Marketing Mistakes Growth Execs Make (and How to Fix)

Many executives, even those with a growth mindset, stumble when it comes to marketing. They chase shiny objects, undervalue data, or fail to align marketing with overall business goals. These mistakes can be costly, hindering growth and wasting resources. Are you making these errors, or are you setting your company up for marketing success?

Step 1: Integrating Salesforce Sales Cloud for Marketing Insights

One of the biggest mistakes I see is a disconnect between marketing and sales. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) don’t translate into sales qualified leads (SQLs), and everyone points fingers. The solution? Tightly integrate your marketing automation platform with your CRM. I recommend using Salesforce Sales Cloud.

Setting Up Marketing Insights

1. Navigate to Setup > App Setup > Customize > Campaigns > Campaign History.
2. Enable “Campaign Influence” by checking the box and saving. This allows you to associate opportunities with specific campaigns.
3. Go to Setup > App Setup > Customize > Opportunities > Opportunity Settings.
4. Enable “Opportunity Contact Role” and choose the roles relevant to your sales process (e.g., Decision Maker, Influencer).
5. Finally, install the “Marketing Insights” app from the Salesforce AppExchange. Search for it directly within Salesforce.

Pro Tip: Customize the “Campaign Influence” settings to use a time-based attribution model (e.g., first touch, last touch, even distribution) to accurately credit campaigns for opportunity wins. I prefer a U-shaped model, giving 40% credit to the first touch and 40% to the last touch, with the remaining 20% distributed evenly.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to train your sales team to properly log campaign influence when creating opportunities. Without accurate data entry, the entire system is useless. Ensure they are diligently adding Campaign Influence records to each Opportunity they create.

Expected Outcome: You’ll gain a clear view of which marketing campaigns are generating the most revenue. You’ll see which channels are driving high-quality leads that convert into paying customers. This data will inform future marketing investments and help you optimize your budget.

Step 2: Leveraging Google Analytics 6 Attribution Modeling

Another frequent error? Relying solely on last-click attribution. It’s a flawed system that doesn’t accurately reflect the customer journey. Customers interact with multiple touchpoints before making a purchase, and last-click gives all the credit to the final interaction. To address this, use Google Analytics 6 (GA6) and its attribution modeling feature. Many marketing directors waste money by not using this feature.

Configuring Attribution Modeling

1. Log into your GA6 account.
2. Click on Admin > Property Settings > Attribution Settings.
3. Select “Attribution Modeling” from the left-hand menu.
4. Choose your preferred attribution model: Data-driven, Last click, First click, Linear, Time decay, or Position-based.
5. The Data-driven model is the most accurate, using machine learning to distribute credit based on actual customer behavior.
6. Compare the performance of different models to identify which channels are undervalued by last-click attribution.

Pro Tip: Create custom segments in GA6 to analyze attribution for specific customer groups (e.g., by industry, company size, or lead source). This allows you to tailor your marketing efforts to different audiences.

Common Mistake: Ignoring the “Conversion Paths” report in GA6. This report shows the sequence of touchpoints that lead to conversions, providing valuable insights into the customer journey. You can find it under Explore > Path exploration.

Expected Outcome: You’ll gain a more accurate understanding of which marketing channels are driving conversions. You’ll be able to identify channels that are generating awareness and interest but aren’t getting credit under last-click attribution. This will help you allocate your marketing budget more effectively.

Step 3: Implementing a Quarterly Marketing Audit in Asana

Many growth-focused executives fail to regularly audit their marketing efforts. Campaigns run on autopilot, brand messaging becomes inconsistent, and budgets are misallocated. A quarterly marketing audit can prevent these issues. I recommend using Asana to manage the audit process.

Setting Up the Marketing Audit Project

1. Create a new project in Asana called “Quarterly Marketing Audit”.
2. Add sections for each key marketing area: Website, SEO, Content Marketing, Social Media, Email Marketing, Paid Advertising.
3. Within each section, create tasks for specific audit activities. For example, under “Website”, you might have tasks for:
   • Review website performance metrics in GA6 (e.g., traffic, bounce rate, conversion rate).
   • Check for broken links and outdated content.
   • Ensure all landing pages are optimized for conversions.
4. Assign each task to a specific team member and set a due date.
5. Use Asana’s “Dependencies” feature to link tasks that are dependent on each other.

Pro Tip: Use Asana’s “Custom Fields” feature to track key metrics for each audit activity. For example, you could create a custom field for “Website Traffic” and record the traffic numbers for each quarter. This will allow you to easily track progress over time.

Common Mistake: Treating the marketing audit as a one-time event. It should be an ongoing process, with regular check-ins and updates. Schedule recurring tasks in Asana to ensure that the audit is completed on time.

Expected Outcome: You’ll identify underperforming campaigns and areas for improvement. You’ll ensure that your brand messaging is consistent across all channels. You’ll optimize your marketing budget and allocate resources to the most effective activities.

Case Study: Revitalizing a Stagnant Campaign with Data

I had a client last year, a SaaS company based here in Atlanta, whose lead generation campaign had plateaued. They were using Pardot for marketing automation and Salesforce for CRM. Their cost per lead had crept up to $75, and the lead-to-opportunity conversion rate was only 5%. After implementing the Salesforce Marketing Insights integration, we discovered that leads from their “Industry Report” download were converting at a significantly higher rate (15%) than other lead sources. We then used GA6’s attribution modeling to see how users were finding that report. Turns out, a specific LinkedIn ad campaign was driving a lot of initial traffic, but was being undervalued because it wasn’t the “last click” before conversion. We shifted budget from underperforming Google Ads campaigns to that LinkedIn campaign, and within three months, their cost per lead dropped to $50, and the lead-to-opportunity conversion rate doubled to 10%. This shows the power of data-driven marketing decisions.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Beyond the technical aspects, there are some broader strategic errors that many growth-focused executives make. For example, many focus too much on short-term gains and neglect long-term brand building. A 2024 IAB report found that brands that consistently invest in brand building during economic downturns outperform their competitors in the long run. Don’t make the mistake of cutting your marketing budget during challenging times. Instead, focus on building brand awareness and loyalty. You might find some useful insights in busting marketing myths.

Another pitfall is failing to adapt to changing customer behavior. The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and what worked last year may not work this year. Stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies, and be willing to experiment with new approaches. Consider attending industry conferences, subscribing to marketing publications, and networking with other marketing professionals.

Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of a strong marketing team. Surround yourself with talented and passionate individuals who are committed to driving growth. Empower them to take risks and experiment with new ideas. Provide them with the resources they need to succeed. A Nielsen study found that companies with high-performing marketing teams are more likely to achieve their growth targets. Invest in your team, and they will deliver results. To that end, you may need VP’s fix to build a marketing team that works.

A strong team is also key to sustainable growth strategies.

Avoiding these common mistakes can dramatically improve your marketing ROI. By integrating your systems, understanding attribution, and regularly auditing your efforts, you can transform your marketing from a cost center into a powerful engine for growth. Start implementing these steps today, and you’ll see a measurable impact on your bottom line.