We have all been there. We have a marketing problem, and come to the conclusion that a a specific or collection of tactics, tools, or technology is the solution. So we invest in one or many of the three Ts, get all excited, and unleash our can’t-miss campaign. In a few months, the leads aren’t flowing, and the conversions are rare; we conclude that this just doesn’t work.
We were promised that marketing with the right tactic, tool, or technology would solve all of our problems. And we’ll be able to measure everything, because we measure what matters, right? And attribution and data will show us that we are right, and this is a piece of cake.
And hell yes, with AI we don’t even have to pay anyone, the leads will flow like a river after a monsoon.
But it doesn’t happen.
This mindset is a result of the myth that started with the advent of marketing technology companies, and it still propagates today.
They said, with the right martech, everything in marketing can be attributed to an A-to-B-to-C formula: action > result > attribution. Martech is the guilty party here, and in recent times has fessed up to the lie.
Reality is, you can’t tell if a marketing action or campaign worked, because marketing is by nature chaotic and is as unpredictable as the weather. Was it this campaign that got people to act, or was it the previous one that sold the customer, or one from ten years ago, and they are finally getting around to taking action? Unknowable.
As the CEO of a data company said to me recently, this is an easy fix—self-attribution. Sure, that may give us insights into how or where they heard of us, but when was it, what was the thing that grabbed them, and how long ago? It is unknowable. He agreed.
The answer is that it was most likely a culmination of consistent, high-quality marketing, brand awareness, and trust-building that authentically tells the right story on the right channels and at the right times, influencing the audience’s behavior.
This works best when you operationalize marketing experimentation. The scientific method works. Learn it and use it.
Below is my advice to minimize wasting time and money on tactics, tools, and tech, and move you closer to seeing real results from marketing. Let me be clear, friends: marketing works, and you must do it, but not just any marketing – marketing with a plan. Because marketing with a plan that follows this approach delivers progress, and that’s what we want. Marketing without a plan, that’s just arts and crafts. And who wants to wager their success on that?
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We adhere to this approach when making marketing decisions (which, BTW, heavily involve brand management). But first, you must understand the goals for the company, brand, campaign, and initiative. Next, ask and answer these questions to help you get deeper and quantify your strategic choices:
- What is the problem we are solving?
- How will this help accomplish our goals?
- What’s the story we are telling, and why would our audiences care?
- What are the outcomes we expect and want to test?
Take these queries and insist on using them in your marketing efforts. Again, progress is the primary objective in marketing and the number one metric. All the other metrics are supporting and indicating the level of progress,
Lastly, repeat after me: marketing is a forever game, not a long game. Making better decisions early and often, and as I always say, strategy is simply making decisions, will ensure you move the needle forward.
