--- title: When Random Acts of Marketing Turn Risky description: A roadmap for your marketing makes it easier to know what to tackle first. It also guides responsible spending. Let’s get rid of those Random Acts of Marketing. image: https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/Blog_images/mountain-biking-95032_1280.jpg --- [![White Space Marketing Group](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ws-logo-header.png?width=253&height=80&name=ws-logo-header.png "White Space Marketing Group")](https://www.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/) ![blogbanner](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blogbanner.png?width=1500&name=blogbanner.png "blogbanner") [Gray Matter at White Space](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) [B2B Marketing Strategy for Small and Mid-Sized Companies](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com) # [When Random Acts of Marketing Turn Risky](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/when-random-acts-of-marketing-turn-risky) ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) by [Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) on Jan 13, 2021 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Randomness is sometimes enticing; there’s a spontaneity about it that feels creative and bold.  ![mountain-biking-95032_1280](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_images/mountain-biking-95032_1280.jpg?width=300&name=mountain-biking-95032_1280.jpg) Until, that is, you’re faced with burning questions around tepid results: what went wrong? Why didn’t the plan yield return? It’s like eating too much cake or drinking too much champagne. The spending hangover is hell to pay. ### **Do You Know Randomness When You See It?** Many of the companies I work with have indulged. The promises from marketing specialists, the lure of new MarTech, or sheer envy around what the competition is doing have spurred activity that didn’t deliver.   There simply wasn’t an organized set of objectives and sound strategies to bring it all home. [![Enrollment in the Strategy Lab is open](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/64f9be49-5943-44cb-b3f4-bbb4d5ec7fc4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/64f9be49-5943-44cb-b3f4-bbb4d5ec7fc4) As a result, they've found themselves stuck in a cycle of [wasteful decision-making.](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/are-you-stuck-in-a-cycle-of-wasteful-marketing-decisions) Here are some common missteps:   - Investing in paid first, instead of optimizing organic or owned media - Literally ignoring their owned media or refusing to “fix” those assets to be useful - Jumping the gun on pricing decisions, without considering brand value - Becoming consumed with what the competition is doing--and thus ignoring their own priorities - Resisting change because it seems “too hard.” Why rock the boat? - Getting distracted by new, shiny tactics I’m sympathetic. The latest and greatest martech solution can be very seductive. So can the anticipation of a website redesign, a (too) expensive lead magnet, or the idea of rebranding the company. Surely a mission building exercise will fix everything… right? ### **Finding “CEO Confidence”** At times, I encounter [resistance by CEOs and CFOs](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/when-was-the-last-time-you-argued-with-your-cfo-about-your-marketing-budget) to investing the time to develop an anchored, organized  strategic marketing roadmap. But I know from experience, once they do, there’s a big, deep breath. > “*The latest and greatest martech solution can be very seductive.*” There’s a plan to follow, realistic timeframes to measure against, and a defined set of expectations they can share with their team. This yields “CEO Confidence:” the freedom to lead because there’s a journey that’s been mapped out, approved, and defined for everyone. The good news for these smart leaders is, the answers are right in front of them… In their business models. Their expected revenue per new customer. The length of their average purchase cycle. Their underutilized email database. The insights they get from their sales teams. Their website analytics. It’s all there. ### **Frame, Focus, Formulate: Planning for the Long View** If you have a roadmap for your marketing, it’s much easier to commit to what to tackle first--because you understand the long view right from the very start. In the [Marketing Strategy Lab](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/one-of-my-marketing-strategy-lab-participants-reported-its-like-having-a-personal-trainer-for-your-business), we start with a clean slate--then work through all the steps to get you on the right path by: - FRAMING what will drive (or obstruct) success - FOCUSING priorities and strategies - FORMULATING plans, resources, and timetables If you’re ready to abandon the random, [let’s talk](https://info.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/meetings/irosenthal/strategy-work-session). We’ll know quickly if a view from outside your organization can help. The Lab may be just what you need, but we can also talk about working with me as a fractional CMO to bring objective, strategic order to your marketing investments. Still not sure? Listen to my [free training](https://info.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/marketing-strategy-lab-lp) on how I help small and mid-sized businesses move from those Random Acts of Marketing to a plan you can believe in and commit to.   [![Enrollment in the Strategy Lab is open](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/d8d72ec3-5d5c-4489-bdcf-c81f3c9eb671.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/d8d72ec3-5d5c-4489-bdcf-c81f3c9eb671) Topics: [marketing strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-strategy), [strategy](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/strategy), [marketing](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing) About The Author ![Ilene Rosenthal, CEO](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hubfs/IHR%20BioPIc%20643x703.jpg) [ Ilene Rosenthal, CEO ](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) Ilene Rosenthal is the CEO of White Space Marketing Group, fulfilling her aspiration to bring hybrid marketing expertise to the mid-market. With a dee... [read more](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/author/ilene-rosenthal-ceo) [![watch the WEBINAR: how to AVOID random acts of marketing ](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/176305/c5f63d26-b091-48d9-822b-8e8904eecef0.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/176305/c5f63d26-b091-48d9-822b-8e8904eecef0) Search this site on Google Search Google ## We're glad you're here. We write about our marketing passions: building digital brands, digging deep for customer insights, tracking marketing effectiveness and ROI for better results. Ask a question, comment ... or get in touch! ### Subscribe! ### Most Read ### Posts by Topic - [marketing strategy (163)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-strategy) - [strategy (92)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/strategy) - [marketing (91)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing) - [business strategy (72)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/business-strategy) - [B2B (69)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/b2b) - [B2B marketing (69)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/b2b-marketing) - [CEOs (69)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/ceos) - [Founders (69)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/founders) - [small business (69)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/small-business) - [email marketing (38)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/email-marketing) - [content marketing (29)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/content-marketing) - ["marketing spending" (13)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-spending) - [sales strategy (13)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/sales-strategy) - [inbound marketing (12)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/inbound-marketing) - [social media (8)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/social-media) - [lead generation (6)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/lead-generation) - [marketing ROI (5)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-roi) - [inbound sales (4)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/inbound-sales) - [Distributed Agency (3)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/distributed-agency) - [channel strategy (3)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/channel-strategy) - [marketing metrics and ROI (3)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-metrics-and-roi) - [mid market and SMB marketing (3)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/mid-market-and-smb-marketing) - ["podcasts" (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/podcasts) - [customer loyalty (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/customer-loyalty) - [ecomm (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/ecomm) - [marketing for professional services (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-for-professional-services) - [retail (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/retail) - [web design and development (2)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/web-design-and-development) - [Branding (1)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/branding) - [consumer insights (1)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/consumer-insights) - [marketing investment (1)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/marketing-investment) - [retention (1)](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/topic/retention) [Expand all](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/when-random-acts-of-marketing-turn-risky#) [![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/whitespacemarketing/) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilenerosenthalwhitespace/) [![Share on twitter](https://7528304.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528304/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/twitter-color.png?width=24&name=twitter-color.png) ](https://twitter.com/WhiteSpaceMarke) **  White Space Marketing Group** 119 Pondfield Road Box # 38 Bronxville, NY 10708   914.292.0303 ![HubSpot Certified Partner](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Academy_Badge_certifiedpartner.png?width=150&name=Academy_Badge_certifiedpartner.png) ![Certified WBENC Business](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/WBENC-White.png?width=112&name=WBENC-White.png)   ![Certified Storybrand Guide](https://blog.whitespacemarketinggroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Web-StoryBrand-logo.png?width=74&height=77&name=Web-StoryBrand-logo.png) Copyright © 2022 White Space Marketing Group. Featured logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Third-party trademarks, logos, and trade names appearing on the site are the property of their respective owners.