We often speak to clients and prospective clients who tell us they already have a marketing plan in place, yet it hasn’t delivered the results they hoped for. The first question we then ask is always the same: was the plan actually followed and delivered consistently?
More often than not, the answer is no.
Many marketing plans do not fail because they are badly designed. They fail because they are not executed with consistency. Ideas are sound, intentions are good, but delivery becomes irregular, fragmented or quietly abandoned when results do not appear quickly enough.
Consistency is one of the hardest parts of marketing to maintain. In fact, much like any goal or New Year’s resolution, most plans begin with enthusiasm and optimism. Then day to day pressures take over, priorities shift, consistency is lost and thus marketing (or whatever the activity) slips further down the list.
Consistency builds trust, and trust drives buying behaviour.
Target audiences tend to be cautious and credibility led. When a brand’s message, tone of voice, visuals or offers change too often, or not enough, it creates uncertainty. People begin to question whether a business is premium or budget, professional or casual, and whether it truly understands who they are speaking to. Consistent branding and messaging, repeated over time, signal reliability. Trust is not created through a single campaign, it is built gradually through familiarity and repetition.
Marketing also works through sustained repetition, not short bursts of activity. A common pattern is the stop start approach; there is a big launch, followed by a few weeks of visible effort, and then everything goes quiet when results are not immediate. Most audiences need to see a message several times before they act. When activity stops too early, the brand never reaches the point where marketing begins to take effect, marketing often feels like it is not working just before it actually starts to work.
Inconsistency affects platforms as much as people. Digital channels widely used across the UK respond better to regularity and stability. Consistent posting, clear messaging and recognisable formats help platforms understand who to show content to. When businesses constantly change direction with new audiences, new offers or new content styles, algorithms struggle to optimise delivery and audiences struggle to remember the brand.
What is often found is that strategy itself is not the real issue. Many small and medium sized businesses rewrite their marketing plan every few months instead of focusing on improving execution. Rather than refining creative, adjusting targeting or amend messaging, everything is changed prematurely. In reality, the problem is rarely the plan. It is the lack of long term commitment to it.
Consistency is also what creates brand memory. Strong UK brands succeed because people recognise them instantly, understand what they stand for and know what experience to expect. That level of recognition comes from doing the same things well, repeatedly, over months and years.
Marketing plans fail when expectations are short term, messaging changes too frequently, activity stops as soon as results are not immediate, and consistency is sacrificed for novelty.
At The Marketing Associates, businesses are supported to create clear, achievable marketing plans and, just as importantly, to stay consistent with delivery. When marketing feels busy but not effective, it is often consistency rather than creativity that needs attention.
And finally, If you need help with your marketing delivery, try time blocking regular intervals in your diary to ensure a consistent and successful messaging strategy .
Visit www.themarketingassociates.co.uk.
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tabitha@themarketingassociates.co.uk or call 01233 720379
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At The Marketing Associates, we specialise in strategic freelance marketing support for professional service practices, providing excellent quality advice on your marketing strategy to develop and grow your business on a retained basis.