If I Audited Your Marketing Today, Here’s What I’d Look For First | Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working
I obviously spend a lot of time observing, auditing and creating marketing for both myself and my clients.
My days are spent immersed in all things marketing, whether it’s strategy or execution.
I know where to look when you can’t work out why your marketing isn’t working, what to do next when it is and how to apply that across different industries, business models and offers.
So I know my shit. I’m not one of those people who tells you the only way to be successful is to follow exactly what I do.
I’ll always tell you what you need to do to be successful in a way that works for you, your business and your goals.
And right now that matters more than anything else. We have an avalanche of marketing gurus spouting advice that’s serving absolutely no one except themselves.
While the gurus get richer, the people who help them make that money are wondering why it’s not working for them.
And that’s because the gurus don’t really know marketing outside of what’s worked for them.
So today I’m going to take you through what I would actually look at if I audited your marketing today, and what each part would tell me about where the real problem might be.
Let’s get into it.
Firstly, Instagram IS NOT Marketing
Before I tell you where I’d look, let me tell you something first.
The first place I wouldn’t look is Instagram, because repeat after me: INSTAGRAM IS NOT MARKETING.
Instagram is a channel. It’s ONE place your marketing shows up.
Marketing is the bigger picture. It’s how you:
- Attract the right people
- Help them understand the problem you solve
- Build trust
- Position your offer
- Move someone towards a decision
- Eventually convert that attention into a sale.
Instagram can play an important role in that, but it can’t tell me on its own why your marketing isn’t working.
So when I audit a business, I zoom out first. I want to understand how the whole marketing ecosystem is working together and where the actual gap is.
And if your entire marketing strategy begins and ends with Instagram, then we’ve already found the first problem.
I’d Look At The Offer You’re Actually Trying To Sell
Once I’ve zoomed out and looked at the bigger picture, the first proper place I’d go is the offer.
I’d want to know what problem it solves, what someone is actually buying when they say yes, and whether that outcome matters enough for your ideal client to prioritise it.
You can have a genuinely good offer, but if the positioning is off or the value isn’t obvious, people won’t understand why they should buy it, why they should buy it now or why they should buy it from you.
So I’d look at whether your ideal client can quickly understand what this offer helps them change, why that change matters and why they should care about solving it now.
I’d also look at whether there’s a clear reason to choose you.
Do they understand your approach?
Can they see what makes your way of solving the problem different?
Is there enough proof to make the decision feel credible?
If the offer itself isn’t positioned strongly enough, I’m not moving on to fix the funnel. I’m fixing that first.
Because ultimately the sales you make come from the offers you sell.
I’d Look At Who Your Marketing Is Actually Attracting
Once I know the offer is solid and something your ideal clients actually want to buy, I’d look at who your marketing is bringing into your world.
I’d look at your content, your lead magnets and the main entry points into your business, then compare that with the person most likely to buy the offer.
Are you attracting people with the problem your offer solves?
Does your lead magnet connect naturally to that offer?
Are you speaking to people who are at the right stage to buy, or mostly attracting people who enjoy your content but were never likely to become customers?
You can have plenty of reach, downloads and engagement without attracting the right buyers.
And if that’s the problem, I’d fix who your marketing is speaking to before I worried about bringing in more people.
I’d Look At What Happens After Someone Finds You
Once I know the offer is solid and the right people are finding you, I’d look at what happens next.
I’d map the journey from discovery to sale and look for any points where people are left hanging, leaking out or getting stuck.
If someone downloads your lead magnet, what happens after that?
They join your email list; are you actually nurturing them and helping them understand the problem you solve, your approach and your offer?
They’re interested; is there a clear next step?
This is where a lot of customer journeys fall apart.
Someone downloads the freebie and hears nothing for weeks. They follow you on Instagram, but there’s no real pathway beyond consuming content. They open your emails, but you barely talk about your offers.
People need multiple touchpoints before they buy. So every gap in the journey effectively pushes them back to the start instead of building on the interest you’ve already created.
I’d Look At The Messaging Across The Journey
Once I know the journey exists, I’d look at the messaging inside it.
Having the touchpoints in place only matters if those touchpoints are actually helping someone make a decision.
I’d look at whether your marketing is building desire for the outcome, creating enough demand around the problem and making your differentiation clear.
Does your ideal client understand why this matters now?
Can they see what changes when they solve it?
Do they understand why your approach makes sense for them?
And are those messages showing up consistently across the journey, or are you expecting one sales page or one piece of content to do all the work?
If the messaging at each stage isn’t answering the questions your buyer has, don’t expect them to feel ready to buy from you.
I’d Look At Where People Are Actually Dropping Off
This is where I’d look at the data behind the journey, because the numbers can show me where people are actually dropping off.
If people are seeing the lead magnet but not opting in, I’d look at the positioning of the lead magnet.
Or if they’re joining your list but not clicking through to the offer, I’d look at the nurture and the sales messaging.
Or if they’re landing on the sales page but not buying, I’d look at the page, the offer positioning, the proof and the objections that aren’t being addressed.
And if you’re getting enquiries but they’re not converting, I’d look at who is enquiring and what expectations your marketing has created before they get on the call.
“Sales are slow” doesn’t tell me enough about why your marketing isn’t working.
I want to know where people are dropping off, because that tells me what actually needs fixing.
So What Would I Fix First?
If I were auditing your marketing, I’d be looking for the biggest gap first, and I’d diagnose that before changing anything else.
That’s how you avoid spending the next three months focusing on the wrong thing.
If you want help working out why your marketing isn’t working, come join me for my next free masterclass, How to Bring in More Leads to Your Online Service Business in 2026.
Or if you want my hands-on support fixing those gaps, that’s exactly what we do inside Micro Messaging.
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