Guide 13 of 17 in Level 1: Get set up

Get a marketing strategy for your small business

Blackbox (blackbox.plus) writes a marketing strategy for your small business on one page, and you approve it in Plan. Click Plan in the left menu, pick your brand and open the Strategy tab. The page holds five answers: what we sell, to whom and what it is worth; why us; where we show up; the three moves this quarter; and how we will know by day 90. Blackbox drafts them from your website, your competitors, your connected accounts and what you tell it. A card marked Needs you asks what only you know, such as a typical sale or the monthly ad budget: type it and click Save. Click Change on a card to redraft a block with a note, then keep the old or the new text. Download gives the pitch deck as PowerPoint or PDF. Approve this plan puts the moves on your calendar as dated campaigns and posts; nothing is launched or published until you do it, and only an admin can approve.

You'll need
Time
About 6 minutes 7 steps Updated
You'll end with
An approved one-page strategy, with its moves on your calendar and a deck to share
Do it in Blackbox Open the Strategy tab, after you sign in
Example
A one-page strategy for Daybreak Coffee Co.: a question answered, a block redrafted, then approved

How to get a marketing strategy for your small business in Blackbox

  1. Step 1:Open the Strategy tab

    Click Plan in the left menu, pick your brand, then click Strategy.

    You'll see: The plan for your brand, on one page, five numbered answers, and N of 5 ready above them.

    Open this in Blackbox

  2. Step 2:Answer what only you know

    On a card marked Needs you, type the answer, for example to How much can we spend on ads each month?, and click Save.

    You'll see: Drafting from your sources… on the card, then Ready, and one fewer answer waiting above.

  3. Step 3:Read the five answers

    Read What we sell, to whom, and what it is worth, Why us, Where we show up, The three moves this quarter and How we will know by day 90.

    You'll see: Ready on each card, the Sources: line above, and Still missing: under a card that is thin.

  4. Step 4:Change what’s wrong

    Click Change on a card, then Redraft with input on the block behind it. Say what should change and click Redraft.

    You'll see: Old beside New once the redraft is ready, with Keep old and Keep new.

  5. Step 5:Download the deck

    Click Download, then PowerPoint or PDF under Pitch deck.

    You'll see: A file named after your brand, ending in pitch.pptx or pitch.pdf.

  6. Step 6:Approve the plan

    Click Approve this plan at the bottom of the page, read what changes in Plan, then click Approve.

    You'll see: Approved. on the bar, the moves on your calendar as dated campaigns and posts, and your CMO’s first suggestions.

  7. Step 7:Find older versions

    Open Decision memo, versions and downloads under the page, then More and Versions.

    You'll see: Each version with Open, and Go back to this version inside one.

Good to know

  • Opening the tab starts the writing: the status line reads Blackbox is writing… N of M blocks while the answers fill in. Nothing is spent or posted by drafting.
  • Why us offers a few lines under Pick the one that sounds like you. Click Use this on the one that fits; the deck and the ads are written in that voice.
  • Every figure on the page is marked where it came from inside Change: Measured from your accounts, Stated by client, Assumed, or a Proposal you can change.
  • A card marked Dates need you is waiting for a start date for one of the moves; How we will know by day 90 reads Ready, targets follow your answers until the budget is answered.
  • Research behind this page, under the answers, holds the market analysis, the competitor analysis, the social audit, local moments and the readiness audit. It is read-only; competitors are edited on the Competitors tab.
  • When only the brand is drafted and no market plan yet, the bar reads Review and approve and opens the decision memo card instead. Each market you add gets its own page: see How to plan a go-to-market strategy for a new market.
  • Approving a new version replaces the earlier one, which keeps running until you do. For the cards that follow, see Act on Blackbox’s suggestions.

Read next

A marketing plan for a small business: five answers and a check, on one page

If something doesn't work

The page says Nothing is drafted yet

Blackbox needs your competitors first. Under the message, click Find competitors; the five answers fill in as each block is written, usually within a few minutes.

A card says Could not write

The sources were too thin for that block. Click Change, add a note, a link or a file under Redraft with input, or connect an account, then click Redraft. If it keeps failing, click Report.

I can’t click Save, Change or Approve this plan

Only an admin can answer, change or approve the strategy. Teammates read An admin can answer instead. Ask an admin, or have them change your role in Settings under Team.

It says N questions above still wait for you

You can approve now and answer later. Each answer you save afterwards redrafts its card and becomes a new version for you to approve in turn.

Download says Some blocks are not ready

A thin or missing block gives a shorter deck. Fix the blocks it names first, or click Download anyway and send the shorter deck.

The bar says Review and approve, not Approve this plan

Only the brand is drafted so far, with no market plan. Review and approve opens the decision memo card, where the brand strategy is approved; the market plan follows.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 1: Get set up