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“Why can’t you just get more pipeline?” asked the founder-CEO of a $125mil SaaS brand. The CMO took a deep breath and tried to explain how marketing works without condescending. It was a fruitless conversation initiated by the wrong question. This scenario is being replayed at countless companies with equally poor conclusions. Founders who enjoyed rapid growth due to plentiful cash, strong economic tailwinds, and a temporarily unique product offering are suddenly confronted with the challenge of leading a sustainable business. It isn’t pretty. Great leaders ask great questions. Inexperienced ones seek blame. Notice that the CEO spotlighted here starts his question with “Why can’t you…” versus “Why aren’t we…” Questions that include “We” recognize collective responsibility to address the organization’s biggest challenges. Leaders own challenges. This isn’t the only problem with the question. There’s the use of “just” as in “just spend marketing dollars on demand-generating activities” which is also folly. As Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo and Engagio gamely puts it, “Marketing is not a gumball machine.” In other words, you can’t just put in a quarter and expect a deal to fall through the chute. The biggest issue with the question is its demand, “get more pipeline.” I’m not suggesting that marketers shouldn’t contribute to business growth. That’s a given but not the problem here. When fast-growing businesses suddenly stop growing the problem isn’t “just” a marketing one. It’s usually a combination of product performance, customer experience, employee engagement, reputational strength, and economic conditions. A great leader asks, “Why aren’t we growing?” and convenes a braintrust to assess the problem and revise the overall business strategy. It might be a tweak to the product, price, positioning, or experience. More likely, it is a distinctive combination of all four summarized in a crystal clear promise to the market. A promise that permeates and aligns the organization. A promise that inspires employees, customers, and partners. A promise that when executed with relentless consistency delivers growth. Growth is not a strategy. It’s an outcome of a successful strategy. Growth is not a strategy. Yet every day, a founder-CEO parrots the question investors ask, “What are you doing to grow the business?” Imagine for a moment if we just changed two words in this question, so it read, “What are we doing to differentiate the business?” Oh, the power. Oh, the profundity. We differentiate. So here, marketing leaders, are your marching orders. When asked for growth, accept the challenge of differentiation. Talk to your customers. Survey your employees. Find the strategic insight. Set the agenda. Convene your peers. Lead the development of a singular promise. A promise that engenders competitive advantage. A promise that, when cleverly and consistently executed, captures mind space. Go forth and differentiate.
No argument, Drew, but this is insufficient without the ability to demonstrate that marketing “made it happen.” In B2B, the strength of the Marketing Multiplier is in its nonlinearity but that also means that much of the impact is time lagged. Without the analytics to show what’s actually happening, most of the Marketing Multiplier will be misattributed or missed altogether.
The question should shift focus from "Why can't you just get more pipeline?" to "Why aren't we seeing growth?" Growth stalls aren't just marketing issues; they're signals to reassess product performance, customer experience, and market alignment. Great leaders convene their teams to pinpoint the true bottlenecks. By differentiating the business through a clear market promise and aligning the organization around it, we drive growth. Geoffrey Moore says, it’s about “crossing the chasm” and deeply understanding what sets us apart. Focus on value and unique positioning to reignite that growth engine.
A couple of brief, concrete examples or cases would have added great weight to what’s being presented as a truth in this commentary.
And if we go back to the classics... Product, pricing, promotion/communication, placement/distribution, and other elements all feed into the marketing mix. So, it's critical for marketing leaders to understand and explain which part of the mix is causing the plateauing in growth. Marketing is all encompassing but has recently been reduced to mean something far narrower. It's a shame.
This is an f-awesome post. This is f-true. 100%. The saddest thing is that even if you try to convince the CEO that this is a long-term game, they ask you for quick wins and to “do your marketing job.” Heh. If you want quick wins, push the sales team. Marketing is about getting into people’s heads, into the consideration set. It’s not about another idea for a lead generation campaign. Yet, for those who have little to no idea how it works, it’s hard to understand that actually growth is not a strategy. It’s an outcome, as you said. Thank you for this post. It made my day.
Drew Neisser well said! The demand for “more pipeline” triggers a myopic focus on short-term KPIs, which is often detrimental to the overall health of the company. Businesses that stall usually face multifaceted issues. Solely pressuring marketing to drive growth without addressing these areas can lead to unsustainable practices and poor strategic decisions.
Fantastic insights! The principles outlined here extend beyond marketing and are crucial for all operational business areas, particularly sales. Just as great leaders in marketing need to focus on differentiation and collective responsibility, sales leaders must also ask the right questions and foster a collaborative approach. Instead of demanding, "Why can't you just close more deals?" effective sales leaders should ask, "Why aren't we converting more leads?" This subtle shift encourages a team-oriented mindset and opens up a more productive dialogue about strategy and improvement. It's not just about pushing for immediate results but understanding the broader context Great leaders in all areas of the business must embrace this mindset. Again, fantastic post and insights!
Love this post, Drew Neisser! Define your market segment, determine your ICP, and differentiate! Market consistently and measure/test/refine.
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2wGreat post Drew--- Yes , marketing is not a coin-operated demand machine. It's not just pipeline quantity but quality, as well, and ICP fit to your niche unless you want a leaky budget of unqualified prospects that will kill your brand in the long-term. Pick your narrow ICP target, and clearly differentiate your offering to them. As Seth Godin would say--- "Be remarkable." Take the time to think this through and mobilize accordingly--- it will come if you take the time to plan and execute the right things.