Why I’m hot now, and a delicious baker’s dozen for you—>
It started with a horrifying, primeval groan from our basement…
Our once high-tech, “combi” furnace and hot water heater was loudly protesting the arrival of family and friends who came late last month to celebrate the holidays with us by showering more times than a storm cloud in the Amazon. After a dramatic, wet, hilariously ill-timed failure of said unit, we had to accept the fact that an upgrade was needed. Is this unfortunately true story you didn’t ask for in service to a larger point? Why yes, patient reader, it is. Here goes: A lot of “solutions” – strategies, technologies, processes, and yep, people – aren’t working anymore. But out of that dysfunction, there is an opportunity, maybe even a cosmic responsibility (ok, some hyperbole there) to adjust, reset, replace, and yes, ma’ams and sirs, improve.
Ok, having plucked the phoenix from the ashes, let me shower you with well-hydrated tips and trends collected by our archers for your review, use and/or disposal.
Tips and Trends
- Cut to the ch___.
Filled the gap, didn’t you? Your customers will too. So stop dotting every “i”, crossing every “t,” filling every gap, detailing every benefit and feature. And just respect their ability to figure it out. Talk to them like adults. They’ll thank you with attention, and maybe even loyalty. More context in the next tip. - What “good” creative is.
I had an experienced, highly opinionated colleague (you have any of those?…) who should have known better, tell me that some work I’d shared with him wasn’t very good. When I asked why he thought that, he told me he didn’t like the design and some of the copy. He did not ask what our inputs were, who the target audience was, and most importantly, how it performed. Had he done so he would have learned that the campaign had beaten a long-time control two years hence and served as the foundation for a larger re-brand. Good creative works, performs, measurably, consistently. Full stop. - Attention spans continue to compress.
Numerous studies confirm this. So next time your marketing communications cup (or maybe pitcher…) runneth over because you have more you want to say, more you want to tell, check yourself before you _____ yourself and lose your customers (and yep, prospects). - Attribution is broken. Act accordingly.
If you’re still treating last-click attribution like gospel, I have bad news friends (and yes, colleagues too). Buying decisions are messy, nonlinear, and rarely polite enough to credit one channel. Look at blended performance, assisted conversions, and patterns, not fairy tales. - Nerd alert! Fix your UTMS ASAP.
If your campaign links, coding that allows you to track and attribute on a detailed level, are tagged differently by three people using five naming conventions, congratulations, you’ve created chaos. Standardize UTMs, document them, and stop trusting “Campaign 12_FINAL_v3.” Non-nerd? Need a translation? Call us. - Your brand Is talking even when you’re not.
Every touchpoint — website, proposal, invoice, LinkedIn post — is telling a story. If you’re not being intentional, your brand narrative might be “We mean well, but no one’s really in charge.” Umm, think you should fix that? - Consistency beats clever. (most of the time)
Yes, clever is fun. But consistency is what builds trust. If your brand voice changes more often than your homepage hero image, your audience will notice. And not in a good way. - “We’re different” is not a differentiator
Everyone thinks they’re different. Prove it. Specific language, clear positioning, and real proof points beat vague bravado every time. Not just our opinion. This is borne out, brutally so, in repeated A/B and A/B/C testing. - Digital marketing is not a set-it-and-forget-it crockpot
Campaigns don’t magically improve while you’re not looking. Monitor performance. Adjust messaging. Kill underperformers without getting emotionally attached. - The funnel is not a mythical creature.
People don’t go from “Who are you?” to “Take my money” in one click. Respect the journey. Create content for each stage, not just the bottom where everyone’s yelling “BUY NOW.” Adjust or the only Big Foot you’ll run into will be your competitor’s proverbial foot on your neck. - Your website Is not a salesperson. It’s a conversation starter.
If your site tries to close the deal immediately, it’s doing too much. Focus on clarity, credibility, and making the next step obvious. Not sure, review the exquisitely crafted tips that proceed this one. - Not every metric deserves a dashboard.
Good heavens, I’m a broken record on this one. But the cacophony is hard to listen to but sends a clear message: If it doesn’t change a decision, it’s just decoration. So measure what matters. Fewer metrics. Better questions. - Good marketing feels obvious in hindsight.
The best ideas often sound simple after they work. That doesn’t mean they were easy — it means they were clear, focused, and well executed.
As always, if I can do anything for you – make a connection, share some experience, tell you how many BTUs you need to heat your hot water – please let me know.