Failed campaigns: When to admit defeat

That’s the funny thing about digital marketing: there just aren’t any guarantees in this business.

You can have a shrewd strategy. You can read every conceivable data point. And you can kill it in content. And even then, your campaign could still fail.

So what do you do? For one, as the headline suggests, you admit defeat. Luckily, what happens next isn’t as dramatic and final as it might seem.

Dust yourself off

If your campaign has failed to give you ROI, it’s important to step back, take a breath, and keep something in mind.

It’s this: this is the internet we’re talking about. As digital and data-driven as it is, behind it all is still that ever-mystifying creature, the human being. In other words, it’ll never be 100 percent predictable – and social media is probably the best example of why that’s true.

This is probably why, as Stargazer Digital says, “good inbound marketing companies don’t guarantee results.”

Why you shouldn’t give up

First, maybe consider that your campaign isn’t truly dead. Check out this Entrepreneur list of seven ways to correct a failing marketing strategy.

Secondly, make a lesson out of your stumbles. Next time you launch, say, a social media campaign, you might consider starting small (i.e. keeping your budget in check). Because that’s the beauty of a good digital marketing strategy: if done right, and at the right time, you can reap huge rewards for very little.

Third, as Focus 4 points out, what happens with the data insights you get from your digital marketing consultants is ultimately “in the hands of the sales team” – that is, your sales team.

Finally, remember that a little education never hurt. Start reading blogs and industry publications. A great place to start would be this Forbes article on the digital marketing mistakes to avoid.

Wait, you want me to read?

We realize you don’t always have time to do the research on your own, especially if you’re trying to get a small business off the ground. We can totally relate. So if this is the case, Fluency Digital would love to hear from you. Reach out to us today for a FREE consultation.