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Let me paint you a picture.
You’re running a business. You’ve got a website, a Facebook page, maybe a LinkedIn profile, possibly a TikTok you made once and never touched again. You’re posting when you can. You’re running a small ad here and there. And when someone asks “how’s the marketing going?” you say “busy” because that feels like the right answer.
But busy isn’t the same as working. In a recent episode of Underestimated: The Small Business Advantage Podcast, I interviewed Josh Anderson of MKTG Reboot — a fractional CMO who has walked into hundreds of companies and sees this exact situation every single time. Different people, different industries, same problem.
In a recent episode of Underestimated: The Small Business Advantage Podcast, I spoke with Josh about exactly this. “We usually cut twenty-five to thirty percent of what people are doing,” he told me, “because they’re focusing on the wrong things.”
Ouch. But also: yes.
The biggest mistake Josh sees in growing businesses? Trying to be on every platform, serve every customer, and say everything to everyone all at once. It feels like hustle. It looks like effort. But it’s actually a slow leak in your marketing budget — and your sanity.
He uses a great example. Imagine a new veterinarian hanging out their shingle. First instinct: cast the widest net. “Compassionate care for dogs, cats, and small breeds. Friendly staff. Open Monday through Saturday.”
Being everywhere isn’t a strategy. Being consistent and intentional in the right places is.
You could slap any vet’s name on that and nobody would know the difference.
Now imagine that same vet leans into what she actually loves: cats. Not just “we see cats” — but “the number one cat-recommended veterinarian in Minneapolis.” Suddenly her marketing gets cheaper (targeted audience), stickier (cat people find her), and more memorable (she’s not one of fifty generalists — she’s the cat vet).
Specialists get paid more than generalists. That’s true in medicine, in law, and in small business marketing. The neurosurgeon earns more than the general practitioner. The mechanic who only works on foreign hybrids gets the customers who will drive past three other shops to reach them.
Pick your lane. Commit to it. Your marketing gets easier, cheaper, and more effective all at once.
The Document That Changes Everything
Once you’ve nailed your niche, the next problem Josh sees is teams that aren’t speaking the same language. The website says one thing. Sales says something slightly different. Customer service is winging it. And the poor new hire is just guessing.
His fix: a messaging platform. One document that captures your internal positioning statement, your origin story, your ideal customer profile, your service offerings, and the exact language your team uses to describe what you do and who you serve. Everyone — from your sales team to your social media intern to whoever answers the phone — filters their communication through this document.
“It’s like gold,” Josh says. And he’s not wrong. The friction that comes from inconsistent messaging is invisible until you fix it — and then suddenly the customer journey gets smoother, trust builds faster, and your marketing actually lands.
What You Can Do Right Now (Before You Can Afford a Fractional CMO)
Josh’s honest advice for businesses not yet at his price point? Three things:
1. Get your data in order. Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, whatever CRM you’re using — make sure it’s set up and you’re actually looking at it. Gut feelings are great for creativity. Data tells you if that creativity is paying off.
2. Write your own positioning statement. Get your whole team in a room (or a Zoom) and hammer out: who are we for, what do we do better than anyone else, and what words do we use to say it? It’s harder than it sounds. There will be arguments. Worth every minute.
3. Stop marketing on platforms where your customers aren’t. Pick one or two. Own them. Master their quirks. Then — and only then — consider adding another.
The businesses that waste the most money on marketing aren’t the ones with the smallest budgets. They’re the ones scattered across every platform, saying something different everywhere, with no data and no positioning and no idea what’s working.
Sound familiar? Good. That’s the first step.
Now go find your lane. The cat owners are waiting.
Josh Anderson is the founder of MKTG Reboot and host of the Making Big Shifts podcast. You can find him at mktgreboot.com.
