Your marketing needs a purpose, too

The most common marketing gripe I hear is not “this isn’t working.” 

It’s a little worse than that. 

Most CEOs and marketing leaders, when I ask them how they feel about their marketing, give me some paraphrase of “we do too much for too little result.” 

➡️ They’re hustling too hard placing calls or making content, or 

➡️ They’re spending too much for the leads they get, or 

➡️ They feel like the important results are buried in glut of data their platforms (or their agencies!) bombard them with. 

For many, marketing is a black box AND a black hole. 

They’re not sure what’s going on inside that agency or on that ad platform. But it sure does keep sucking money. 

YOU MADE ME FEEL SHINY AND NEW

It’s tough to solve this problem on your own – so lots of companies don’t. They know they have to market, so they pay and post and spin the hamster wheel and stay dissatisfied. 

And then: The Next Idea. 

Someone reads about another tactic: AI can do outreach! Tiktok has a store! My buddy’s company geotargets clients when they get within two blocks of his competitor! 

That seems worth a try.

Our brains get high on new ideas, which may be part of why so many companies switch their agencies every two years and add another tactic every time their youngest intern tells them what the kids are into. A new possibility brings new dopamine. This time, it just might work! 

It doesn’t work. 

The black box grows; the black hole gets more vacuous. Marketing gets more pricey, more busy and more confusing. Results stay mostly “meh.”

If you’ve been there, this piece is for you. I want to argue that if marketing seems directionless, uncertain, underwhelming – yet another tactic isn’t going to fix that. 

Because marketing tactics aren’t the problem. 

You are. 

I’LL STARE DIRECTLY AT THE SUN BUT NEVER IN A MIRROR

In the movie High Fidelity, flawed main character Rob Gordon has moved from relationship to failed relationship. 

Rob owns a record store. He is a gifted critic – both of music and, alas, of people. But he can’t create. And he can’t see why every woman he dates winds up dumping him. 

We might be worse. Novelist Nick Hornby created Rob in the mid-90s, before people scrolled from dopamine hit to dopamine hit on social media feeds much of the day. 

In 2026, we’re more conditioned to seek out the new than even Rob was. 

But “new” does not mean improved. Rob realizes this when he revisits past relationships to find out why they ended. He can only find one common factor. 

Rob himself’s the problem. 

Rob is awful. He resists commitment, dodges growth, avoids connection. He discusses art and music but refuses to discuss himself. He barely knows himself. 

Your company’s probably not this bad. But if your marketing tactics multiply and fade like mayflies, it may be because your marketing doesn’t really know you. 

You keep doing what you think you should. You follow others. You don’t market like yourself. 

Your company has a purpose. 

And your marketing needs to have one, too. 

POP QUIZ, HOTSHOT

The point of marketing is to (pick one): 

➡️ Build trust 

➡️ Get noticed and remembered 

➡️ Get leads to contact us 

➡️ Get buyers to choose us 

Pick your answer (I don’t care which!), then ask the next question. 

Why do you deserve their trust? 

Why would they notice and remember? Why should they reach out? What reason would they have for choosing you? 

These questions are much harder because they’re about your business – as it is, or as it ought to be – and not some other business. Your team’s answers are your answers. 

Once you have them, you may realize you’re not playing the same game as every other business in your industry. 

And if you’re not playing the same game, you probably shouldn’t be running the same plays, either. 

BUSINESS, KNOW THYSELF

My favorite High Fidelity line: “What really matters is what you like, not what you ARE like.” 

It’s Rob Godon’s issues in a dozen words; he really thinks it’s better to know every album and artwork in history than to know himself. 

It’s not. Your self is all you’ve actually got to offer.

If your marketing’s not a win, consider that your company may be running other people’s plays from other people’s games. Marketing with purpose doesn’t mean you post about your “why” or advertise your ethics – it just means you’re clear on what makes your company unique. 

Stop following. 

List what makes you special. Then tell yourself 3 or 4 stories about how these advantages could translate to success as you’ve defined it. What would have to happen? What would have to be true? 

Choose the story that seems most likely to become true. That’s your strategy. 

And it will drive marketing more effectively than swapping agencies or chasing dopamine hits ever will. eery 6 to 18 months. 

And if you are the problem – then you’re going to be your best solution too. 

I’m piloting a one-day strategy offer right now. Curious? Hit reply and write “strategy.” I’ll send details.