Is your marketing stuck? Does it seem like all your energy and resources are being wasted on things that just don’t work? Here are some areas to explore to figure out why.
#1 Aiming at the Wrong Problem
This happens when you are focused on something other than the real revenue blocker in your business.
For example, you may be focused on top of funnel when you can’t close the deals you already have in the pipeline. This means you are leaking the opportunities that are closest to the point of delivering revenue (with devastating impact).
Or, you might be focused on short term sales activation that targets only on people ready to buy RIGHT NOW. This sets you up for future failure since you are ignoring the majority of your future market. You might not feel that pain for a while. But it will become apparent when you have no top of mind awareness with tomorrow’s prospects.
#2 Underspending in Relation to Goals
If you underspend, your marketing WILL underperform.
It’s easy to put a number on a piece of paper as your revenue goal. But if you don’t understand what is truly required in terms of money, time, and attention (ATM), you are VERY likely to be underinvesting. We see this often with Sales led organizations that are new to Marketing.
Industry benchmarks often come as a shock. It can be sobering to learn that spending 7% of your revenue on Marketing is table stakes just to stay where you are. A higher spend is typically required for growth, especially in markets with large and aggressive competitors.
#3 Using Incorrect Marketing Tactics
Different tactics align with different outcomes on different timelines.
For example, B2B companies often think organic SEO is a rapid fix for a lead gen problem. It isn’t. However, it is a long-term and very powerful fix for a lack of visibility and web traffic.
Some organizations believe thought leadership will deliver a revenue bump in the near term. It is a great tactic for creating authority, but it has a long tail in terms of impact on revenue.
If you want rapid revenue generation, there are many tactics that DO work (such as reactivating late stage deals, aggressive account based marketing, and live events).
Thinking a tactic “didn’t work” or that “marketing doesn’t work” even when a tactic is highly successful at delivering results is common because of the misconception about which tactics do what.
#4 Ignoring the Imperative to Customize
Your ideal customers (as a group) are unique to your business.
This means HOW you reach them and the experience you deliver MUST be customized to that persona.
If you sound like everyone else in your competitive landscape, it’s no wonder prospects can’t tell the difference.
The buyer journey should be choreographed to be ENJOYABLE for your ideal prospects. It must help them make progress toward their goals.
Note about Customization in Ad Campaigns: Never simply take the AI advice of Google and other ad platforms about what to do with your campaigns. You MUST bring your own intelligence into those decisions or you will be leaving a lot of money on the table.
#5 Failing to Continuously Optimize
Marketing is never “set it and forget it”, even with campaigns that have done well in the past. You must constantly and proactively seek ways to improve.
Things that worked even 2-3 years ago don’t work the same way now. New marketing techniques and technologies are continuously evolving, and so are buyer behaviors. It’s important to learn to enjoy the process of optimization, since that’s something you will always be doing if you want results.
Failing to meet people where they are NOW is one common reason marketing efforts go off track. You don’t get to dictate the terms of engagement. If prospects are looking at a problem the wrong way, you need to start with recognizing and engaging where they are. Once you have earned their attention, then you get the chance to reframe and show them a different way to solve their problem.
These Are Solvable Problems
Don’t feel discouraged if you have faced any of these marketing challenges. At The Marketing Blender, we teach our clients the systems and structures that turn around failed marketing efforts and drive results.
No more throwing tactics at the wall to see what sticks! Ready for a conversation about how to transform your marketing for success? Book a free call with me here.
