Introduction:

The best lessons are often borne from experience. And if you haven’t been there yourself, learning from someone who has can be just as valuable.

After 19 years as a sales & marketing consultant and communications professional, working with churches and companies spanning many industries and lifecycle stages, I’ve learned some important things about marketing that shape every new engagement. As you embark on your 2023 marketing plans, I hope these lessons learned help you drive a high ROI.

1. WITHOUT A SOUND STRATEGY, MARKETING WILL FAIL

Many companies struggle to set a focused marketing strategy. For example, rather than concentrating on a few target markets where they have an advantage, they attempt to be the proverbial ‘all things to all people.’ But given the constraints of a finite marketing budget, it’s impossible to build strong penetration in multiple markets at once. The most effective marketers choose a few sectors to focus on, building credibility and gaining traction.

2. ACTIVITY-BASED MARKETING DOESN’T WORK

Busyness never equates to effectiveness, especially in marketing. Yet many companies use activity volume as their barometer for success. Is all that activity driving ideal buyers to your revenue funnel, nurturing leads throughout their journey, and converting them to customers? If not, then it’s just work for work’s sake. What you need instead is strategically led, analytically driven marketing.

3. NEITHER DO RANDOM ACTS OF MARKETING 

In companies that offer multiple service lines or target several industries, the loudest voices often get the most marketing attention. In the absence of a strong marketing leader or an executive team advocate, the marketing team gets bogged down in reacting to arbitrary requests that rarely generate results. If you spot this trend, call a time-out and demand a strategic marketing plan that prioritizes where to allocate your resources for the best ROI.

4. STAFFING THE MARKETING FUNCTION IS DIFFICULT

Many companies suffer through high turnover or a mismatch between the capabilities they need and the resources they have. One prospective client told me that after two years on the job, his marketing manager couldn’t produce a strategic plan. That’s because he had the wrong person in the role.

To staff a high-performing marketing function, you need to develop a strategic marketing plan first, then use it to inform which marketing resources to hire. It often pays to tap a seasoned strategic marketer on a fractional basis to develop the plan and identify your staffing needs.

5. MEASURING THE WRONG METRICS IS AS BAD AS NOT MEASURING AT ALL 

If you’re just getting a strategic marketing effort off the ground, it’s fine to focus on metrics like the number of website visitors and email open rates. But once you’ve finished the foundational work and moved on to implementing your plan, it’s time to focus on “Where’s the Beef?” metrics. You should be measuring which efforts and channels are attracting leads to your funnel, nurturing them throughout their journey, and converting them to customers.

6. MARKETING TECHNOLOGY ISN’T A MAGIC PILL 

You’ve probably heard that modern marketing requires the right technology tools. But many companies view those technologies as a panacea. “I bought HubSpot—why don’t I have more leads?”

As with any other tool, your marketing technologies won’t be effective unless you use them with a specific objective and plan in mind, and you have the right talent in place to maximize your investment. Before you declare that your marketing automation isn’t working, assess why and how you’re using it.

7. SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING DEMANDS A STRATEGY 

Too many businesses equate social media marketing with a weekly company post on LinkedIn. When that fails to generate results (which it will!), they do a hard pivot. That’s unfortunate because when social media is grounded in strategy and executed flawlessly, it can build your thought leadership platform and get the right buyers engaging with your experts. Rather than throw in the towel, take a hard look at what you’re doing on social and why.

8. GOOD CONTENT TAKES COMMITMENT 

“Let’s get a writer to do a quick Google search and whip up a blog that makes us sound like a thought leader.” Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s too much content out there to think yours will rise to the top if it’s just a rehash of what’s already been said. If you want to generate original content that engages buyers, your internal subject matter experts need to commit the time and energy to lend their insights on the topic.

9. MARKETING CAN’T OPERATE IN A SILO

Marketing touches nearly every function in an enterprise, so it can’t operate in a vacuum. And while ensuring a smooth handoff of leads from marketing to sales is critical, it’s not nearly enough.

Marketing works best when it’s not just aligned with, but fully integrated with the sales and service functions, and when the marketing leader has a seat at the executive table. That’s when you start to truly understand how your buyers think, what their pain points are, what their buying journey involves, and how to demonstrate you can solve their issues.

10. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO EFFECTIVE MARKETING 

As with anything in life, good results take time. Yet some companies view marketing as a quick fix that will solve decades of neglect. You can’t generate leads tomorrow if you don’t have the foundational marketing elements in place today. If you’re serious about engaging in marketing that drives revenue growth, be prepared to play the long game: setting a sound strategy, finding the right talent, investing in marketing automation, and implementing a strategic marketing plan that aligns with your business goals. 

Whether you’re really getting into marketing and advertising for the first time or rethinking your current strategy, we’re here to help. Reach out to our team to dominate the competition with powerful and effective marketing and lead generation that works!