5 reasons your marketing isn’t working

Marketing outputs are like icing on a cake. They can certainly attract and establish expectations, but if the cake underneath is made of mud, nobody is going to want a slice.

There are 5 foundational reasons why your marketing might not be working. Let’s look at them in order of priority…

?? Corporate strategy

The number one reason marketing fails is lack of clarity and alignment with your corporate strategy. There’s no point marketing doing busy work if it isn’t strategically driving your broader corporate goals. And for that to happen, these must be clearly captured and articulated.

Imagine three chefs making a cake without agreeing on what they’re baking. It can’t possibly have a good outcome. But we see businesses doing just that all the time, with lots of energy expended but not much progress being made.

?? Target audience & customer journey

You might have baked a delicious cake, but are you pitching it to the right people, at the right place, using the right tone and timing?

Gluten or dairy free? Low fat or decadently tasty? One cake does not suit all.

?? Competitors & macro environment

Your target audience is checking out the competition all the time, and so should you. How does your cake compare based on appeal, cost, ease of purchase? And importantly, what’s happening in the broader socio-economic environment and how is that impacting people’s ability and interest in eating cake? Ignore external trends and you could be stuck with a 1970s tomato soup cake. (Look it up. It was a real thing??!)

?? Offer (product, service, brand)

What you’re selling is much more than the assembly of flour, eggs, sugar and butter. Your offer includes all the service touch points and the associated values and benefits.

A cake from Coles and a cake from a specialist bakery are not the same thing. Understand where your offer fits in and make it the best it can be – pick what you’re competing on and do that well, whether it’s affordability, convenience, taste, creativity, nostalgia, or something else.

?? Marketing strategy, mix and tactics

Assuming all the above are in place, you can now set to refine your marketing strategy and outputs. Ultimately, strategic clarity, consistency and the cumulative effect of building momentum are the winning ingredients.

And now I’m going to put the kettle and get a slice of cake. All this talk has made me hungry.