Hands down, one of the most frustrating experiences as a business owner is busting your butt and feeling like you’re getting absolutely no traction. No one wants to hustle and not see the needle move forward. This is true in all facets of your business, but especially when it comes to your marketing. It’s doubly frustrating when you feel as though you have a marketing strategy (it’s not as if you’re just throwing spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks) and you’re still not seeing a return on your time and investment.

Luckily, there’s likely a solid reason (or reasons!) you’re not gaining traction with your current marketing strategy. 

Once you identify this reason, it’s much easier to get back on track and move your marketing—and your business—in the right direction.

Here are 6 Reasons Why Your Marketing Strategy Isn’t Working.

Reason #1:  You Don’t Have a Marketing Strategy

I know this reason feels a bit like a bait and switch. By saying you don’t have a marketing strategy, I don’t mean you haven’t tried marketing tactics. You’ve noted trends. You’ve created content. You’ve engaged with your audience. However, you don’t have a clearly articulated rhyme or reason behind any of it.

Your marketing strategy (or lack thereof) is kind of a #hotmess. 

Marketing is likely a struggle for you because you don’t feel focused or connected to what you’re doing. Because you’re a heart-centered entrepreneur, this kind of marketing doesn’t feel good. It feels out of alignment with what you’re doing to serve your people and the world. 

Don’t worry though. This doesn’t have to be where you stay in relationship to your marketing. A marketing strategy that’s in alignment with you and your goals will make all of the difference in how it feels for you and your tribe!

Reason #2: Your Marketing Strategy Has Not Been Turned Into an Executable Plan

Without actionable steps to back up your strategy, your marketing strategy is a lot like your dream car with no wheels. It may be nice to sit in, but it’s not going to take you anywhere.

We want your marketing strategy to be moving you forward toward your goals, your dream clients, and the business you’re trying to build. It’s time to give your killer marketing strategy the chance it deserves to work for you!

Reason #3:  You’re Working on the Wrong Strategy

You have a marketing strategy. It may even be a fantastic marketing strategy, but it’s the wrong one for you. If your marketing strategy isn’t tailored to your specific goals and to your exact audience, it’s not going to work. 

In order to create the right strategy, you may even need to backtrack to make sure your goals are specific (and actionable) and that you have a deep understanding of your ideal client. These two components are key to your marketing and if you need help with either (or both), consider investing in a deep dive coaching session.

Reason #4:  You’re Not Working the Strategy Consistently

Your strategy can only work if you keep working on it. Again, the best-laid plans will take you nowhere without action behind them.

Consistency in a marketing strategy looks like planned social posts, blog posts, emails to your list, and engagement with your community. Your tribe needs to hear from you regularly. Someone is far more likely to unsubscribe from your list if you only occasionally pop into their inbox. 

Reason #5:  You’re Working on Multiple Strategies at the Same Time

When you’re not seeing the traction you want or the return on your investment in your marketing, it’s easy to want to jump from strategy to strategy. However, starting too many strategies at once leaves you scattered and unfocused. This can also leave you feeling out of alignment with how you’re showing up for your people. 

Give your strategy time to work. Most marketing strategies are for the long-game…not the short. Real growth takes time.

Reason #6:  You’re Not Measuring Your Strategy

While real growth from your marketing strategy does take time, you also need to see some growth (even if it is small) in your metrics. If you’re not looking at and critically analyzing this data regularly, you can’t clearly determine what’s working and what isn’t.

Pro tip: You don’t have to necessarily be analyzing every piece of data. You can focus on one or two platforms at a time to dive deep into.

For instance, one of our current clients is really focused on growing her LinkedIn presence and her email list. For her email list, we are carefully looking at subscribes, unsubscribes, open rates, and click-through rates. On her LinkedIn, we are looking at followers, but even more importantly, we’re looking at engagement (specifically, a goal of 3% or more on each post). 

Every business is different though. The most important part of your marketing strategy is that it works and is doable for you. 

If you need help creating or implementing your 2021 marketing strategy, the team at Amazing OBM would love to connect. You can start by scheduling a FREE 30-minute consultation. We are happy to chat, offer you some valuable tips, and determine if we are a good fit for one another in future endeavors!