Marketing Shouldn’t Be Your Only Avenue—Here’s How to Make the Most of It

Marketing is often seen as the golden ticket to business success, but the truth is, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

Marketing is often seen as the golden ticket to business success, but the truth is, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Many businesses pump money into marketing expecting instant results, only to be disappointed when ROI doesn’t meet the expectations they’ve come up with in their mind.

When budget cuts roll in, marketing is often the first to go—but in reality, businesses should be asking deeper questions: Is the sales team performing at its peak? Is the product or service truly delivering value? Is my business a brand that others can believe in, do I even believe in it? Are we investing in the right marketing strategies for our stage of growth? Are my expectations in line with what the data suggests for businesses in industries like mine?

Oftentimes it’s that last question that drives it home for business owners, but we recommend considering it all! There’s so much to consider when growth isn’t happening in the way you pictured, so here’s some tips on what to think about and what to do to make the most out of your marketing spend and team.

Marketing Works in Tandem with Sales and Product Development

Marketing isn’t just about creating awareness; it’s about driving action, creating desire into your brand. But marketing alone can’t close those deals, as much as we wish it so! That’s where sales comes in. If your sales team isn’t aligned with your marketing strategy, leads generated from marketing efforts may go to waste.

Consider this:

• A well-integrated approach: Companies that align their marketing and sales teams achieve 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales win rates. Wouldn’t you like to see a 38% higher win rate for your deals?
• Sales enablement is key: HubSpot reports that 60% of buyers want to connect with a sales representative during the consideration stage for service based businesses. If your team isn’t prepared, marketing’s hard work falls flat.

Likewise, if your product or service isn’t strong, even the best marketing campaigns won’t sustain long-term success. High customer churn rates can indicate an issue beyond marketing—one that requires improving the core offering.

Your competitors may provide more value than you, their products may simply be just better than yours and you need to consider a branding upgrade or a new product strategy. We can count many experiences where marketing was hitting strides and the data was showing, sales team was primed and ready for the leads, or the landing page was optimized for conversions, but the offer, product or service just simply wasn’t good in comparison to what others can get from the market. It’s the hardest thing to consider, but if you’ve exhausted your efforts, and be honest if you really have because usually you can give more, then it’s time to consider your product and service development.

When you really consider it all, you are in a much better place to make the most out of your marketing. Refine parts of your business for marketing to enhance, it will help significantly.

Marketing ROI Takes Time—But There Are Short-Term Wins

Many businesses expect marketing to work overnight, but that’s rarely the case. Some industries see faster returns, especially those with transactional sales cycles, while others, like B2B or high-ticket services, require months or even years to see the full impact.

Leaving business owners needing to consider one simple factor, how much am I willing to take a loss on in order to bring in MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) in the future and increase my client/customer’s lifetime value?

Most large brokerages take a loss on their first lead’s transaction, and most e-commerce brands make no money on the first purchase with ad spend and product margins. But the follow up, the deals offered to keep customers coming back are what make brands successful. Think of XBox, they take a loss on their console, so they can sell you on their memberships and games (that’s MRR!).

It doesn’t always have to be that hard though, and a great marketing strategy considers two factors, the balance of short-term wins and long-term strategies.

Your business can employ short-term tactics to supplement long-term strategies, so you don’t drain your resources:

1. Retargeting Ads to Bring Back Warm Leads: Not everyone will convert the first time they visit your site. People get distracted, change their minds, or just need a little more nudging. Retargeting ads are your chance to bring those warm leads back into your sales funnel. It’s like reminding your crush that you’re still around—without being creepy.
2. Email Marketing to Nurture Existing Relationships: If you’re not emailing your existing leads and customers, you’re leaving money on the table. Nurturing relationships through thoughtful, relevant emails is one of the most powerful ways to drive conversions over time. You’re keeping your brand top-of-mind and, let’s be real, people like a personal touch. Just don’t spam them with “buy now” every week.
3. Referral Programs to Leverage Existing Customers for New Business: Your best marketers are your existing customers. Get them on board with a referral program that incentivizes them to bring in new clients. This is where the magic of word-of-mouth marketing happens. It’s low-cost, high-reward, and the best part? People trust referrals more than any ad you can put out there. You can even sweeten the deal with a little discount, gift, or reward for the referrer. It’s a win-win.

The Key Takeaway

At the end of the day, marketing is not the lone hero of your business. It’s a strategic, well-integrated component of your business structure. You need more than just good marketing to succeed; you need a system that works in tandem with everything else you’re doing. And it’s not a quick fix. Success takes time, but with the right mix of short-term tactics and long-term strategy, your marketing will start to pay off sooner rather than later. And if you approach the business as a whole, and really try to think of what areas can grow and be better, you’ll only be more successful for it. 

So, don’t throw in the towel just yet. With a little patience and the right approach, your marketing efforts will compound and fuel growth that lasts. Understand that this is the test for all business owners.