# Anti-Patterns: Marketing

These approaches look like smart marketing but consistently waste resources and undermine growth.

---

## 1. The Spray and Pray

**The Mistake:**
```
"Let's blast everyone and see what sticks"

Email every contact
Advertise to broad audiences
Post on all platforms
Target all demographics

Result: High spend, low conversion, audience fatigue
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Generic messages resonate with no one
- Wasted ad spend on wrong audiences
- List fatigue and unsubscribes
- Impossible to optimize
- CAC inflated

**Better Approach:**
```
FOCUSED TARGETING:

1. Define ideal customer precisely
   Industry + Size + Role + Problem
   Not "businesses" → "Series A fintech CTOs"

2. Start narrow, expand validated
   One segment
   Proven message
   Then expand

3. Personalization at scale
   Segment by use case
   Customize by industry
   Speak their language

4. Quality over quantity
   100 perfect-fit prospects >
   10,000 random contacts

PERSONALIZATION LAYERS:
- Industry specific content
- Role specific messaging
- Problem specific angles
- Stage specific offers
```

---

## 2. The Feature Dump

**The Mistake:**
```
MARKETING COPY:
"Our platform features:
• AI-powered analytics
• Real-time collaboration
• Advanced automation
• Cloud-native architecture
• Enterprise-grade security
• Seamless integrations
• Customizable workflows
• 24/7 support
• [15 more features]"

User: "Cool, but what does it actually do for me?"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Features don't explain benefits
- Users don't care about your tech
- Competitors list same features
- No differentiation
- No emotional connection

**Better Approach:**
```
BENEFIT-FIRST MESSAGING:

Instead of: "AI-powered analytics"
Try: "Know what's working without spreadsheets"

Instead of: "Real-time collaboration"
Try: "Your team stays aligned, automatically"

Instead of: "Enterprise-grade security"
Try: "Your data is safer than Fort Knox"

FRAMEWORK:
Feature → So what? → Benefit

"We have automation"
→ "You spend less time on repetitive tasks"
→ "Get your weekends back"

COPY STRUCTURE:
1. Headline: The transformation
2. Subhead: How you get there
3. Body: Proof it works
4. Features: Optional, supporting
```

---

## 3. The One-Hit Wonder

**The Mistake:**
```
LAUNCH:
"Huge launch! Product Hunt #1!"
[massive spike]
...
[crickets]
...
"Time for another launch!"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- No compounding effect
- Exhausting to repeat
- Diminishing returns
- Team burnout
- Irregular revenue

**Better Approach:**
```
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ENGINE:

Daily:
- Content creation
- Social engagement
- Email nurture

Weekly:
- Email newsletter
- Content distribution
- Community engagement

Monthly:
- Feature updates
- Case studies
- Partner activities

Quarterly:
- Major launches
- Campaigns
- Events

FLYWHEEL > SPIKE:
Content → Traffic → Leads → Customers →
Testimonials → More content
(repeating cycle, compounds)

LAUNCH RULE:
Big launches to accelerate
Not to sustain
Build machine between launches
```

---

## 4. The Me-Too Marketing

**The Mistake:**
```
Competitor does video → "We need video!"
Competitor has podcast → "Let's start a podcast!"
Competitor sponsors event → "We should sponsor too!"
Competitor uses influencers → "Find us influencers!"

Result: Same tactics, smaller budget, worse execution
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Always behind
- Not leveraging strengths
- Resource spread thin
- No differentiation
- Competitor may be wrong too

**Better Approach:**
```
ASYMMETRIC COMPETITION:

1. Different playing field
   They're on LinkedIn → You master YouTube
   They do webinars → You do workshops
   They write blogs → You build tools

2. 10x one thing
   Don't match everything
   Dominate one channel
   Better to win somewhere than compete everywhere

3. Leverage unique strengths
   What can you do they can't?
   Founder story, team expertise, unique data

4. Watch, don't follow
   Observe what works for them
   Adapt principles, not tactics
   Test for your audience

COMPETITIVE RESPONSE FRAMEWORK:
1. Are they actually succeeding? (not just doing)
2. Does it fit our strengths?
3. Can we do it 10x better?
4. Is there a different angle?

If not 4/4 → don't copy
```

---

## 5. The Discount Addiction

**The Mistake:**
```
January: "New Year Sale - 20% off!"
February: "Valentine's Special - 25% off!"
March: "Spring Sale - 30% off!"
April: "Anniversary Sale - 35% off!"
...and so on...

Customer learns: "Never pay full price"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Trains customers to wait
- Attracts price-sensitive buyers
- Destroys perceived value
- Kills margins
- Hard to stop

**Better Approach:**
```
VALUE-FIRST PRICING:

Instead of discounts:
1. Add bonus value
   "Buy now, get free onboarding"
   "Annual includes premium support"

2. Create urgency with limits
   "Only 50 spots available"
   "Price increases next week"

3. Exclusive offers (not public)
   Student discount (verified)
   Non-profit pricing (private)
   Loyalty rewards (earned)

4. Bundle value
   "Get 3 products for price of 2"
   (Increased average order, not lower price)

IF YOU MUST DISCOUNT:
- Once per year (Black Friday only)
- New customers only
- Hidden from existing customers
- Short duration
- Clear reason
```

---

## 6. The Silent Treatment

**The Mistake:**
```
After signup:
Email 1: "Welcome!"
...
[6 months of silence]
...
Email 2: "We miss you!"

After purchase:
"Thanks for buying!"
[never hear from us again until next promotion]
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Missed activation window
- No habit formation
- Out of sight, out of mind
- Churn happens silently
- No upsell opportunity

**Better Approach:**
```
LIFECYCLE COMMUNICATION:

Post-Signup (Days 1-14):
Day 0: Welcome + quick win
Day 1: Core feature introduction
Day 3: Success story
Day 5: Common obstacle help
Day 7: Check-in + offer help
Day 14: Milestone celebration

Post-Purchase:
Week 1: Getting started guide
Week 2: Tips to maximize value
Week 4: Success check-in
Month 2: Advanced features
Month 3: Case study request

Ongoing:
Weekly: Value content
Monthly: Product updates
Quarterly: Major announcements

COMMUNICATION CADENCE:
High: Week 1-2 (critical)
Medium: Weeks 3-8 (activation)
Low: Months 3+ (maintenance)
```

---

## 7. The Vanity Viral

**The Mistake:**
```
"Let's create viral content!"

Makes: Funny meme unrelated to product
Result: 10 million views, 0 conversions

Makes: Dance video
Result: TikTok famous, wrong audience

Makes: Controversial take
Result: Engagement, brand damage
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Viral ≠ valuable
- Wrong audience = wasted reach
- Brand confusion
- Can't replicate
- Vanity metrics

**Better Approach:**
```
STRATEGIC CONTENT:

Virality that matters:
Views from target audience +
Connection to product +
Leads to conversion

USEFUL VIRAL FORMULA:
Something so valuable target audience
MUST share with peers

Examples:
- Research data they need
- Tool that solves their problem
- Template they'll use
- Framework they'll teach

CONTENT STRATEGY:
80%: Useful content for audience
15%: Brand building, storytelling
5%: Experimental, creative

MEASUREMENT:
Not: Total views
But: Views by target audience
And: Conversion from content
```

---

## 8. The Channel Hopping

**The Mistake:**
```
Month 1: "Instagram is where it's at!"
Month 2: "Actually, let's try LinkedIn"
Month 3: "TikTok is exploding"
Month 4: "YouTube is evergreen"
Month 5: "Podcasting is hot"
Month 6: "Back to Instagram?"

Each channel: 0 results, no learning
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- No channel time to compound
- Constant learning curve
- No institutional knowledge
- Team context switching
- Resources scattered

**Better Approach:**
```
CHANNEL COMMITMENT:

1. Choose based on audience + resources
   Where is your audience already?
   What format can you sustain?

2. Commit for 6 months minimum
   Weekly consistent presence
   Learning and optimization
   Real investment

3. Define success criteria
   What would "working" look like?
   Measurable outcomes
   Timeline for evaluation

4. Only add when current works
   Current channel profitable
   Resources available for new
   New channel has clear hypothesis

CHANNEL EVALUATION (after 6 months):
- CAC acceptable?
- Can we scale it?
- Team capacity to maintain?
- Will it compound?

If yes → double down
If no → try next (not before)
```

---

## 9. The Lead Hoarding

**The Mistake:**
```
Marketing goal: "Generate 10,000 leads!"
Result: 10,000 emails collected
Outcome: 50 spam complaints, 3 customers

Quality of leads never measured
Sales can't close garbage leads
Marketing "hit their numbers"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Wrong metric to optimize
- Attracts non-buyers
- Overwhelms sales
- Creates conflict
- Misses quality buyers

**Better Approach:**
```
QUALITY-FIRST LEAD GEN:

Lead Scoring:
- Fit: Match to ICP (firmographic)
- Intent: Behavior signals (engagement)
- Engagement: Content interaction

BETTER METRICS:
Not: Total leads
But: Qualified leads (SQL)
And: Lead-to-customer rate
And: Revenue from marketing

QUALITY SIGNALS:
- Request demo (high intent)
- Return visits (engagement)
- Content depth (interest)
- Company fit (targeting)

LOW-QUALITY SIGNALS:
- Freebie grabbers
- Competitors
- Students/job seekers
- Wrong geography/size

LEAD PROCESS:
Capture → Score → Qualify → Nurture →
Sales Ready → Hand off

Not: Capture → Dump to sales
```

---

## 10. The Brand Schizophrenia

**The Mistake:**
```
Website: Professional, corporate
Social: Casual, meme-heavy
Email: Formal, salesy
Ads: Discount-focused, urgent
Support: Robotic, scripted

Customer: "Who ARE these people?"
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Confuses brand identity
- Breaks trust
- No consistency
- Feels fake
- Memorable for wrong reasons

**Better Approach:**
```
BRAND CONSISTENCY:

1. Define brand voice
   3-5 adjectives
   Do's and don'ts
   Example phrases

2. Document it
   Brand guidelines
   Voice and tone guide
   Templates and examples

3. Apply everywhere
   Website
   Social media
   Email
   Ads
   Support
   Product

4. Train everyone
   Marketing team
   Support team
   Sales team
   Executives

VOICE FLEXIBILITY:
Same personality, different volume

Formal context (contract): Professional but warm
Casual context (social): Warm and friendly
Crisis context (outage): Calm and direct
Celebration (win): Enthusiastic but grounded

CONSISTENCY AUDIT:
Collect all touchpoints
Review as customer
Check: "Same company?"
Fix gaps
```

---

## 11. The Analytics Avoidance

**The Mistake:**
```
"Let's just try things and see what feels right"
"Our gut says this is working"
"We don't need complicated tracking"
"The vibes are good"

Meanwhile: Burning money on unknown ROI
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- No optimization possible
- Can't find winners
- Can't kill losers
- Resources wasted
- Decisions based on guessing

**Better Approach:**
```
DATA-INFORMED MARKETING:

Basic tracking (must have):
- Traffic sources
- Conversion by source
- Campaign performance
- Email metrics

Intermediate:
- Full funnel tracking
- Attribution modeling
- Customer journey
- Cohort analysis

Advanced:
- Marketing mix modeling
- Incrementality testing
- Predictive analytics

MEASUREMENT FRAMEWORK:
1. What question are we answering?
2. What metric answers it?
3. How will we collect data?
4. What will we do with answer?

BALANCED APPROACH:
Data + Intuition

Data tells you what's happening
Intuition suggests what to try
Test intuition with data
Scale what data validates
```

---

## 12. The Solo Marketing

**The Mistake:**
```
Marketing team operates in isolation.
Sales: "What are marketing's leads even?"
Product: "Why are they promising that?"
Support: "Customers expected something else"
Exec: "What does marketing actually do?"

Misalignment everywhere.
```

**Why It's Wrong:**
- Message mismatch
- Wasted resources
- Customer confusion
- Internal friction
- Suboptimal results

**Better Approach:**
```
ALIGNED MARKETING:

WITH SALES:
- Shared definitions (MQL, SQL)
- Lead quality feedback
- Content collaboration
- Win/loss insights
- Joint planning

WITH PRODUCT:
- Launch coordination
- Feature positioning
- Roadmap input
- Customer feedback loop
- Beta access for marketing

WITH SUPPORT:
- Common customer questions
- Onboarding content
- FAQ coordination
- Customer stories

ALIGNMENT MECHANISMS:
- Regular sync meetings
- Shared dashboards
- Joint OKRs
- Slack channels
- Feedback loops

MARKETING <> SALES SLA:
Marketing delivers: X qualified leads
With: Contact info + scoring + context
Sales commits: Y% follow-up in Z hours
With: Outcome tracking + feedback
```
