Trying to Fix Marketing Before Deciding How the Business Actually Grows

When the Brief Sounds Like Marketing but Isn’t

Last week, I sat in what was meant to be a fairly typical marketing conversation. The expectation going in was straightforward. We would talk about campaigns, content, channels, and timelines. It was supposed to be the kind of discussion that focuses on execution, one where decisions can be made quickly and translated into action just as quickly.

But within the first few minutes, the direction of the conversation changed completely.

You see, the thing is, the business did not have a marketing problem. At least, not in the way it initially appeared. The real issue sat further upstream, in a place that marketing could not meaningfully influence on its own.

The business had not yet decided how it wanted to grow.

And that uncertainty was not immediately obvious because, on the surface, there were plenty of ideas, things like multiple audiences being considered and different offers being explored. There was really no shortage of ambition or opportunity. If anything, there was too much of it.

And that is often where the issue begins.

The Cost of Multiple Directions

At a glance, having multiple growth options can feel like a strength. It suggests flexibility, adaptability, and a business that is responsive to opportunity. In reality, however, it often creates a level of ambiguity that makes progress harder rather than easier, because each potential direction carries its own set of implications. A shift in audience changes the message. A change in offer alters how the business positions itself. Even small adjustments at a strategic level ripple through to execution in ways that are not always immediately visible.

Marketing sits directly downstream from these decisions.

When the direction is unclear, marketing cannot anchor itself to anything stable. It begins to stretch, attempting to accommodate multiple possibilities at once. Messaging becomes broader in an effort to remain relevant across different audiences. Targeting becomes less precise because the definition of the customer is still fluid. Activity continues, but it lacks a clear centre.

And the first way in which the impact of such a lack of focus surfaces is as underperformance.

Why It Looks Like a Marketing Problem

When outcomes do not match expectations, the instinct is to look at what is most visible. In most cases, that is the marketing.

Campaigns are reviewed. Messaging is adjusted. New channels are introduced. Budgets are increased or reallocated. These are all reasonable responses, particularly when viewed in isolation.

However, (and here's the kicker) they operate within the boundaries set by the broader business direction. If that direction is not clearly defined, improvements at the marketing level can only go so far.

So, yes, the problem begins to feel like one of execution because that's what we can see and what we can measure, but in reality, it is one of alignment.

Leads may be coming in, but they are not the right fit. Engagement may be present, but it does not translate into meaningful action. The volume of activity increases, yet the outcomes remain inconsistent.

And while the results might not be what we're looking for, at least something is happening, so the natural response at this point is to do more.

The Illusion of Progress Through Activity

When businesses get to this point, there's a particular kind of momentum I often see building... one driven by effort rather than direction.

On the surface, what's happening looks like progress. More content is produced. Additional campaigns are launched. New ideas are tested in the hope that something will begin to resonate. There is movement, output, and a visible sense of work being done.

But underneath that, there is still no direction, and without a clear direction, it becomes difficult to measure whether any of this activity is actually working. Success becomes loosely defined (if at all), and decisions take longer because there is no consistent framework to guide them. What ultimately happens is that confidence in the work begins to erode, even as the volume of work increases.

Where the Work Actually Needs to Happen

Once a business gets to this point, they need to stop, and the focus needs to move back to the decisions that marketing depends on, because simply doing more is not going to change the trajectory.

The decisions that marketing depends on are not complex in structure, but they require focus and commitment.

For marketing to have a clear direction, the business needs to decide on three things: it needs to determine who it is focusing on, it needs to define what growth looks like over a specific period of time (rather than in abstract or long-term terms), and it needs to choose a direction to commit to, even when other viable options exist.

This is where many businesses hesitate, because committing to one path means deprioritising others, and it introduces a level of constraint that can feel limiting, particularly in environments where opportunity is abundant.

Yet it is precisely that constraint that allows meaningful progress to take place.

What Changes When Direction Becomes Clear

Once these decisions are made, the impact on marketing is immediate and noticeable.

Messaging becomes more focused because it is written for a defined audience with a specific need. Targeting becomes more accurate because the business knows who it is trying to reach. Activities can be prioritised based on their relevance to the chosen direction, rather than spread thinly across multiple possibilities.

Even the way results are measured begins to change, because success is no longer vague or open to interpretation. Success is tied to a clear objective, which makes performance easier to assess and improve over time.

And if there's one thought I would like to emphasise here, it is that doing this does not require more effort. In many cases, it requires less. The difference lies in alignment.

A Final Thought on the Role of Marketing

There is a tendency to view marketing as the lever that drives growth, regardless of the context it operates in. In practice, its role is more dependent than that.

Marketing can amplify a defined direction. It can accelerate progress when the underlying strategy is sound. It can bring structure and consistency to how a business shows up in the market.

What it cannot do is compensate for a lack of direction.

When the path forward is undefined, marketing reflects that uncertainty. When the path is defined, marketing becomes significantly more effective, often without any increase in activity.

Until that direction is clearly defined, it’s very easy to stay busy without actually moving forward.