exciting world of marketing and design.

Getting Started

Get ready to expand your possibilities.

Our digital marketing strategists and writers will collaborate with you so your business reaches more new customers, strengthens connections with existing customers, and grows your revenue with digital marketing strategies tailored to your goals.

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Frequently Asked Questions

You have questions? We have answers.

Strategic planning can improve a company’s performance by setting goals, creating strategies, and allocating resources. The process requires that the best thinking throughout the organization come together and work in partnership to conduct research, audit assets and then agree on a unified vision for the organization.

The ultimate success of any strategic plan relies on the company’s commitment to follow the plan and make the necessary changes along the way. This means that the entire organization needs to be involved and aligned with the plan to support it and ensure the best results.

It’s simple: strategic planning helps businesses develop a clear direction for their organization and find opportunities to grow. When everything is organized, and everyone knows what they need to do, things get done more quickly and effectively, and the business is more productive.

Also, undertaking a strategic planning process itself is a great motivator and unifier for employees. A unified team is often one that is more collaborative in nature. Team members encourage others within the group to take the necessary actions to meet deadlines and complete projects, and they communicate in a much more open and productive manner.

Yes! Strategic planning is a great way to help small businesses plan progress. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. businesses have a nearly 20% chance of failure within the first year. After five years, the failure rate is almost 50%; after 10 years, it jumps to 65.5%.

With odds such as these, business leaders should explore every opportunity that could lend itself to the company’s success. And developing a comprehensive strategic plan is one of the best ways to do that.

The four steps in the strategic planning process are as follows: Identify, Prioritize, Develop, and Implement. Each step is crucial in ensuring that your company’s (and often your customers’) pain points are recognized and factored into a plan that addresses your brand and values, sales and revenue generation, asset and resource allocation and whether your workforce has buy-in and is unified behind your company’s vision.

Strategic planning is essential for any organization that wants to realize its vision and achieve its goals. It involves mapping out a detailed plan with specific objectives that should be accomplished within three to five years. On the other hand, business planning typically focuses on immediate, tactical goals and can cover several months up to several years.

By strategically planning for the future, organizations can set themselves up for success and ensure they are on track to reach their ambitions.

Several considerations must be addressed to create a great strategic plan.

1. Senior management must work together to ensure a strategic plan’s success by embracing the organization’s vision and direction.

2. When designing tactics, management should make room for employee voices and contributions. This respects and includes them, helping them to feel ownership of the plan. Furthermore, their input is invaluable as it connects the strategy to the reality of the workplace and culture.

3. Companies must recognize their difficulties and shortcomings for a strategic plan to stand a chance of succeeding. With an honest evaluation of the organization’s environment, the plan will be effective, and the process will be successful.

4. Regular quantitative and qualitative measurements and milestones should be built into the best strategic plans. Moreover, these milestones need to consider both the completion and quality of the action.

5. For a strategic plan to be effective, it needs to consider economic realities. The strategic planning process can be costly and time-consuming. It requires resources to be successful. Organizations must be aware of short- and long-term costs when setting goals and taking action. Large changes involve costs that can quickly impact a business’s long and short-term profits. An organization must understand these costs when setting and accepting objectives and activities.

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Industries We Serve

Law Firms, Financial Services, Wealth Management, Home Builders, Home Services, HVAC, Services, Healthcare, Restaurants, Hospitality, Property Management, and more.

© 2025 Social Firm

Matt Erney
STRATEGIC MARKETING DIRECTOR
After founding Social Firm in 2010, I learned that having a healthy business online requires an equal balance of messaging, design and marketing. My vision is to help businesses compete in the marketplace by simplifying, clarifying and then amplifying their message.

I currently lead the Strategic Marketing team at Social Firm. I believe that to achieve greatness, one must be intentional and move quickly with focus beyond one’s self. I love Columbus and am energized by helping businesses realize their digital potential.
Jason Willis
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Like many in the design world, I started out as a freelance. My early career was on the sales and marketing side of business, and I’ve worked with, and for several large companies. However, my greatest joy is helping and sharing in the success of locally owned organizations.

When I’m not tailgating at an OSU game or playing tennis, I love traveling and creating new experiences with my best girl Kelly and my "little gentleman" dog Charlie. I like visiting all the new restaurants popping up around town and seeing which one can make the best Old Fashioned.
Julie Englerth
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Julie is fully remote and hails from Longview, Texas, deep in the heart of the “Piney Woods” of East Texas where she lives with her husband and three amazing kids. She is also an experienced worship leader at her local church where her husband is a full-time worship pastor. Julie is passionate about encouraging and empowering people around her, leading worship, leading small groups at her church, or spending time with her loved ones.

She works closely with Matt in day-to-day communications and strategic planning. She has a knack for learning new things quickly!
Laura Elliott
Senior Digital Strategist
I have been in the digital marketing space since graduating from Xavier University in 2012 and I have experience in both the B2C and B2B realms. I specialize in digital advertising and have seen how it has evolved and grown over time. It has been exciting to keep up with all the new developments and changes throughout the years in the world of advertising and I thoroughly enjoy researching ways to leverage these changes to improve success for my clients. Throughout my career, I’ve honed and adapted my skills in data analytics and lead generation and enjoy learning about new industries and driving success for each of my clients!

When I’m not at work, I love to spend time with my family and traveling. My main goal is to travel all over the world with my husband and son!
Ally Gatien
DIGITAL SPECIALIST
Since graduating from the University of Dayton in 2021 with a focus in Marketing, I have worked for both a small local media agency and a large television station. In my professional career, I am most recently coming from a Digital Sales Coordinator role where I was able to focus in on all Digital Marketing tactics after learning about the world of broadcast TV. I am passionate about helping others and I look forward to being able to help countless local businesses as a Digital Specialist on a more efficient and effective scale!
Geno Marinelli
DIGITAL SPECIALIST
A fresh graduate from The Ohio State University, I’m excited to absorb as much as I possibly can! With prior experience in both advertising creative and strategy, I’m excited to learn from the best. I enjoy staying ahead of the curve, understanding or contextualizing the latest trends and developments in tech and Marketing. If there’s a disruptor, I want to know how it works, why it’s working, and if it can work for us.

As a Digital Marketing Specialist, I will assist in strategy, implementing changes and new initiatives on behalf of our clients helping them to reach their goals and achieve results. My favorite part of any final reveal is the before and after; the side-by-side comparison of the old and the new motivates me to always be looking for new and innovative ideas.
Terence Womble
CONTENT MANAGER
I spent the first half of my career working in public relations and marketing mostly in New York City but also in Toronto, Philadelphia and Columbus. Even with clients as diverse as Philip Morris, The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Shakespeare in Central Park, CAPA, Jazz Arts Group, or Broadway shows, the common theme has been compelling stories. Helping craft and share stories for our clients is my passion.

Other passions? Sure. Tennis, jazz, classical music and classic disco; reading, documentaries, fact-based dramas, and forensic crime shows. I also enjoy a perfectly mixed and presented Manhattan – up or on the rocks.
Sheena Erney
ACCOUNTING
I spent over 10 years in corporate banking and quit corporate life to be a stay-at-home mom before my second child turned one. I love taking my four little ones on adventures, but I missed the hustle and bustle of work life. It’s exciting to work for a small business where we can so easily stay up to date and develop our processes as business needs change. Best of all, I get to work with my husband!

When I'm not working, I enjoy golf, reading, traveling and playing cards. Watching our four children learn and grow is one of the greatest joys of my life.
Doug Bierl
STRATEGIC PROJECT MANAGER
I have an inherent desire to help people and I like to figure out how to best connect people with something they need. That led me to a career in marketing and client services, primarily in marketing strategy and planning in product management, advertising account management, and marketing consulting.

When I’m not at work, you may see me walking the streets of Westerville with my wife, Julaine, or in a cafe meeting with a guy talking about life and faith. I value time with family, staying physically active and being outdoors brings me energy and joy.