Back when I was leading advertising sales departments at local television stations in the Midwest, I’d periodically hear from business owners that advertising doesn’t work. They were usually in the retail or service business, and although I didn’t hear it frequently, it happened often enough that I remember those conversations.

Sixteen years ago (this month actually), I started my own marketing and advertising firm, and over the years, we started doing more business-to-business marketing work for clients. I got close to those clients and learned about their struggles and challenges. Periodically, a few of them would tell me marketing doesn’t work. They were trying to communicate with their current and former customers and didn’t think it was having an impact.

I couldn’t disagree more with this thought process.

In this world where measuring click-response interactions influence which marketing activities get prioritized and influencers drive advertising campaign success, I’m more convinced than ever that advertising and marketing work. In fact, they work great.

A Change2Make

There’s only one way to make an impact with your advertising and marketing investment. Stick with it. Be consistent.

Too many nonprofits, businesses, and medical practices have lost the heart for the process of winning new relationships with donors, customers, and patients. The average business owner starts to think advertising and marketing doesn’t work around the same time the target of their message is beginning to take notice. This is not the right time to stop or back away.

One former client comes to mind when I think about this topic.

They were a business-to-business services company that decided to terminate our relationship a little over a decade ago, after three years of working together. They said the marketing wasn’t working. Roanoke is a small city—maybe like the one you do business in—and word gets around. Four or five years after we had parted ways, two different MAJOR new clients of my former client mentioned that they were both doing business with the firm. It was years after the marketing outreach had started the awareness, but the connection was evident. And the efficacy of the campaign was clear.

It took years for the results of that campaign to jell.

My guess is that neither my previous client nor his two new clients would recall the ways their business relationships had started. I did. It was the marketing that started the process, and I’d stake my 16 years of doing this work (and my 35 plus years in advertising and marketing) that it was the marketing that was responsible for their business relationships.

Advertising works. So does marketing. Of this, I have absolutely no doubt. If you do, I’d welcome a one-on-one conversation and a chance to change your mind.

Big projects swallow us up and take our brain space. The normal person—even the high achievers—struggle to tackle the work that must get done. Whether it’s a writing assignment, submitting a grant request, or preparing a PowerPoint presentation for your boss or big client, we all face assignments that are all too easy to put off and deal with later.

We don’t start the work because we know it will take an hour (or four), and finding a chunk of time on an already crowded calendar feels as hard as doing the work itself. So, we put it off. Pretty soon, we’ve spent so much time wringing our hands and building up stress that the deadline is fast approaching. In the end, procrastinating only serves to make things more difficult.

Everyone struggles with their work at some point. Finding the right word or getting the spreadsheet cells to balance is hard no matter your industry. Getting the project finished just right or working through the times you get stuck in the middle of the assignment is hard enough.

Don’t let the start stop you.

A Change2Make

How much can you do in 15 minutes? That’s a good question. The answer is you can start. Often, that’s the headwind you face when given a job to do. Here’s the “I don’t have time to do this” hack that works—when I force myself to employ it! If you’re like me and starting is the hardest part, then set a timer for 10 minutes of that 15 that you have available and get a jump on that project.

It’s always easier to come back to work you’ve already begun—so begin. Get a start and set it aside for a later approach. Think of the time you will have saved stressing about this big work, get that 10- to 15-minute jump on it, and get going. Not only will you have chipped away at your to-do list, but you’ll quickly discover you’ve reduced your anxiety by just starting the assignment.

The projects you have in queue are hard enough to complete. There’s no need to add extra stress by procrastinating when you can carve out a few minutes and get started. That advice doesn’t just work for your professional life. This hack translates to any hard-to-complete task on your honey-do list at home, too.  

Get through the hardest part. Put that 15 minutes to good use. Start.

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We can all learn from others. No matter how old we get or how much experience we have professionally, there are lessons to be received.

Generally, I try to meet with people who are looking for work, deciding about career changes, or interested in internships. I like helping people as I have shared in previous B2Seed. I also reflect on how others have helped me when I was in tough spots professionally. It was in one of these sessions recently that I was taught a lesson by a junior at Roanoke College.

There I was encouraging her to enjoy her college years and to be careful not to rush through this fun, enlightening, and growth period of her life. I pointed out that people will pressure her to ask her what’s next. Then when she figures out what is next, they’ll ask her what’s next (after that). She’ll be thinking about the next thing for the rest of her life.

“Enjoy these years,” I said, and she acknowledged that.

Then she asked me to reflect on the past 15 years and to tell her what I was proud of during my time starting and running my own company. That question caught me off guard.

Break4Reflection and Pride 

It is hard for me to look back. As a business owner I think I am always looking forward – to the next new way, the next new client, the next growth plan, or new employee or new system. Onward is a part of what has helped me to survive the ups and downs of owning a company. Her question forced me to stop and think. What was I proud of accomplishing?

After a short time, I shared that I am most proud of the 13 Telly Awards we have won. Then I explained that it seems like most of my fellow agency owners seem to come from the creative side. I, on the other hand, was a sales manager in media, and besides from possessing a good aesthetic, I had no creative expertise. To win 13 of these prestigious awards verifies that my company and I are fully capable of producing excellence.

People expect great client service, helpful advice, solid direction, and engaging creative. We deliver on those fronts and I’m proud of all of that. Extremely proud. But when forced to give an answer, I stand by those Telly Awards – they feel validating and motivate me to be sure that our best work is still in front of us – onward.

Can you learn from this junior in college too? Pause right now and answer the question; what are you most proud of professionally? I’d love to hear from you if you’d like to respond and tell me your story.

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Over and over in meetings with scores of clients, I’ve shared that branding should be aspirational.  It shouldn’t only represent what you are as a company or an institution, it should also reflect what you want it to be.  Through the years I’ve seen how a weak or disconnected brand can work as a deterrent to organizational growth and stability. There is confusion. Actually, pride in the work can be diminished when the branding doesn’t reflect the company.

Once solid visual and descriptive messaging is united, there is an unseen power at work.  Employees, stakeholders, and clients who know who you are, understand what your mission is, and how to best communicate it are able to take an organization to the next level.  You become a unifying force.  It’s like momentum.  Momentum can be one of the hardest things in the world to achieve, but when it is present, it’s really easy to spot.  

People unite behind strong branding and that process speeds growth and fuels consistent expansion.

How It Fit4One Special Client

Rarely do I recognize specific 5Points Creative clients in these articles, but I must make an exception.  Last fall I was at a fundraiser for Healing Strides where, once again, I heard the message they have been sharing for years.  It was five years to the day since we revealed their new branding and tagline. Though I had been around it and seen it for half a decade, there was something special about experiencing the brand in action on this particular night.  The logo design communicates how the horse and human are connected and the impact that bond can have for people in need.  The tagline copy – Horses Inspiring Hope - was aspirational five plus years ago.  For me, it has become real life and practical, and yet, it remains aspirational.  

Before we came along, in 2019, the work was being done.  The story was being told, and so much was going right for Healing Strides.  Once the branding arrived it gave this equine therapy organization both a foundation, and a catapult, to more goodness and service. The power of the transformation was amazing.

This is how it’s supposed to work.  Branding should represent what your organization is, while at the same time be the driving factor in getting it where you want it to be going forward.

I’ve seen Healing Strides double in size in its ability to help others, as they touch a wide range of people who are going through personal challenges.  I’m honored to serve with others on their Board of Directors and I’ve greatly enjoyed watching their evolution as a strong, successful, regional nonprofit that uses branding the way it’s supposed to be used.

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Recently, our team has been reflecting on 2009. They’ve been taking a close look at the changes that have occurred over the past 15 years. Particular attention is being paid to how these new tools and techniques have impacted our creative process and the way we help our clients reach their target audiences with high-impact marketing communications.

A lot has happened in 15 years.

Twitter became X.  The iPhone, invented in 2007, was gaining a little traction when I started my company and now has become the dominant player.  Google Ads went from being a useful help to a primary driver for so many businesses.  Along came Instagram and Stories became a thing.  Back in the aughts we used Flip cameras and posted our short videos on Vine.  

Change takes place rapidly – not just in the advertising industry – but everywhere.  Nowadays, AI and the ways new developments impact commerce and creativity, make you fully aware of the fact that change occurs faster than most of us can imagine.  That’s the constant – change is happening.

How2Integrate New Things

All this newness around us, and the tools that go with it, also impact the way we run our business.  

For example, we now have a backend software solution at our agency to handle billing, media buying, creative project development, and timekeeping.  A far cry from my collection of spreadsheets and dining room table computations.  When I started 5Points Creative’s original company, we were excited we could buy targeted digital advertisements for our clients.  Now, we have our own dashboard, nearly a dozen new tools at our disposal, and more ways to reach those hard-to-reach prospects than I could possibly squeeze into this insight.

Change is everywhere and it’s coming at us fast.  Part of me wants to personally stay on top of everything.  The rest of me acknowledges it’s better to have these systems and tools at our disposal - surround myself with people who excel at what they do as experts in their area - and keep me informed along the way.  

So many things have changed since 2009, but our end goals remain the same.  By incorporating these new tools, techniques, and tactics with those used when our company was launched in 2009, we have a powerful recipe for reaching people and doing it most efficiently as we approach 2025.

So many organizations and departments create budgets based on what was spent the prior year. The start is based on expenses in the current year and then perhaps forecasted revenue in the new year to formulate a plan.  

On the other hand, ownership usually likes to budget for an increase in net profit. That means most companies determine what they need to spend and then build up their revenue figures based on the marketplace, new products, additional personnel, or other hopeful and optimistic perspectives.

Through my years in broadcasting sales, every company told me they had a unique and proprietary way to budget for the new year. Then, when I was told their approach, it was easy to see the new company’s process was pretty much the same as my previous station group’s.

This year, if it fits within corporate structure or what you’ve used for years, I’d like to encourage you to try something new. This budget season, I challenge you to budget with an outcome in mind.  

 Basically, there are two ways to increase your company’s revenue each year:

·      Drawing Power – pull in more people to do business with you during the new year.

·      Selling Power – convince people who do business with you to invest more and increase their spending.

 There’s nothing magical about this approach. Simple math creates the results. You have to secure more new customers, or current customers have to spend more. That’s the easy part. Getting it to happen is where the work begins.

MakeAdvertising and Marketing a Way2ReachThose Objectives

It’s an age-old axiom that “if you aim for nothing, you are sure to get it.” So, here’s where marketing supports your organization’s revenue expansion.

First, decide to invest dollars in a calculated way that aligns with your goal. If you want a 20% sales increase in new customers, begin by investing 20% more than you did in 2024 in outreach advertising with the expressed goal of securing new business. Then, with the right marketing professionals in your corner, you can turn your budget into practical investments executed to help you meet your increased sales goal.

Likewise, if you want current clients to increase spending by 10% in 2025, then design a plan to create tactics ensuring that will happen. Invest in a client relationship management (CRM) solution, send a regular newsletter, or integrate a marketing automation program. Also, increase the amount of time account managers regularly connect with your clients. Be sure to provide them with practical training on how to share helpful ideas, and how to ask the right questions when on client calls.  

The magic isn’t in the goal of increased sales or the hope of a better 2025. It’s in the detailed way you and your team plan on increasing your drawing and selling power.

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