What NOT to do - Why experience matters in Marketing

This might come as a surprise, but the essence of marketing mastery isn’t just about nailing the right strategies. In fact, often, when you're marketing a new product category or working in a very dynamic filed, you can't really promise the right strategy. However, you can definitely know in much higher certainty what NOT TO DO.

And I believe that's the great aspect of having tons of experience. So yes, it also means I am becoming older, but seeing so many trends and solutions come and go does provide perspective.

The Value of Experience

I remember my early days in the field, when I thought marketing was all about having the perfect plan. Boy, was I wrong! I was sure that after seeing hundreds of campaigns working and failing in both Facebook and Google, I had all the answers.

Learning From My Mistakes

I failed miserably. I failed because I didn't stop to define my audience or why the product I am trying to sell is relevant for that audience. I assumed people in the company knew all of that as they were selling their product already. They didn't.

The Power of Knowing What Not to Do

Now, when I am starting to work with a new client, I don't always know what they should do. I do however always know what they should NOT do. And I check and double check that the client's understanding for their audience and value proposition does in fact match reality.

It's very similar with tech stack. While I usually end up recommending HubSpot to my clients (it really is superior to every other tool), I do urge that the first thing any company should do when thinking of ABM is, well, nothing. Do nothing, see if you have enough insights to actually build a coherent strategy. Test your strategy with low budget tools and channels and only when you can show signs of success, only then consider to commit to an expensive platform with yearly commitment.

The Reality of Marketing

C-level executives often expect us to have all the answers, but let’s face it—reality is far more nuanced. Our true value shines through our ability to save time and resources by steering clear of approaches we know won’t work. Sure, you might not have the secret sauce for every dish yet, but you know what can ruin the flavor.

The rest? It’s still trial and error, but with a twist. It’s about making educated guesses. We leverage our past experiences, data, and insights to make informed decisions, reducing the guesswork. Each failure is a stepping stone, not a setback.

So here are my most recent NOT TO DOs:

1. DO NOT start a campaign on LinkedIn to drive leads before you've secured significant budget AND have strong messaging
2. DO NOT buy an expensive ABM platform before you've done in-depth research of your audiences. And by in-depth I mean a 10 page dossier on each company and the buying committee
3. DO NOT start a Google search campaign if you don't have a large volume of intent to purchase keywords for your product and a great competitors' comparison page
4. DO NOT start LinkedIn automation before you've had success doing things manually for a bit
5. DO NOT assume content is easy to write because of AI. Spend proper money on content before starting any other marketing initiative

I have quite a few more DO NOTs, but the above come to mind now. I know it's important to be positive and tell people what to do and NOT what NOT to do but sometimes, the savings in time and money just by skipping the DO NOTs are worth so much more than the DOs.

So, what are your DO NOTs?