Amy spoke at the Beers & Biz B2B Networking Event about a topic that matters to every mid-market business: Stop Wasting Resources on Bad Marketing.
Too often, companies find themselves trapped in marketing that looks busy, feels expensive, and delivers little real impact. It pulls valuable resources away from where they could be making a difference. Every business deserves marketing that drives real growth, not marketing that drains time, energy, and budget without results.
If you’ve ever wondered why your marketing efforts aren’t translating into business results, you’re not alone. Here’s how to recognize bad marketing, what effective marketing looks like, and how to start making the shift.
What is Bad Marketing?
Bad marketing isn’t always obvious at first. It often hides behind a flurry of activity (social posts, email blasts, sponsorships, events, etc.) but it shares some clear warning signs.
Indicators of bad marketing are when leaders ask questions like:
- “Which half of our marketing budget is a waste?”
- “What do you mean by measuring marketing?”
When these questions surface, it’s a clear sign that marketing feels disconnected, unaccountable, and ineffective.
Bad marketing shows up when:
- There’s no connection to business goals. Marketing activities are launched without clarity on how they support growth priorities.
- Activity is mistaken for impact. Teams are “checking boxes” rather than building strategic momentum.
- Success is measured by outputs, not outcomes. How many emails were sent? How many events were sponsored? Instead of whether those activities moved the needle.
- Resources are scattered across too many disconnected efforts. Spreading thin leads to minimal results everywhere.
At its heart, bad marketing wastes more than money, it wastes energy, time, and opportunity.
What is Good (Effective) Marketing?
Effective marketing is about being strategic, aligned, and business-driven. We define good marketing by five key drivers that work together to create real momentum:
- Brand Strength: A strong, clear brand that is consistently communicated inside and outside the organization.
- Customer and Market Focus: A deep understanding of your Ideal Target, their needs, the market forces at play, and a focus on serving them better than anyone else.
- Business-Driving Plans: Clear, actionable marketing plans that are directly tied to business goals and focused on delivering measurable results.
- Communication Effectiveness: Messaging that is simple, consistent, and connects with customers across every touchpoint.
- Organizational Alignment: A company-wide understanding of marketing’s role, with collaboration across leadership, sales, and marketing teams.
It’s no longer about “hoping” marketing works, it’s about setting it up so it does. Effective marketing builds confidence across the organization.
How to Get Better at Marketing (and Become More Effective)
If you want to stop wasting resources and start developing marketing that drives business growth, evaluate your marketing against the key drivers outlined above. You can take our quick Marketing Effectiveness Assessment here.
Most organizations find room for improvement in these two areas:
Business-Driving Plans
- Align your marketing to business goals. Every marketing effort should support a clear business priority.
- Communicate the plan across the organization. Make sure leadership, sales, and marketing teams are aligned – not just the marketing team.
- Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs). Know what success looks like and measure it consistently.
- Regularly analyze and adjust. Stay flexible by reviewing results, learning from them, and refining your approach as needed.
Organizational Alignment
Even the best marketing plan will fall short if the organization isn’t aligned behind it.
- Clarify ownership and execution. Who is responsible for each part of the marketing plan?
- Connect teams to the strategy. Everyone should understand not just what they are doing, but why it matters to the business.
Clear plans and organizational alignment will turn good intentions into real growth.
Final Thought
Effective marketing isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons. When you focus on marketing effectiveness, you create clarity, build momentum, and stop wasting resources on activities that don’t serve your goals.