I’ve spent much of 2025 focused on my wellbeing – walking an average 10-20k steps a day, getting 8 hours sleep for the first time in my life and doing regular yoga.
Nutritionally speaking, my protein intake has gone through the roof and I’m eating well. I’m doing all the right stuff.
But, god do I still chase those thrilling sugar highs! And in the context of lots of the stuff going really well, and how sugar has the power to totally derail me (and frequently does), it’s clear me and sugar need to break up.
Why am I telling you this?
Well it struck me this morning that sugar is the short-term fix, undermining the long term gains all the other stuff is giving me. And that’s a lot like your marketing.
You’ve done the expensive rebrand, and you’ve got an exciting new menu ready to go – yet you’re still not moving the dial. Because if you’re still focused on short-term transactional marketing, whereby you chase the sugar high of instant sales, you’re undermining every bit of impact they bring.
WHAT TO FOCUS ON INSTEAD
So what should you be doing instead?
- Go through the very short-term pain of giving up the instant gratification of instant revenue, in favour of activity which drives more meaningful and sustainable loyalty. Nourish both body and database!
- Listen to the experts. I’ve spent my entire adult life (and I’m 50!) believing that 8 hours sleep is not for me. I thrive on 6, I just don’t need it! I was wrong, 8 hours good quality sleep makes me feel AMAZING. Who knew! Experts, (like me) know that the current state of marketing is just accelerating what is already a very clear race to the bottom (and we have the data to prove it)
- Know you are only as strong as your weakest link. Sugar is mine. And if transactional, batch and blast marketing is yours, given that you operate in a people facing sector, that’s a very very weak link indeed.
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
So let’s make a deal? I’m going to stop thinking that a little bar of chocolate is not a problem (it’s not, it’s the 2 after it that are) and you’re going to do marketing right – by using your data to get closer to your customers and build the kind of mutually beneficial relationship marketing always should.
And if you need any help with that, you know where to find me.
