A business can spend thousands of dollars on marketing, generate awareness, attract qualified prospects, and still fail to produce meaningful growth.
Why?
Because marketing is only one part of the system.
In this episode of The Workforce Alchemy Show, I sat down with Michael Trkolta, Managing Director of Network Media Group and a digital specialist with more than 25 years of experience across marketing, business operations, publishing, product development, print, and digital growth.
Our conversation kept coming back to one important idea:
Marketing cannot compensate for poor execution.
Marketing ROI Depends on What Happens After the Lead Arrives
Years ago, a friend of mine ran a radio station and had a mobile home dealer as an advertising client.
The owner told him the advertising was not working because sales had not increased.
While they were having that conversation, a prospect walked into the office and asked about one of the mobile homes.
The salesperson barely moved.
He grabbed the keys, tossed them to the prospect, and essentially said, “Go take a look and let me know if you have any questions.”
That was the problem.
The advertising had worked.
The prospect had heard about the business, become interested enough to visit, and walked through the door.
Marketing had done its job.
Sales had dropped the ball.
That example illustrates why marketing ROI cannot be evaluated in isolation.
If advertising generates demand but sales fails to follow up, customer service creates a poor experience, or internal processes break down, the business may blame marketing for a problem that exists somewhere else.
Marketing and Sales Cannot Operate in Silos
Michael emphasized the importance of having the right people in the right roles and making sure departments understand how their work connects.
Marketing creates awareness and interest.
Sales converts opportunity.
Customer service affects retention and reputation.
Operations determines whether promises can actually be delivered.
When those functions operate independently, leads and revenue can leak out of the system.
A strong marketing strategy should be connected to the rest of the business.
That means clear processes, clear ownership, regular communication, and measurable outcomes.
How Do You Know Which Marketing Channel Is Working?
Modern marketing makes attribution complicated.
A customer might:
- see your business on Facebook
- watch one of your YouTube videos
- hear a radio ad
- see a Google advertisement
- read an article
- hear your company mentioned by someone they trust
- finally visit your website or contact your sales team
Which channel gets credit?
The last interaction may have triggered the call, but earlier interactions may have created the awareness and trust that made the final action possible.
Michael’s advice is to focus on the bigger picture.
Understand your audience.
Know where they spend their time.
Set a marketing budget.
Identify the KPIs that matter.
Then track whether your marketing system is producing meaningful commercial outcomes.
Marketing Activity Is Not the Same as Business Results
This is especially important when hiring a digital marketing agency.
A marketing company can show you impressions, clicks, traffic, engagement, followers, views, and other activity.
Those numbers can matter.
But business owners ultimately need outcomes.
Michael recommends asking an agency questions such as:
What results have you produced for similar businesses?
What audience are we targeting?
What KPIs will we use to measure progress?
What business outcome are we trying to create?
How will you track performance?
What should we realistically expect over the next three to six months?
He also believes a good agency should be willing to push back.
If your assumptions are wrong, your marketing partner should be able to explain why and recommend a better approach.
You are not hiring experts merely to agree with you.
Why Brand May Matter Even More in the Age of AI
Another part of our conversation focused on how artificial intelligence could change the way customers find businesses.
People are increasingly able to ask AI tools questions such as:
“Who is the best company near me to solve this problem?”
That changes search behavior.
Instead of reviewing ten companies, a customer may receive only a few recommendations.
That raises an important question for business owners:
What happens if your company is not one of them?
One defense may be building a brand strong enough that customers already know your name.
If someone already knows and trusts your company, they may search for you directly instead of asking an AI system who they should choose.
That makes brand awareness more than a vanity exercise.
It can become a competitive asset.
People Buy Stories, Not Just Products
Michael and I also talked about brands such as Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Ironman, and Bondi Sands.
The products matter.
But the story around the product matters too.
Red Bull did not limit itself to placing advertisements where every other beverage company advertised.
It built events, experiences, sports, media, and communities around the brand.
Ironman is not simply a triathlon.
For many people who complete one, it becomes part of their identity.
That is the power of story.
A strong brand gives people something to remember, talk about, identify with, and trust.
Every Employee Is Part of Your Brand
This was another part of the conversation that hit home for me.
A business owner may think of the front desk employee as an entry-level position.
The customer may see that person differently.
To the customer, that employee may be the company.
If the interaction is rude, indifferent, dishonest, careless, or unprofessional, the customer does not necessarily walk away thinking:
“That one employee was disappointing.”
They may walk away thinking:
“That company is terrible.”
Every person who interacts with a customer becomes part of your brand.
Marketing may create the expectation.
Your people determine whether the experience lives up to it.
Better Marketing Starts With Better Process
Michael repeatedly came back to process.
Know who your customer is.
Understand the outcome you want.
Know who is responsible for each step.
Measure what matters.
Make sure marketing, sales, customer service, and operations work together.
Then test and improve the system.
Sometimes the solution is better strategy.
Sometimes it is better creative.
Sometimes it is better technology.
Sometimes the marketing is already working and the real problem is execution.
Knowing the difference can save a business a lot of wasted money.
Watch or Listen to the Full Conversation
If you are a CEO, business owner, executive, sales leader, or marketing professional trying to improve marketing ROI, customer acquisition, brand visibility, or business growth, I think you will get a lot out of this conversation.
Check out the full podcast (audio):
https://open.acast.com/public/streams/5cd334e4e3b953af742edd5d/episodes/6aa1b2468ff451bb222162a7.mp3
Check out the full conversation on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/OoGkLoU45Eg
Connect With Workforce Alchemy
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Connect With Mason Duchatschek
Website: https://masonduchatschek.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masonduchatschek/
Workforce Alchemy Magazine
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