Are you overpacking your marketing? 5 questions to bring greater focus

When marketing isn’t delivering the result you hoped for, the instinct can be to add more. More channels, more campaigns and more messages.

But more activity does not necessarily mean better results.

Think about the last time you packed for a holiday. You’re excited. You can’t wait. But there’s one job still hanging over you: packing.

For some reason we can feel the need to prepare for every eventuality. Before long, the suitcase is bulging at the seams, the zip is struggling and you’re sitting on top of it just to get it closed.

Then you arrive home and realise half of its contents never left the suitcase.

Marketing can work in much the same way. Sometimes you think you have to reach every audience with the same message. But adding more can increase the workload without actually solving the problem or achieving the outcomes you really want.

When the problem is unclear, the best place to start isn’t by doing more. It’s by asking the right questions and getting to the nub of what you really need.

Here’s a checklist to bring greater focus to your marketing:

What problem are we actually trying to solve?
Establish the real commercial, organisational or communication challenge.
Who needs to think, feel or do something differently?
Stand in the shoes of your audience. What matters to them Focus on what they need, rather than what you want them to like.
What is stopping them?
Identify the barriers. These might include awareness, trust, understanding, relevance or ease.
What is already working? What isn’t working? What could work better?
Assess your strengths, weaknesses and options, using real insight. Just because something looks and feels more exciting doesn’t necessarily mean it will be more effective.
What do we want our audience to do next?
Make sure your activity leads somewhere. Decide what action you want people to take and how you will keep them engaged afterwards.

Imagine how good it feels to head off on holiday with a lighter suitcase, only containing a few carefully chosen items.

Now apply the same discipline to your marketing: leave behind what adds little value and make more room for what could genuinely deliver results.