Why Doing “All the Right Marketing Things” Didn’t Grow My Business
The assumption I started with
For a long time, I believed what most business owners believe.
If sales stall, you market harder.
You hire a marketing agency.
You post more.
You chase likes, comments, and influencers.
So that’s what I did.
When visibility didn’t equal growth
We hired marketing firms that promised growth through visibility. They delivered content, engagement, and influencers who said nice things about our donuts.
Two problems showed up quickly.
Likes and followers didn’t increase sales.
Influencers were expensive, created a temporary spike, and delivered no real return.
Paying someone to say our donuts were good felt disingenuine. Worse, it didn’t work.
Nothing was broken. Nothing was retained.
Delegation that created more work
Next, I hired a marketing assistant.
The idea was simple. If I spelled everything out clearly enough, she could handle the daily work that was supposed to move the needle.
What actually happened was the opposite.
I approved every message.
I rewrote emails.
I followed up on posts.
I created SOPs and processes to support the role.
The workload increased. Not decreased.
If a system requires constant supervision, it’s not a system. It’s friction.
Asking a better question
At that point, I felt stuck.
I didn’t trust agencies.
Delegation wasn’t working.
Doing everything myself felt like the only option.
Instead of trying to execute better, I asked a different question.
Who knows what my customers need better than my customers?
What the data revealed
I sent a survey.
Not a fluffy one. A curated, intentional survey.
The responses didn’t trickle in. They poured in. Over 30 percent of customers responded.
What surprised me wasn’t road construction or traffic.
They were forgetting we existed.
Despite TikTok.
Despite Instagram.
We weren’t invisible. We were forgettable.
Removing the noise
When we asked customers what they actually wanted, the answer was simple.
Reminders.
Sent to their phones.
Text messages.
So we stopped trying to be noticed and started being remembered.
We created a small community text group. Customers joined. Gladly.
No agency.
No assistant.
No content calendar.
No video editing.
No influencers.
Just a few messages a week. Sent in seconds. Free.
Sales improved.
Time came back.
The noise disappeared.
The real lesson
Marketing got easier when we removed the parts that created drag.
This was addition by subtraction.
Most businesses don’t need better marketing. They need less marketing friction.
If growth requires more effort, more oversight, and more money, it’s often not broken. It’s dull.
Sometimes the most effective move isn’t adding more systems.
It’s removing what’s getting in the way.
Less.
But sharper.
If this felt familiar, it’s usually a sign that effort isn’t the problem. Friction is.
