The CEO's Guide to More Meaningful Marketing in 2025 (Part Three)
This is it, folks! The third and final installment in this More Meaningful Marketing series, and there's just as many awesome things to cover today, so let's get right to it! If you missed Part One or Part Two, make sure to check those out as well :)
9. Neglecting Customer Feedback
I hear a lot of Marketers talking about being "data-driven", but there are a LOT of sources of data, and not all of them are created equal.
One of the BEST sources of data for your business is your customers, and the QUALITATIVE feedback they can give you; that's the stories, the experiences, the non-tangibles that can't necessarily be measured with a ruler.
Sure, it's easier to measure qualitative things: likes, opens, clicks, sales. But most of those things are LAGGING indicators. Meaning that people will do them because they have some kind of relationship with your business. But what actually LEADS them to do those things?
One of the best ways to know is to ASK THEM.
I remember having a conversation with a "data-driven" company looking at implementing a Partner Program, and when asked the first thing I would do coming on board, my answer was: TALK to the Partners.
Because no, I don't care about the open rates on the emails that go out to the Partners IF the Partners aren't doing what we want them to do. But I DO want to hear in their own words, the value of the Partnership and how we can turn it on ;)
It's the same thing with your customers. If you're not listening to them - because you CARE about what they have to say - you're inevitably going to miss the mark on your marketing efforts meeting their true needs, and aligning with their values.
Oh, and a quick note on Net Promoter Scores (NPS) here. This is meant to me more than just a benchmark to say that you're "data-driven". It's about actively TURNING clients into Promoters, and there's a WHOLE operational methodology that goes with it. So if you're just looking to collect NPS for your knowledge, please don't.
Instead...
INTENTIONAL ACTION: GET CURIOUS
Customers and clients can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. It's the primary reason people DON'T fill out surveys or participate in feedback; because they KNOW you're not collecting if for THEM. You're collecting it for YOU.
But if you allow your team to get authentically curious about your customers, and enable them to have the conversations - both digitally and in-person - that DEMONSTRATE that to the clients; well then, you've just blasted yourself into an entire different level of relationship.
And I'll tell you, you have people in your organization TODAY who already HAVE this level of curiosity about your clients. Get out there and observe it. And then empower them to bring that to the world (in a way that works for them) 💕
10. Ignoring Broader Social & Ethical Contexts
Ever see one of those clearly non-contextual social media posts? They happen all the time.
You know, when the world seems to be blowing up on a topic, and a brand just posts what was regularly scheduled on their content calendar?
Yeah, it's noticeable folks.
And while we talked in Part One about Trend Chasing and how THAT doesn't work either, it's important to maintain a consistent context for your brand. Otherwise, you come off as tone-deaf, insensitive or misaligned with the societal expectations.
And while I will NEVER be one to tell you to just do whatever everyone else is doing, I WILL tell you to stand for what you stand for.
To live by your brand values.
And if you're jumping on a bandwagon, or posting content just to post content, the people notice. And if your ideal clients have aligned themselves with something you're ignoring, you can bet they'll start ignoring you right back.
INTENTIONAL ACTION: STAND, DON'T CHASE
When there is something happening in a social, cultural, political or environmental context that's RELEVANT to your brand and what you do, it's your opportunity to take a stand for what you believe in. And if it means you blow up your content calendar to talk about something that deeply matters to you and your customers, then my all means, do it.
And if it's something that's not related to your platform of choice, intentionally choose not to address it. After all, no one person (or one business) can take a stand for everything. We're all out here taking a stand for what's most important to us.
So don't CHASE a narrative just because it's a hot topic. But DO show the world when you are aligned (or misaligned) with something that's going on in the world.
11. Prioritizing Flash Over Substance
This happens far too often still in Marketing. And primarily with brands that have LOTS of money. And because they're doing it, smaller businesses think that's what they should do too; they might even think they HAVE to do that to get to the size of these larger businesses.
But Flash will ALWAYS be short-term.
Substance is long-term.
And when you're budget dictates that you need to be meaningful with your efforts, then investing in Substance will always pay off, where that's not necessarily the case with Flash.
When we become more concerned with high-production visuals (I see you overly produced YouTube videos) and celebrity endorsements (influencer marketing is STILL super popular), we become detached from WHY we do what we do.
We become detached from our customers.
And that just creates the door for them to become detached from us as well.
And your campaigns might LOOK impressive; but they fail to create lasting impressions that inspire meaningful action.
INTENTIONAL ACTION: AIM TO INSPIRE
If the goal is to INSPIRE your customers; whether that's inspiring action, ideas, thoughts, connection, what-have-you, it allows you to stay in the zone of Togetherness. It allows you to stay focused on substance instead of flash.
It's one of the reasons I love live video. Because it's just YOU, in a conversation with your customers, sharing valuable information. It's not about YOU and how you look; it's about how you can serve. And what happens in real time, happens in real time. It can't help but show the real YOU, to allow you to inspire your customers how only you can ✨
12. Overpromising and Underdelivering
When Marketing efforts get TOO far away from the rest of the business, this can very easily happen. We're over here making grandiose promises that then can't be met in Sales, Operations, Customer Experience, Delivery, or anywhere else in the customer journey.
When our intention is to "promise the world" to "get customers at all cost", that cost actually ends up being pretty high; with regard to our reputation anyway.
Every promise you make in Marketing that can't be met is a hit against your reputation.
All you're creating is the opportunity for disillusioned customers.
Who are NEVER going to do business with you again.
And who will NEVER recommend you to their friends.
Oh, and you'll be lucky if they don't actively tell people NOT to do business with you.
Not worth it folks.
Yet surprisingly common in Marketing.
Perhaps because we think the rest of the company will just follow suit and keep the promises we're making. But if you're just going to cross your fingers and hope that will be true; I mean, I personally wouldn't risk my reputation on that.
Because it's almost impossible to recover.
INTENTIONAL ACTION: ALIGN, DON'T PROMISE
Have you ever had to break a promise you meant to keep?
Yeah, me too.
So, what if Marketing wasn't about making promises?
What if, instead, it was about aligning people.
About demonstrating our brand values and identifying the people who align with them.
In building relationships with those people.
And creating solutions for them that meet their needs.
Because that's what "we do here".
We solve people's problems.
Not because "we promise" to solve your problem.
But because we CARE enough about your problem to find a way to solve it.
I mean, that sounds like the type of people I want on MY team as a customer.
Because we've all had enough empty promises, right?
Bringing It All Together
We've covered 12 different ways that Marketing Programs go off the rails.
And 12 different Intentional Actions that can get you back on.
But at the end of the day, YOU have to choose.
What is your Marketing Program supposed to do for you?
Is it doing that?
And if not, how COULD it?
That's the most meaningful question you can ask yourself heading into 2025.
And if you'd like an Authentic Marketing Advisor to pressure test your answers (and resulting strategies) on, let's chat about it!
