The biggest leasson I've learned about marketing

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about marketing over the years, it’s this: don’t stop. Ever.

Most marketing doesn’t work. That’s the dirty little secret. You try things, they flop. You spend money, you don’t see the return. And all of that failure makes you want to stop. It even feels logical to stop. You think, “Hey, why are we wasting money on this? Let’s pause, regroup, and have some meetings.”

But honestly, that’s the worst thing you can do.

Let me explain with an analogy I love from David C. Baker. Marketing is like one of those old water pumps you see at campgrounds or parks. You’ve got to pump that handle like crazy before any water comes out. Sometimes it feels like you’re pumping forever. Then, finally, the water starts to flow. Once it’s flowing, it doesn’t take much effort to keep it going.

Here’s the catch: the second you stop pumping, gravity pulls the water back down. When you try to start again, you’re back at square one, pumping like mad to get the first drops.

That’s precisely how marketing works. When you stop, you lose all that momentum you built up, and restarting is exponentially harder.

Now, I’m not saying you should keep doing the wrong thing forever. Obviously, you should learn from your mistakes and make adjustments. But even if you know you’re doing something wrong, I’d rather see you tweak your way out of it – make 1% changes each time – than hit pause completely.

Every time I’ve stopped marketing, I’ve regretted it. In the moment, it feels incredible. You stop spending money. Reports look cleaner. Profits look healthier. And because momentum doesn’t die instantly, the leads might still be rolling in for a bit. You tell yourself, “See? We didn’t even need that spend.”

But then… a few weeks go by. A month. The pipeline dries up. And when you try to restart, it’s a slog. You’re pumping and pumping, just trying to get things moving again.

So my advice is simple: don’t stop. Plow through the mistakes. Be like a cruise ship making a long, slow turn in the right direction – but never shut off your engines.

Never stop marketing. Ever.

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