10 Things Adtech CEOs Get Wrong About Marketing

1. Marketing is just an output.

Marketing shouldn’t be a purely tactical step after strategic decisions have been made. It should be an input. Master storytellers who understand the industry conversation and customer perception should be integrated into core processes like product development. Most marketers can’t do this; you need ones with the industry experience and strategic thinking required to elevate marketing from a tactical output to a strategic input.

2. It’s not worth doing if you can’t easily measure it in Hubspot.

Optimizing only for what’s measurable leads to tactics that don’t align with your product or sales process. DSPs aren’t chosen based on “What is a DSP?” SEO blog posts. They’re chosen based on reputation — which is harder to measure but far more important. Hire marketers with the strategic vision to build it.

3. Events are the only form of marketing that works.

If you only invest in easily measurable tactics, you’ll love events. “We spent $100K and closed $500K” sounds great — but much of that sale is attributable to reputation built long before the event. Events work, but you need a holistic approach to maximize and gauge their efficacy.

4. The press cares about my company.

Assume they don’t — especially if you’re small. Unless your news is co-signed by a notable brand, agency, or publisher or speaks to a major industry shift, the press won’t care.

5. I should start doing marketing right before a launch.

B2B launches work like Instagram posts: people engage because of a pre-existing relationship, not because it’s the “best” launch. If you want attention at launch, start building an audience now.

6. We need to perfect every communication.

In social feeds, you have seconds of your audience’s attention. The best players talk authentically and often. Don’t over-analyze each post. Be more present than your competitors.

7. I need to worry about overexposure.

No one thinks about you as much as you think about yourself. If you can reach your audience daily, do it. Exposure benefits you — don’t overthink it.

8. A great marketer or PR firm can make me famous.

PR isn’t magic. It depends on your baseline. If you’re already known, PR can hone your message and maximize reach. If not, the ceiling is lower. Be honest about your starting point and the attention you actually need. Don’t compare yourself to the best-known CEO in the industry; measure how you perform relative to a reasonable benchmark.

9. I need to go viral.

You’re probably selling to 100–200 organizations. You don’t need to go viral. You need smart content that shifts the industry conversation and gets you in front of the right people.

10. We need to talk about ourselves.

Some CEOs fear talking about anything but their business. But you earn attention by going where the conversation is — news, industry shifts — and bringing people into your fold. Then you can talk about your product as you gain their trust.

I broke down these misconceptions in last week’s Open Market podcast. Check it out for a deeper dive on these points.