Agencies are not the answer.
Several years ago, a Wisconsin client who makes metal casted components for OEM’s, came to us with what I ended up calling their “Frankenstein”—a stitched-together mess of random tactics, scattered assets, and good intentions.
- Their website hadn’t been updated in 4 years.
- The head of HR was also “running social media”
- They spent $15,000 on trade shows… with zero follow-up.
- No CRM. No campaign tracking. No clear goals.
The leadership team was frustrated. Sales had flattened. And every time someone brought up marketing, it triggered sighs, shrugs, or silence.
Their president summed it up perfectly: “We know marketing is important, but we have no idea what we’re doing—and we don’t have time to figure it out.”
Sound familiar?
Here was our approach.
So, instead of jumping into execution (again), we pulled back, took a dep breath, stopped all spending and started developing an actual strategy that was aligned with the sales goals.
Within weeks we gained clarity about where they can win news business and how. Within six months the website and sales materials were consistent with messaging and graphics, we launched a campaign and eventually landed 2 customer, increased order volumes with 1 customer and their poor HR director felt “100x better”.
Marketing in a small B2B business is never simple—but it shouldn’t feel like chaos. Too often, teams with strong products and talented people still struggle to get the leads, loyalty, and long-term growth they deserve.
Why? Because they’re stuck in one or more of these 10 avoidable traps.
After 20+ years observing and working in B2B markets and building the MAPS system, I’ve seen these same patterns play out time and again.
The good news? You can fix them—and grow—without becoming a marketing expert or hiring an agency empire.
- Mistaking Tactics for Strategy
Most small B2B teams dive straight into tactics—LinkedIn posts, email newsletters, trade shows, even SEO—without clearly defining why they’re doing it or what success looks like. It feels productive, but it’s aimless. Over time, the scattershot approach leads to inconsistent brand perception, diluted messaging, and wasted budget.
The Fix:
Stop spending. Just for a moment. Zoom out and start with strategic clarity.
Define your actual sales goals and break them down into bite-size goals, define your ideal customer or order – as specifically as possible, and most important define your positioning and value proposition.
Build a roadmap before you build campaigns. Using a system like MAPS to help give your team a structure for aligning every action with business objectives. It turns marketing from noise into momentum.
- Not Truly Understanding the Customer
Many businesses assume they know their customers based on years of relationships. But markets are evolving. Decision-makers change. And relying on old assumptions leads to tone-deaf messaging, misaligned offers, and missed opportunities.
The Fix:
Step outside your walls. Conduct regular voice-of-customer interviews. Listen for language patterns, pain points, buying triggers, and perceived value.
Then realign your messaging, offers, and outreach to reflect what your buyers actually need now—not what you think they need.
- Lack of a Unified Messaging
Your team talks about your business in five different ways. Your sales deck says one thing, your website another, and your social posts sound like a different company altogether. This confuses buyers and erodes trust.
The Fix:
Build a clear, shared message platform. In MAPS, we simplify this for businesses to include your positioning statement, tagline, differentiators, tone of voice, and proof points. Every piece of content—internal or external—should draw from this. When every team member uses the same language to describe your value, your brand becomes clear, credible, and compelling.
- No One Owns Marketing
In many small businesses, marketing is a shared responsibility—and therefore no one’s priority. It gets squeezed between “real work,” leading to half-executed ideas, outdated websites, and forgotten leads.
The Fix:
Assign a dedicated marketing owner. This doesn’t have to be a full-time hire or a heavy-hitting fractional CMO – just someone from your team lead with some marketing aptitude. Someone needs to own the plan, the calendar, the budget, and the outcomes. Ownership brings focus. Focus drives results. MAPS offers a way for teams to split up the marketing responsibilities without hiring more people or agencies. Yes, it can be done with a proven system.
5. Only Marketing the Top of the Funnel
You’ve got a decent pipeline, but conversion rates are low. Or worse, prospects drop off after initial interest. That’s because your marketing ends where sales begins—and prospects don’t get what they need to make a decision.
The Fix:
Build content and touchpoints for every stage of the funnel: Awareness, Consideration, Decision, Purchase, and Post-Sale. Case studies, ROI calculators, onboarding guides, and even post-purchase thank-you notes all drive growth. Marketing doesn’t just get leads—it builds trust through the entire cycle.
- Chasing Trends Without Systems
It’s tempting to jump on every marketing trend—AI-generated content, reels, webinars, etc.—but without a repeatable process behind the scenes, these efforts fall flat or never finish.
The Fix:
Build a system. Define your marketing rhythms (monthly, quarterly, annually), align them with business goals, and create reusable processes (e.g., content briefs, launch checklists, reporting dashboards). Trends should be experiments within your system—not distractions from it. This is almost what MAPS is all about.
- Measuring the Wrong Things
Vanity metrics—likes, impressions, open rates—may look good in a dashboard but don’t reflect business impact. Meanwhile, you have no insight into how many leads turned into quotes or sales.
The Fix
Shift to outcome-based metrics: cost per lead, lead-to-close ratio, deal velocity, and customer lifetime value. If you can’t tie a marketing activity to revenue, retention, or reputation, question whether it belongs to your plan.
8. Underestimating the Brand
Small B2B companies often think “branding is for big companies”. They focus on selling the product, not building emotional resonance or identity. As a result, they become commoditized and easy to replace.
The Fix:
Brand is your reputation—how people feel about your business when you’re not in the room. Build it intentionally. Define your voice, visuals, and values. Use storytelling to connect. And don’t just talk about what you do—show why it matters and why you’re different. A strong brand shortens the sales cycle and increases pricing power.
- Lack of Internal Alignment
Sales and marketing don’t talk. Leadership wants results but doesn’t support the effort. As a result, marketing feels like busy work instead of a growth engine.
The Fix
Get alignment early. Involve leadership and sales in marketing strategy. Agree on targets, messaging, and feedback loops. Hold monthly “Revenue Team” huddles where everyone shares insights. When sales and marketing work together, magic happens.
10. Quitting Too Soon
You try something for a few weeks or months, don’t see immediate results, and give up. You change direction constantly, which confuses both your team and your market.
The Fix:
Think of marketing like farming. Plant the seeds, tend the soil, and give it time to grow. Stick to your plan long enough to learn and adjust. Review results monthly, tweak quarterly, but stay consistent. Success comes from iteration, not perfection.
Small Doesn’t Mean Scrappy Forever
These mistakes aren’t signs of failure—they’re signals for change. Small B2B businesses have more control than they think. With the right system and mindset, you can build marketing that’s focused, effective, and scalable.
Momentum Marketing and the MAPS framework were built for businesses like yours—to help you move from guesswork to growth with a clear, confident plan.
Want to Fix Your Marketing Without the Overwhelm?
- Download the MAPS Field Guide
- Sign up for the Momentum Newsletter
- Or book a 1:1 Planning Session to get unstuck
Your business deserves a marketing engine as strong as the work you deliver. Let’s build it.