Avoid These 7 Deadly Sins When Building a Tech Consulting Marketing Plan! Then, Follow the Path to Redemption (included below). Tech consulting firms must have effective marketing if they want to accelerate growth. Effective marketing begins with a plan. Unfortunately, many firm leaders fail at planning for these 7 reasons. 😈 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Ignoring your responsibility to create your marketing plan doesn’t improve anything: You can’t ignore planning. Doing so will ensure you feel time pressure to complete your plan, making compromise more likely. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Just start. The first step leads to the second. 😈 𝗜𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Not analyzing and understanding past marketing performance and results removes the ability to make data-based decisions. Data from the past provides valuable insight. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Use the 5QQ framework (prior post) to analyze past performance and identify improvement areas. 😈 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Your plan is not an island! A marketing planning effort that excludes sales, customer success, and other areas of your tech consulting firm will diminish the plan's quality and effectiveness. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Collaborate with sales, product, customer success, and other teams to gain insight, input, and alignment. 😈 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Being too “generic” produces a weak plan. Your marketing plan must be detailed because it allocates time, money, and effort. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Include detailed goals, calendars, budgets, and campaigns in your plan. 😈 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Do not get caught up in shiny objects, the latest MarTech pitches, or efforts to produce vanity metrics. Your plan should align with the firm's business goals. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Concentrating on creating a quality plan will amplify its value. Set aside the appropriate time necessary to produce your plan. 😈 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Assuming you know your ideal customer, their needs, wants, and behavior, your planning will be more challenging and less effective. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Ensure you have updated strategic elements (ICP, channel, content performance, etc.) and include those in your planning. 😈 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Striving to create the perfect plan will prolong your efforts and prevent you from completing the plan and getting on with execution. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Realize that a plan is only valuable if executed. Get comfortable with a level of done that is effective but not perfect. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗺? ➡️ Becoming your marketing leader (fractional CMO). ➡️ Defining and implementing your marketing strategy. ➡️ Translating your strategy into a marketing plan for success.
Awesome stuff, David! Your breakdown of the '7 Deadly Sins' is both insightful and practical. The tip about not getting distracted by shiny objects really resonated with me. Keep up the great work!
"7 deadly sins" — love that title!
David, It's like you're the marketing version of a therapist, pointing out our deepest fears and offering a path to redemption. A quote that comes to mind is, Don't let perfect get in the way of good. It perfectly sums up the "Perfection" sin. Sometimes, a plan that's 80% there is better than a perfect one that's never finished.
Senior Technology Leader | Ex-Microsoft | Ex-Salesforce | US Citizen | 10+ Years in Salesforce | Proven Record in Leading Complex Projects | Passionate About Delivering Business Value thru Cutting-Edge Technology
4moThank you for this post! You nailed it—waiting too long to act can be risky. From my experience, it’s better to start with clear goals and work with your team to build a solid plan, even if it’s not perfect. Execution matters more than perfection. Thanks for sharing these valuable points!