When marketing efforts are high, but outcomes are flat, the issue isn’t how hard you’re working. It’s where you’re headed.
It can be relatively easy to move quickly from idea to execution, especially when new ideas appear daily and you have a process in place. But without confirming whether the message is clear or the desired outcome is defined, marketing turns into activity instead of progress. Your team is working hard, yet the results aren’t what you want.
Before you hit “go” on the next campaign, initiative, or tactic, ask yourself these three questions. The answers can change the effectiveness of the work.
1) Who are we talking to? The strongest marketing does not try to speak to everyone; it focuses on your target audience. When the message is too broad, it becomes forgettable.
Get specific. Identify the audience you want to reach and consider what they care about right now. What problems are they trying to solve? What is shaping their decisions? Narrowing the focus makes the message more impactful.
2) What do we want them to think or do? Awareness has value, but it is not a strategy on its own. Marketing should guide someone toward a next step. It might be a shift in perception or a concrete action such as a purchase.
Consider what success looks like once someone engages with your message. Should they schedule a tour? Request a quote? Or maybe just understand your value in a different way. Define the action, then build the marketing to support it.
3) Why does this matter to the business right now? Marketing should always support the business, so every campaign needs to tie back to a current objective. When your efforts line up with your priorities, your dollars work harder and your team stays focused.
If the only reason to proceed is because something seems like a good idea or others are doing it, it may not be the best use of time or budget. Seems obvious, but it’s not always. Go back to the objectives and don’t be lured by the new shiny object.
A quick gut check for stronger marketing
You don’t need to be the one building the ads or writing the copy. But you should be the one asking whether the campaign makes sense before money gets spent.
Three questions. That’s it:
- Who is this targeted at?
- What do we want them to do?
- Why is this the right move right now?
If your team can’t answer these clearly, the campaign isn’t ready. And if you’re nodding along to vague answers just to keep things moving, you’re about to waste budget on something that looked good in the kickoff meeting but won’t move the needle.
The campaigns that bomb are often the ones that nobody questioned. So, question it. Before you hit go, make sure someone can explain, in plain language, who this is for, what happens next, and why it matters now.
If they can, you’re in good shape. If they can’t, hit pause. ●
Sue Stabe is Co-founder of Long & Short of It
