02/12/2026
As a business owner, your growth problem isn't that you're not implementing enough marketing tactics.
The problem is you're implementing tactics without strategic purpose.
I was auditing a website a few months back. Great email sign-up form. So I subscribed.
Days and then weeks went by. Nothing.
When I asked about it, the business owner told me "An expert said I needed an email list to grow my business. So I added the form. But I almost never send emails."
Here's what nobody talks about:
Most marketing advice fails business owners. Because most marketing advice focuses on the WHAT without the WHY.
→ "You need to be on LinkedIn"
→ "Build an email list"
→ "Start a podcast"
→ "Do video"
→ "Post 3x per week"
All potentially good, and maybe even great, advice. But without a strategic foundation, these tactics sit there like logs placed 10 feet from your campfire. Sure, they're good firewood. But they're not helping your fire burn.
The solution isn't more advice.
It's better understanding.
Because with better understanding, you're more likely to use the tactic or can easily filter it out as something not right for your business (at least not right now).
Ask: Beyond "growing my business," what specific purpose does this serve? How does this connect to my other efforts? What value am I actually providing?
Without those answers, even the best "expert advice" can easily become wasted effort. Logs you've spent time and energy collecting. But never put on your fire.
Stop collecting tactics. And start building strategy.
What's one marketing tactic you implemented that's sitting there doing nothing? (No judgment. We've all been there.)
