Marketing Can Do So Many Things – What Do You Need It to Do for Your Business?

Aligning Marketing Strategy with Business Goals

Today, there are more marketing tools, channels, platforms, and “must-do” tactics than anyone can count. You might hear advice like, “You need to be on TikTok!” or “Video is critical!” But is that really what your business needs right now?

So Many Choices—Where Do You Start?

Marketing can do a hundred things. Trying to do all of them at once can stretch your resources too thin, waste your budget, and ultimately fall flat. The real challenge is prioritizing strategies that create a positive impact on your business goals.

Frequently, start-ups and small businesses rattle off a lengthy list of marketing tactics they think they need: “We need a website, four social media channels, a blog, a newsletter, four events a year, digital ads, SEO, SEM, and….”

My challenge to them is, “Do you?” Maybe in the long term, you need some of those things. However, I challenge all marketing teams and organizations: If your marketing strategy is not directly tied to strategic goals, your target market, and executed with the right calls to action, it can quickly become a waste of resources and effort.

Common Marketing Pitfalls

• “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Just because you put something out there doesn’t mean your target market will engage with it or that it will move the needle on your business goals. Whether you want to start a podcast or hold an event, make sure you understand why you are doing it and how it aligns with your business objectives. Then you need to market it so your target audience can engage with it.

• “Set It and Forget It”

Marketing is an ongoing process of testing, learning, and adapting. If a tactic isn’t working, stop. Assess and reset. Every marketing initiative needs to be measured for effectiveness and adjusted along the way.

Other common missteps include:

• Inconsistent branding results in reduced brand awareness, buyer confusion, and diminished trust.

• Trying to talk to everyone rather than focusing on your ideal customer.

• No clear Calls to Action (CTAs) in messaging and ads.

• Inconsistency across platforms.

• No follow-up process to nurture leads.

• Misalignment between marketing and sales priorities.

• Investing in flashy tools or services that don’t meet your needs.

• Implementing tactics without a clear strategy.

• Going all-in without testing or pivoting.

Where to Start - Strategic Alignment Is Key

Most marketing missteps don’t happen because someone doesn’t care or isn’t trying. They occur because the marketing strategy isn’t aligned with business goals, or there aren’t adequate resources to execute effectively.

Marketing is a powerful tool to move your business forward. When strategies are directly tied to business objectives and prioritized based on available resources, they can significantly impact your organization’s success.

1. Assessing Your Tactics and Team

Take a critical look at what you’re already doing. What’s working? What’s consuming a lot of time and not yielding results? Is your team stretched thin, trying to manage everything in-house, or could you benefit from a flexible model that blends internal strengths with outside support?

Then, ask yourself these key questions:

• Are your marketing efforts aligned with broader organizational goals?

• Is this tactic driving results?

• Does this initiative have engagement?

• Are your tools communicating with each other and tracking what matters?

Don’t be afraid to stop doing things that aren’t driving results.

2. Review the Strategic Plan: What Do You Need Marketing to Do?

Everything marketing does should connect to a strategic business goal—especially if you’re working with a limited budget. Review the strategic plan to determine where marketing can make the most impact. If there isn’t a formal plan, ask strategic questions:

• Do you need to raise brand awareness?

• Attract new customers?

• Improve client retention?

• Launch a new product?

Identify relevant goals and prioritize them. Then, develop marketing goals using the SMART goals framework: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Align these marketing goals with the organization’s overall objectives to stay focused.

3. Measure & Leverage MarTech Tools to Make Data-Driven Decisions

Are you making decisions based on performance or just sticking to what’s familiar? If you are spending time and resources on it, you should be measuring the results. This approach allows you to evaluate tactics, adjust efforts, and allocate spending based on data. MarTech tools can help you track what is working and what isn’t.

You don’t need to invest heavily to see results. Look for marketing tools that offer multiple services (e.g., website, email, social, retargeting) or that can integrate with others. Tools like Zapier can help connect existing tools, creating efficiencies and reducing manual work. When all your data is connected, you can view the bigger picture more clearly and act on real insights.

4. Know Your Budget

Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it must be intentional to be effective. When you know your team’s strengths, you can strategically invest to fill gaps. If every tactic and campaign is tied to an organizational goal, it’s easier to determine where to allocate your budget.

Be cautious when rolling out new tactics. Evaluate them iteratively and optimize along the way. Avoid being swayed by eager or pushy sales pitches, especially for media buys, SEO, or SEM services. Buy what you need, not what’s being sold to you. Remember - marketing should be tailored to the needs of your business.

If you’re seeking quotes for a new initiative, share your budget with vendors upfront. It saves time, sets realistic expectations, and allows everyone to focus on the best path forward. Too often, companies say, “I don’t have a budget,” which leads to missed opportunities and misaligned proposals. If you know you can only spend $500, and you get a quote for $5,000, everyone’s time is wasted.

The Bottom Line

Marketing can do so many things. The key is choosing the right things for the right reasons at the right time for your organization. Start with strategy. Know your audience. Define your goals. And then, use tactics and tools that align with those goals and measure success.

When marketing is focused, intentional, and aligned with the unique goals of your organization—that’s when it really starts to drive results.