Why Are Certain Companies Doomed To Fail At Marketing?

There is a definitive reason why certain companies just can’t seem to get it right, particularly when it comes to marketing. I speak with alot of companies and the general reason that I’ve come up with that is inherent in so many failing marketing campaigns is a lack of strategy & optimization and an unwillingness to try new things.

How to Fail at Marketing… set it and forget it!

Nothing is wrong with my marketing, everything is fine. So what if my ROI is atrocious — nothing to see here.

Google & Facebook White Hot For Digital Marketing

Google & Facebook were so hot for so many years (and they still are) that this is where many people lay all their eggs in 1 basket. Certain companies have become polarized into simply dividing their marketing spend into just those 2 platforms and foregoing a long term strategy on emerging marketing channels. These are frequently the same companies that don’t make room for organic growth through SEO.

Hey, I get it — right now they are the blue chips of Digital Marketing. Why wouldn’t you want a little IBM and Disney in your portfolio? Google Adwords & Facebook Ads have gotten the lions share for the past 10 years and it doesn’t appear to be tapering off, although the ROI certainly has.

Why do companies fail at marketing?

An unwillingess to experiment in any other marketing platforms only leads to a depreciating ROI over time. It’s a fact. You will pay more for the same quantity of leads over time as more advertisers make their way to any platform. Still these companies see their rising costs per lead and chalk it up as a cost of doing business. If a lead that cost $5 yesterday and costs $10 next month doesn’t raise their eyebrows and set off some fire alarms, it’s a recipe for marketing disaster.

Nobody Home, Nobody At The Wheel

Companies simply fail to watch and accurately measure their Cost-Per-Lead over time. This is an inherent flaw in the marketing strategy of even many successful companies. They simply aren’t aware or don’t become active in time to make effective changes in their marketing strategy before it begins to cost them serious money.

Sales has always been the best barometer for me and for any successful Entrepreneur, as it should be — but if you aren’t closely comparing the cost of your leads as they relate to goods old you are setting the table for a losing strategy.

Taking a Calculated Risk on Emerging Markets

Businesses and brands that succeed in marketing however, take calculated risks on the next big thing. Those are the movers and shakers making the biggest impact on new platforms like Pinterest, Instagram, Tik Tok, and now even Discord, this years hottest mobile gaming social platform. They aren’t afraid to experiment and find creative ways to monetize the traffic throughout the funnel.

It’s amusing to me how so many pundits predicted the demise of Facebooks advertising platform years before it started to show chinks in the armor — Cambridge Analytica certainly made many advertisers gun shy about relying on Facebooks targeting metrics as a reliable marketing tool. In not diversifying your marketing strategy much as you would your Stock Portfolio, you are in effect leaving yourself to the whims and mercy of a single marketing publisher or service provider and that my friends is a strategy for losing every time.

As any marketing platform becomes more popular, the cost per lead will rise. That’s why it’s important to have a diverse digital marketing strategy that is comprised of many different channels.

A Rising Tide Doesn’t Always Lift All Boats, Especially in Marketing

A solid marketing strategy is so much more than a 1 trick pony. So what you have a great Facebook marketing campaign. If you think that this strategy is a sustainable form of marketing month in month out at the same price point, you are in for a rude awakening and the same thing holds true on Google Adwords. There is simply a new flock of competitors jacking up the costs DAILY. If you are not optimizing your campaigns, you are going to lose. It’s just math.

That’s why Adwords and Facebook Marketing isn’t a set it and forget it strategy. Things change with great frequency in the digital marketing world and what worked yesterday and was tried and true, may be absolutely useless and antiquated tomorrow. Companies that opt to forego a long term strategy for growth based on a diversified digital marketing strategy court peril at their own risk. A lack of Strategy & Optimization is why 90% of marketing campaigns fail, and why even the most successful campaigns see a dip in ROI over time.