Not every game goes the way we want
If you’re a Packers fan like me, you know that not every game goes the way we want. Take the game against the Vikings I’m watching right now for example. The Packers are down 28-7 at halftime, and things are not looking good. It can be quite frustrating when your favorite team gives their best, but the scoreboard tells a very different story. The same thing happens in marketing at times. Despite putting in time, effort, planning, and resources, your campaign can fall short, and you’re left wondering what went wrong.
Just like a football team might need to adjust the game plan after the first half, businesses can’t afford to sit back and continue with the game plan as is when their marketing campaigns underperform. When a marketing plan isn’t working,iInstead of giving up, it’s time to analyze, adjust, and get back on track. There are a few key steps to take to turn around a poor-performing marketing plan to help drive business success.
Assess the Situation
If the team is losing going into half time, the team needs to take a hard look at what’s gone wrong so far in the game. In marketing, we need to do the same thing when our campaigns don’t perform as planned.
The first step is to start by reviewing your key metrics: traffic, engagement, conversion rates, and performance across different marketing channels. Did your social media posts get the expected likes and engagement? Did your email newsletters result in clicks? Possibly even more importantly, take a detailed look at how visitors are interacting with your website. Is your site easy to navigate? Do potential customers find the information they needed quickly, or did they leave after just a few seconds?
Your website could be part of the reason your campaign fell short. Maybe it loaded too slowly, or maybe the user experience didn’t match the expectations set by your ads. If your website isn’t delivering on its promises, it’s like having a weak offensive line—no matter how good the rest of your marketing is, things are going to break down.
Make Halftime Adjustments: Pivoting Your Strategy
When the Packers head back onto the field after halftime, I hope they’re armed with new plays and strategies to turn things around. Your marketing should be no different. If something isn’t working, it’s time to pivot and change to a new approach.
Look at the data you gathered and decide where adjustments need to be made. Do you need to shift your messaging? Are you targeting the right audience? Perhaps a particular channel, like paid ads, isn’t performing as expected, and you need to allocate more budget to social media or SEO.
At the same time, make sure your website is in alignment with any changes you’re making. If you’re tweaking your strategy, your website might need an update too. Are your landing pages reflecting the new messaging? Is your content still relevant and optimized for the keywords you’re targeting? It’s crucial that your website evolves with your marketing efforts to stay competitive.
Strengthen Your Offense: Driving Engagement Through Your Website
In football, a strong offense is critical to winning the game. In marketing, your offense is how you engage and convert potential customers through your digital presence, and your website plays a starring role.
If your marketing campaign is driving traffic but you’re not seeing conversions, your website might be the problem. Think of your website as the quarterback of your marketing strategy. It’s responsible for directing visitors to where they need to go—whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. If your website is confusing, cluttered, or lacks clear calls-to-action (CTAs), it’s like fumbling the ball right before the end zone.
Use this opportunity to strengthen your offense by improving website performance. Invest in website optimization, ensuring it’s fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. Add clear CTAs to guide users to take the next step, and consider using tools like A/B testing to see what works best. By making these adjustments, you’ll increase engagement and boost conversions—just like a team that adjusts its offense to score more points.
Learn from the Loss: Continuous Improvement
Every football team faces tough losses, but what separates great teams from good ones is how they respond. Do they learn from their mistakes and come back stronger next week, or do they continue to struggle? The same goes for marketing campaigns. Not every campaign will be a home run, but every campaign offers valuable lessons.
Once your campaign is over, take the time to conduct a thorough review. What worked? What didn’t? How did your website perform in terms of conversions, and what changes can be made moving forward? Regularly auditing your website to identify areas for improvement—such as broken links, outdated content, or slow load times—can help you avoid costly mistakes in future campaigns.
By continuously improving your marketing strategy and website, you’re setting your business up for long-term success. Remember, in both football and marketing, resilience is key.
Things don’t always go according to the plan
Watching the Packers struggle in this game is not fun, but it’s a reminder that things don’t always go according to plan—whether in a football game or in your marketing efforts. The important thing is how you respond. By analyzing your data, adjusting your strategy, and ensuring your website is always at its best, you can recover from a marketing campaign that falls short and come back stronger. Hopefully I come back and need to write a blog about how the Packers came back and won this game….
