Pipeline is thin and the pressure is on marketing to "do something," which usually means panicking and trying five new tactics at once.
Why this keeps coming up
Pipeline is thin and the pressure is on marketing to "do something," which usually means panicking and trying five new tactics at once.
The concrete approach
Step 1
Diagnose whether the slowdown is a marketing problem, a sales problem, or a market-wide trend before changing anything in the marketing plan.Skipping this step, or doing a half version of it, tends to look a lot like reacting to a slow quarter by scattering budget across many new, unproven tactics at once: a shortcut that feels harmless in the moment and shows up as a real cost later.
Step 2
Double down on what has historically worked rather than scattering budget across new, unproven tactics under pressure.Skipping this step, or doing a half version of it, tends to look a lot like blaming positioning or messaging for a slowdown that is actually a broader market trend or a sales execution issue: a shortcut that feels harmless in the moment and shows up as a real cost later.
Step 3
Increase focus on existing pipeline and past customers, where the cost of generating additional revenue is typically lower than new acquisition.Skipping this step, or doing a half version of it, tends to look a lot like ignoring existing pipeline and past customers in favor of chasing new acquisition exclusively: a shortcut that feels harmless in the moment and shows up as a real cost later.
Step 4
Resist the urge to change core messaging or positioning based on a single slow quarter, which is rarely a positioning problem alone.Skipping this step, or doing a half version of it, tends to look a lot like wasting a slower period instead of using it for foundational work that busier quarters never allow time for: a shortcut that feels harmless in the moment and shows up as a real cost later.
Use the slower period productively for foundational work
Use the slower period productively for foundational work, such as a content backlog, process documentation, and tooling cleanup, which is hard to prioritize during busier quarters.Skipping this step, or doing a half version of it, tends to look a lot like reacting to a slow quarter by scattering budget across many new, unproven tactics at once: a shortcut that feels harmless in the moment and shows up as a real cost later.
Where this goes wrong
- Reacting to a slow quarter by scattering budget across many new, unproven tactics at once.
- Blaming positioning or messaging for a slowdown that is actually a broader market trend or a sales execution issue.
- Ignoring existing pipeline and past customers in favor of chasing new acquisition exclusively.
- Wasting a slower period instead of using it for foundational work that busier quarters never allow time for.
How to tell it is actually working
Bottom line
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See Fracmo pricing →Keep reading
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