The most common reason marketing doesn't work is simply a lack of commitment in the long-term.

Marketing results don't happen overnight. No matter which channels, strategies and tactics you are focused on, you will have to learn, adapt and improve your approach in order to see a predictable ROI. This takes time.

Building successful marketing systems is challenging and you will likely need to pivot in many respects to generate the outcome you are hoping for. This means that you will likely be losing money on your investments in the short term. This is the cost of learning what doesn't work so you can figure out what does work.

The fact that marketing results often take many months to return strong positive ROI is typically the reason small businesses and startups abandon their marketing efforts after 1-6 months.

Marketing is a leg work game. You can't set it and forget it. You can't just sit back and be lazy with it. You need to be actively engaged in marketing to get meaningful results.

In my experience, this is more than what most small businesses and startups are able to do. They usually lack the commitment, patience or resources to do this.

Understand that marketing is mostly about disciplined experimentation, learning and investment over time.

Invest in your learning and be patient.

If you stay focused and committed, you will reap the rewards down the line.

We all want the same thing.

To feel that the people on the other side genuinely care about us and will do what is necessary to make sure we are taken care of.

Great products, great brands, great marketing, and great teams are built on a genuine desire to make sure that the people you interact with are benefitting beyond their own investment of time, money and energy.

The ability to make others feel like they are "coming out on top" may be the ultimate game of success.

Too often our focus is internal, which causes us to think short-term and underinvest in the things that really matter to others. We look for shortcuts, hacks, and tricks to outsmart people and the market. Most of the time, we just outsmart ourselves.

Thinking and acting from a place of genuine care is hard because it requires us to think much more about what others want than what we want. When it comes to friends and family, this seems to come more naturally than when it's strangers we have no prior connection to.

If you want to build a great brand and develop better relationships, try to align yourself with the people you serve more and more each day.

If you genuinely care about them, you will work harder (and smarter) to ensure they are getting much more than they are giving. As a result you'll have the opportunity to make them feel like they are coming out on top and can reap the benefits.

The first touch is easy. Literally anyone can purchase a visit to their website predictably and reliably using any of Google or Meta's ad products.

The question is, can you get them to come back?

In a world where we have unlimited forms of entertainment in our pocket, boring doesn't cut it anymore.

If you want to win people over and grab their attention, you need to avoid being boring and predictable.

Too many of us are afraid to embrace weirdness and take risks with how we approach marketing, but the downside of half-assed, predictable marketing strategies may be greater than taking some calculated risks and bringing some playfulness into our approach.

Don't forget, the market for attention is hyper-saturated and is getting more competitive every day.

If you want to stand out, you have to do something different than everyone else.

Might as well try having a bit more fun with it.