TAL. 026: Solve 80% of Your Marketing Problems

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Marketing The Arete Letter

The 5Cs are a simple way to diagnose common marketing problems. But what do you do after diagnosis?

This is the first letter of 2024, so I wanted to focus on change:

Identifying why your marketing isn’t working, and how you can fix it.

(Next week, I’ll go back to covering the last two principles of high-quality content: creating content processes and setting realistic time horizons.)

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1. The Problem

80% of marketing problems can be diagnosed with the 5Cs:

  1. Cogent
    1. Is your messaging clear, logical and convincing?
    2. Is your collateral clear, logical and convincing?
  2. Credible
    1. Does your ICP believe you can and will deliver the results you promise?
  3. Consistent
    1. Is your messaging always the same, or do you swing between different ideas?
    2. Are you undertaking your marketing activities consistently and at the right frequency?
  4. Conspicuous
    1. Will your ICP see your marketing?
    2. Within your chosen channels, does your marketing seize your ICP’s attention?
  5. Compelling
    1. Once you’ve seized your ICP’s attention, can you hold it?
    2. Does your marketing elicit action from your ICP?

I could write an article about how to answer each of those questions.

But that’s not the point of this letter.

(There are plenty of resources out there if you want to learn how to do things like message-test or measure per-channel impact.)

Once you do identify a problem using the 5Cs, how do you solve it?

2. The Solution

Here’s a breakdown of actions you can take for each 5C diagnosis.

Be aware: these actions are highly contextual.

Every marketing problem requires a tailored approach, so think of these as starting points, not silver bullets.

(Also keep in mind that the 5Cs depend on you solving a high-priority problem for people who can and will pay for your solution.

If you don’t have product-market fit, the 5Cs won’t be helpful.)

  • My messaging isn’t clear, logical and convincing.
    • Solution: Interview 15+ ICP-match buyers. Work with leadership to develop a strategic narrative (which is really a brand-level undertaking, but most messaging ambiguity stems from a lack of brand narrative). From there, distil three to five key messages/points of difference. If necessary, create a features–benefits–outcomes table for your products/services.
  • My collateral isn’t clear, logical and convincing.
    • Solution: Make sure you have the requisite brand infrastructure (brand voice guide, visual identity guide, etc.). Review your briefing process. Use writer scoring sheets. Stick to one topic/message per asset. If necessary, look for new content creators.
  • My ICP doesn’t believe I can or will deliver the results I promise.
    • Solution: Collect testimonials, write or film success stories, and publish measurable statistics that support your expertise and trustworthiness (such as number of clients served). Make sure you aren’t overpromising results. If you’re selling products, display as much of the product as possible (360-degree photos, interactive demos, and so on.). If you’re selling services, emphasise your people’s expertise and experience.
  • My messaging is inconsistent.
    • Solution: Implement a content strategy and make sure all marketing leaders understand that nothing gets published if it doesn’t align with approved messaging.
  • My marketing activities aren’t undertaken consistently or at the right frequency.
    • Solution: Create a proper marketing strategy and implementation plan. A content calendar for each of your chosen channels can help too.
  • My ICP isn’t seeing my marketing.
    • Solution: Interview 15+ ICP-match buyers. Work out how they learn about their problem and form consideration sets. Pick one primary channel and two secondary channels based on those insights. Allocate 60–70% of your budget to activities for your primary channel, and 30–40% to activities for your secondary channels. Implement hybrid attribution to measure per-channel efficacy.
  • Within my chosen channels, my marketing is lost in the noise.
    • Solution: Make sure your messaging contains a spiky PoV. (If your messaging points aren’t a little controversial, it probably means there’s something wrong with your strategic narrative.) Develop a distinctive brand voice and visual identity. Present your collateral in a unique way (within channel conventions). Develop stronger hooks. Make sure your collateral educates, inspires and/or entertains. Focus on eliciting high-arousal emotions – anger, anxiety, awe, excitement, or humour – and relevance/relatability.
  • My marketing seizes my ICP’s attention, but I can’t hold it.
    • Solution: Work out whether you’re losing their attention through clickbait (content that promises one thing and delivers another) or chaff content (content that doesn’t meet the four criteria for kernel content).
  • My marketing doesn’t elicit action from my ICP.
    • Solution: Make sure each asset has one clear goal that you can measure (to an extent). Implement the kernel–chaff rubric.

3. Implementation

There’s a lot to unpack in what you’ve just read.

The main thing to remember is that each ‘solution’ is just a starting point.

Your marketing problem might need a different approach – or might have a cause that the 5Cs don’t cover.

That’s what makes marketing such an exciting discipline.

Everything is contextual, and no strategy or solution can be transposed without adjustment.

By Duncan Croker

Duncan is a copywriter with a background in editing and storytelling. He loves collaborating with brands big and small, and thrives on the challenges of hard marketing.