We spend on marketing and can't tell what it's doing

Most reports are built from whatever a platform shows by default. One question separates useful numbers from noise: if this doubled tomorrow, would we change what we do?

Try this first

1. Take your latest report and write yes or no next to each number using that question. Keep the yeses.

2. Pull three months of spending by channel and ask whether you can trace any actual sales to each one.

3. For each channel, ask what you would really lose if it disappeared tomorrow.

4. Track one number for each stage from first contact to sale, and record where things stand before your next campaign.

How you'll know it's working: you can name the channels producing customers, and your reports change your decisions.

Go deeper

• You're Spending $5K a Month on Marketing. Do You Know Which Half Is Wasted?

• 3 Marketing Measurement Quick Wins

• Why Your Website Traffic Means Nothing

• The B2B Marketing Reality Check, Chapter 10

A budget is easier to defend when you stop talking about channels and start talking about what each investment produced. The person holding the budget cares about results, not clicks.

Try this first

1. Sort your spending into tiers by its effect on the business, starting with your top three channels or campaigns.

2. For each one, write a short account of what you spent and what it produced.

3. Put it all on one page.

4. Remove any number that doesn't matter to the person making the decision.

How you'll know it's working: budget conversations turn to specific investments and their returns.

Go deeper

• Why Your Marketing Budget Feels Like a Black Hole

• 4 Marketing Measurement Quick Wins: Report Results That Leadership Actually Cares About

• The B2B Marketing Reality Check, Chapter 11

A plan fails when everything in it is fixed. Keep your direction steady for the year and let your tactics change every quarter.

Try this first

1. Write a one-page direction for the year: who you serve, what you're known for and the result you want.

2. Plan your activity in 90-day cycles, with only a few priorities in each.

3. Choose a few early indicators and review them weekly.

4. At the end of each quarter, drop what didn't work and move that money and time elsewhere.

How you'll know it's working: you can change tactics without starting the plan over.

Go deeper

• Your 2026 Marketing Plan Is Already Obsolete

• Why Your Marketing Strategy Is Just Wishful Thinking

• The B2B Marketing Reality Check, Chapter 8

When channels underperform, the cause is often coordination. You don't need a new platform to fix that. A shared document and a short weekly check-in will go a long way.

Try this first

1. Put everything planned for the next 30 days on one shared calendar.

2. Before each campaign, write down four things: the problem, the audience, the single message and the one action you want.

3. Make a checklist of where each announcement gets repeated, such as email, social, your website and sales.

4. Spend 15 minutes a week reviewing the calendar with whoever is involved.

How you'll know it's working: someone seeing your email, website and social posts in the same week would get the same message.

Go deeper

• 3 Marketing Integration Quick Wins: Stop Running Disconnected Campaigns

• 4 Marketing Integration Quick Wins: Connect Your Tools Without a 6-Month IT Project

• Why Your Marketing Feels Like Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall

• The B2B Marketing Reality Check, Chapter 9

Every new commitment is paid for with time and money you're already using somewhere. Deciding what to stop is often more useful than deciding what to add.

Try this first

1. List your marketing activities and ask of each: if we weren't already doing this, would we start it today?

2. Pick one thing to stop. Write it down, tell one person and assign the freed-up time to something specific.

3. Put your effort where your buyers already are. One channel done well beats five done occasionally.

4. Try anything new at a small scale first, and decide in advance what result would justify more.

How you'll know it's working: you're doing fewer things, and you can say why each one is worth doing.

Go deeper

• Before You Spend Your First Marketing Dollar, Read This

• GEO Compounds SEO: How to Fund Both in 2027

• The Startup Reality Check, Chapters 13 and 19

We don't spend much. Is this still worth doing?

Yes. The smaller the budget, the more each dollar matters. A basic review of your spending takes about 90 minutes.

Do we need an analytics tool?

No. A spreadsheet and your existing sales records are enough to start.

What if we can't trace sales back to marketing?

Start by asking every new customer how they found you. A rough answer you keep improving is better than none.