The Real Reason Marketing Programs Aren’t Working For Midsize Businesses

Patrick McFadden

If you think marketing is just one more thing to add to your to-do list, you’ve been looking at it all wrong. Find out how it can improve your business as you try to scale.

The challenge of marketing, today for your midsize business isn’t lack of focus, lack of passion, or even lack of motivation. The challenge, the real reason marketing programs aren’t working for midsize businesses is because they haven’t committed to a process, a journey, a strategy, and along the way understand that the tactics may change as they try to scale.

One of those tactics is being persistent. Yes, persistence is a tactic, not a strategy. Midsize businesses must determine a strategy for the areas (marketing) of their business where they want to see excellence. Wikipedia defines “strategy” as a long-term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal.

Imagine you are driving a Corvette at 90 mph headed straight toward Dallas, TX – but you really want to go to San Diego, CA. Accelerating to 120 mph may give you the sense that you are really making progress, temporarily. But what you really need to do is change direction. Midsize firms must vigilant and careful of being “persistent” in the wrong direction.

Right direction (your strategy) is more important than persistence (your tactic).

Question: What do you find as the challenge for marketing midsize business today?

By Patrick McFadden March 31, 2025
1. The Challenge: VMI was like many service providers — positioning their value around what they thought clients wanted : “Office furniture installation and assembly — let us handle creating your perfect workspace.” But the actual buyers — facility managers, project managers, furniture reps — weren’t looking for “perfect workspaces.” They were trying to avoid installation nightmares . Their real priority? ✅ Great installation days. ✅ No chaos. ✅ No missed deadlines. ✅ No angry phone calls from clients. 2. The Insight: After conducting stakeholder interviews under our marketing strategy consulting engagement , the Indispensable Marketing team uncovered critical feedback: “We need installers who maintain a professional site and follow instructions.” “We lose relationships when installations go badly.” “I need quotes back quickly or I can’t sell the job.” This wasn’t just about services , it was about trust, problem-solving , and professional reliability . So we reframed their differentiators not by what they did, but how they showed up : Same-day project quotes Problem-solving on-site Update protocol with clients Professionalism guarantee Lasting Impression Insurance 3. The Shift: We shifted the positioning from vague benefits to real-world, emotional triggers : Instead of: “Let us create your perfect workspace.” Now: “Get the perfect installation day, every time.” That subtle shift aligns with who’s actually buying (and who feels the pain when things go wrong). The end-user may care about the workspace. But the buyer cares about the install . 4. The Lesson for Others: If you’re selling a service, don’t describe what you do. Describe what the client wants to avoid or achieve — and who the real buyer is. Then, systematize what you’re already doing well and give it a name. Just like our team did with: “Same Day Quotes” “Lasting Impression Insurance” “Reliable Presence Protocol” 5. The Outcome Within weeks of updating their messaging and positioning: The company reported more qualified leads asking the right questions Furniture reps began referring them because they were “easy to work with and made them look good” They were shortlisted for larger, multi-phase projects due to increased confidence in their process But most importantly, they stopped competing on price — because they weren’t selling perfect workspaces anymore. They were selling peace of mind on installation day.
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