Author: Tracy McCoy
One of the things James and I talk about often is how easy it is to create a marketing plan at the beginning of the year and then get so busy running the business that we forget to go back and look at it.
In Episode 11 of The Fish Slap Effect Podcast, back-to-school season gave us the perfect excuse to do a little marketing report card. We aren't actually handing out grades, but this time of year feels like a natural opportunity to look at what's working, what's not, and what needs a little extra attention before we head into the final stretch of the year.
I've always believed a marketing plan should be a living document. Your customers change, platforms change, your business changes, and sometimes the things that worked six months ago aren't the things you should keep investing in today. So, instead of waiting until January to reset everything, I think now is a great time to pull out your marketing plan and work through your ABCs.
A Is for Awareness
You can have an incredible product, a great team, and the best customer service in your industry, but if the people you want to reach don't know you exist, you have a problem.
Start by asking yourself whether your audience has actually grown since last year. Look at your website traffic, social media reach, engagement, followers, and where your organic traffic is coming from. I also like to look at which platforms are actually performing well instead of assuming we need to put the same amount of energy into every channel.
And don't get too distracted by vanity metrics. A post that reaches 500 people and generates 50 meaningful interactions may be much more valuable than one that reaches 4,000 people and gets almost no response.
The bigger question is whether you're attracting the right kind of attention. There are plenty of ways to get noticed online, but not all attention is good for your brand. Awareness should introduce the right people to your business in a way that supports how you want to be known.
B Is for Brand
Once people know you exist, the next question is whether they understand who you are and why they should care. Your brand is so much more than your logo. It's your voice, colors, fonts, style, personality, messaging, customer experience, and the feeling people associate with your company.
At Get Fish Slapped, our fish is certainly part of our identity, but our brand goes far beyond a logo. When we're preparing for team photos, we're thinking about our color palette. When we're creating marketing materials, we're thinking about whether they look and sound like us. All of those little details work together.
One simple test I love is to ask someone outside your company to look at your website for ten seconds and then tell you what your business does. Can they figure it out? Your website shouldn't make people work for the answer. When someone lands on the Get Fish Slapped website, for example, we immediately communicate that we're a marketing company, who we work with, and how we help. From there, someone can continue exploring our services.
Take that same ten-second test and apply it to your own business. Is your brand clear? Is it recognizable? Does everything feel cohesive? Most importantly, can people quickly understand what you do and why they should choose you?
C Is for Content and Comfort
Content is one of those areas where it's very easy to get comfortable. We find a format that feels safe, repeat it, and eventually realize we're creating content simply to fill the calendar.
I've had to challenge myself here too. It took me a while to get comfortable with video, but eventually I had to get on the video train. Sometimes growth means doing the thing that makes you a little uncomfortable.
If video isn't your thing, try one. If you hate taking photos of yourself, start with one photo. You don't need to suddenly become a full-time content creator. Start somewhere and slowly push yourself outside your comfort zone.
And when you don't know what to post, look at what's already happening inside your business. A great Google review can become a post. Feature a service people may not know you offer. Introduce an employee. Answer a customer question. Show something happening behind the scenes. Creating content doesn't always have to be complicated. Sometimes the best advice really is just to start.
D Is for Dollars
This is where we have to ask a more uncomfortable question: Is your marketing actually contributing to the business, or are you funding a bad marketing habit?
I think it's important to understand that different marketing tactics have different jobs. A billboard may create awareness, but the person driving past it probably isn't ready to make a purchase at that exact moment. Google Ads can reach someone with much higher intent because they're actively searching for a solution.
That's why I don't believe you should evaluate every marketing channel using the exact same measurement. You need to understand what each tactic is supposed to accomplish and make sure you have a healthy mix of awareness and conversion opportunities.
Community involvement belongs in that conversation too. A sponsorship with a respected local organization may not produce an immediate lead you can easily track, but it can build visibility, credibility, and goodwill in ways that are incredibly valuable over time.
The key is to look at the entire strategy. If something you've always done is becoming less effective, you don't necessarily have to shut it off overnight. You can reduce that investment, test something new, measure the results, and gradually find a better mix.
We've seen clients do exactly that by shifting some of their traditional advertising budget into Google or Meta campaigns while keeping the pieces that were still working. You don't have to change everything at once. You do need to be willing to change something when the numbers are telling you it's time.
E Is for Execution
Sometimes the strategy isn't the problem. The problem is that we aren't actually doing it.
Business gets busy. Life gets busy. Marketing gets pushed aside because customers need attention, employees need answers, and a dozen other things feel more urgent. Then business slows down and suddenly everyone wants marketing to turn the faucet back on immediately.
That's why consistency matters so much. When business is strong, that's actually a great time to test new ideas because there's less pressure on every single marketing decision to produce an immediate result. You can learn what's working and build a system that helps maintain momentum when things eventually slow down.
It's also easy to try too many things at once and end up with five half-finished projects. Before rewriting your entire strategy, ask whether you've actually given the current plan a fair chance. Did you execute it consistently? Did you give it enough time? Did you follow through on what you said you were going to do?
Sometimes you don't need a new plan. You need to work the plan you already have.
F Is for Fix It
This might be my favorite one because it gives us a very simple way to evaluate everything we've just talked about: keep it, fix it, or ditch it.
If something is working, keep investing in it. If it's almost working but needs an adjustment, fix it. If you've given it a fair chance, measured the results, and it's simply not serving the business anymore, it may be time to let it go.
We can get emotionally attached to marketing tactics because we've "always done it that way." But history isn't a good enough reason to keep spending money, time, or energy on something that no longer works. What works deserves continued investment. What isn't working deserves an honest evaluation.
The Bigger Picture
I love the back-to-school theme for this conversation because August really does feel like the beginning of a new season. The kids are heading back to school, summer is winding down, and before we know it, we're into fall, the holidays, and the end of another year.
You don't have to wait until January to look at your goals and decide what needs to change.
Pull out your marketing plan now. Look at your awareness, brand, content, dollars, and execution. Then decide what you're going to keep, what you're going to fix, and what you're finally ready to ditch.
Marketing plans aren't meant to sit in a drawer. They're meant to grow and change with your business. The companies that build sustainable momentum are the ones willing to look at what's actually happening, make adjustments, and keep moving forward. No report card required.
Watch the Full Episode & Join the Conversation
If it's been a while since you've taken an honest look at your marketing plan, I invite you to watch the full episode of The Fish Slap Effect Podcast. James and I work through the ABCs of evaluating your marketing, from awareness and branding to content, budget, execution, and figuring out what it's finally time to fix.
You'll hear the complete conversation, practical examples from businesses we've worked with, and some simple ways to give your own marketing strategy a back-to-school checkup before the fourth quarter gets into full swing.
Follow The Fish Slap Effect Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or subscribe on YouTube. We release new conversations every week covering marketing, leadership, business growth, and the unexpected lessons that help businesses move forward.
If you enjoy the show, subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a fellow business owner, entrepreneur, marketer, or leader whose marketing plan could use a little homework.
Because you don't need straight A's to build a great marketing strategy, you just need to know what's working, be willing to fix what isn't, and keep learning as your business grows.