A few weeks ago, I met with a business owner to create a minimalist marketing plan.
Last year, she paid a marketing consultant to come up with a plan of action. Thousands of dollars later, she had an eight-page plan with 19 different areas to focus on.
And not just 19 small steps or to-dos. A single area might be as large as: “pitch to podcasts and workshops.”
This business owner is a savvy marketer. But she hadn’t made any progress on this marketing plan. Not surprising.
Many other smart, capable business owners are also drowning in marketing advice. It’s like we have a garage full of tools, but can’t find any of them, because everything is a mess.
How can we cut through all this noise and choose the right things to do?
Why Most Marketing Plans Fail
I call it “the marketing wobble” — that cycle nearly every small organization goes through:
You know the dance: You realize you need marketing. You try ALL the marketing. You get too busy for marketing. Then suddenly — wait, where did all our clients go? Back to square one.
There are three main reasons marketing plans end up in the digital dumpster.
Muddy Goals
“We want to grow the business!”
Sure. And I want to “get in shape.” But until I define what that actually means (e.g., running a 5K, bench pressing my bodyweight, increasing flexibility…) — I’m not going to create a very effective plan.
Are you trying to attract higher-paying clients? Increase your monthly recurring revenue? Build authority in your niche?
Without this clarity, you’ll run around trying to accomplish everything.
Mismatched Marketing Activities
Even with clear direction, organizations often choose marketing activities that make zero sense for their business.
For example, I’ve met many roofing companies that feel they need to “get on social media.”
Let’s be honest — when was the last time you were scrolling through influencer content and pics of your friend’s new baby and thought, “You know what would make this better? Some shingle content!”
Your marketing activities need to match how your best clients find and choose you — and move you toward your specific goal.
Unrealistic Plans
This is the hidden reason many savvy business owners get stuck.
Most marketing advice comes from people who love marketing.
But if you’re like most business owners, marketing isn’t your passion. Trying to maintain an aggressive marketing plan with tasks you hate is a recipe for burnout and abandoned initiatives.
What makes a marketing plan successful?
Instead of trying to do everything (and ultimately doing nothing), successful marketing comes down to three essential questions:
- Goals: What do we actually, specifically aspire to do?
- Impact: Will this move the needle toward those goals?
- Behavior Design: Let’s be honest…will we do it?
How does this look in practice?
Meet Gary. (Well, fictional Gary — complete with cheesy AI headshot because why not?)
Gary owns a gym. His trainer Tina is amazing with clients but completely overwhelmed by the marketing tasks he’s dumped on her plate. Their goal is to increase higher-quality clients in the nearby business district.
Let’s examine some options they consider:
Run a 15% off coupon in a local mailer.
Behavior design: This is easy for them to do.
Impact: Ultra-low. None of their target market is looking at this mailer (plus Gary doesn’t want bargain hunters).
Run local Google Ads.
Impact: This is an excellent choice to meet their goals…at face value
Behavior design: …the problem is that Tina would rather do 100 burpees than figure out how to set up conversion tracking. And so she sets up these campaigns poorly. They start to leak money.
Create partnerships with local businesses.
Behavior design: Tina’s already got great relationships with local business leaders in her classes. Why not build on that? Create special corporate packages, get referrals flowing, and let Tina do what she naturally loves — connecting with people.
Impact: These partnerships target the right members AND incentivize them to sign up.
Win!
How to Choose Your Marketing Pathways
Minimalism isn’t always easy. Just like cleaning out your cluttered garage, things get messier before they get cleaner.
You have to lay everything out first before you know what you need to keep.
Step 1: Get specific about goals.
What do you really want to accomplish with your marketing?
Here are some different categories:
- One-time projects revenue
- Monthly recurring revenue
- Different types of clients
- Certain project types
- Industry recognition
- Workload
- Client retention
Step 2: Unload all of your marketing options.
First, list out everything you are doing. Then, list out all the other ideas that have been living (rent-free) in your head.
Some of the most effective small-business “marketing” looks a little more like sales or customer service. So don’t forget to include these activities too.
Step 3: Evaluate potential impact.
If you have reports, time to pull them out.
But if you don’t have in-depth analytics, don’t stress! You can still use your instincts to judge effectiveness.
Connection to Goals:
- Does this put you directly in front of your ideal clients?
- Will this help you attract the specific type of work you want?
- Does this position you the way you want to be known?
Evidence of Impact:
- Where do your current best clients come from?
- Does the platform work for your types of content?
- Have you seen this work well for other businesses? Why?
Growth Potential:
- Is this essential for building our brand in the long term?
- Could this create compounding results over time?
- Might this lead to other opportunities?
- Will this build valuable long-term assets?
Step 4: Design for reality.
Time to get honest.
Don’t shame yourself or your team members or get stuck on what you “should” want to do. It’s time to look at what you are good at and want to do.
Take the highest-impact activities and ask some of these questions:
- Do I want to do this?
- Do we have time to do this?
- Does this play to anyone’s natural strengths?
- Will this survive when things get busy?
- Does this energize or drain me?
- Can I delegate this?
- Is there a way to make myself want to do this?
Step 5: Choose your essential few.
Some of these marketing activities will naturally rise to the top. For others, it will become painfully obvious why they’ve been sitting on your to-do list for the past year.
Pick the top activities — fewer than you think you should. Then, sort them into:
- One-time projects to knock out
- Simple habits you can maintain
Remember: the goal isn’t to do as much marketing as possible — it’s to grow your business through focused, intentional effort (that you can actually maintain).
Celebrate your wins!
As you move through your marketing plan, remember to get excited about each little step you take.
As the wins compound, you can gain momentum and take bigger strides each time.
Just like with decluttering your home, you sometimes need an outside perspective to help you find clarity.
In my Marketing Pathways Workshop, we spend half a day digging into your business, mapping out all the possibilities, and then intentionally choosing the few right activities that will move you forward.
You walk away with a custom Minimalist Marketing Plan that works with your natural strengths, not against them. If you’re interested, I’d love to hear from you!