When your marketing feels stuck

Hey there,

I used to think that persistence was the key to great marketing.

Stick with a strategy long enough, and it’ll eventually pay off — right?

Wrong.

The reality hit hard: I held on to a failing campaign longer than I should have.

I watched time, budget, and momentum slowly slip away — all because I didn’t adapt when the market changed.

And that’s the thing no one tells you early on:

Marketing doesn’t reward what worked last year.
It rewards how quickly you respond to what’s working right now.

You’ve probably been there too — running playbooks that used to deliver, but now fall flat. Or chasing trends, hoping something sticks.

That frustration? I turned it into something useful.

It’s called the A.D.A.P.T. Formula — a simple, 5-step framework to realign your marketing with what actually drives results.

It’s data-driven, logic-backed, and most importantly, built for change.

The A.D.A.P.T. Formula

A.D.A.P.T. stands for:

1. Assess the Market and Adapt

2. Detect the Sunk Cost Fallacy

3. Apply Data-Driven Decisions with AI

4. Prioritize Logical Decision-Making

5. Track Success and Refine

Let’s find out what each of it means and how you can apply it starting today.

A — Assess the Market and Adapt

The marketing landscape shifts constantly; algorithms, buyer behavior, channels, even the way trust is built. 

If you don’t actively reassess where you stand every 30–60 days, you're setting yourself up for stagnation.

Most teams run the same campaigns for quarters without revisiting whether they’re still aligned with buyer needs or market signals.

And that’s how teams fall behind.

Actionable Steps:

1. Set a 30-day insight loop. 

Block time monthly to review what’s changed in your market: trends, competitors, channels.

2. Monitor audience shifts. 

Use tools like SparkToro, Wynter, or even LinkedIn comments to understand what your audience really cares about today.

3. Refresh messaging often. 

Don’t wait a full year to update positioning. Update based on relevance, not a calendar.

You don’t have to wait for things to go wrong to pivot.

The best marketers evolve before they’re forced to.

D — Detect the Sunk Cost Fallacy

This one stings a bit.

We’ve all clung to a campaign or a channel because of how much we’ve already put into it.

Time. Budget. Ego.

But in reality, continuing with what’s not working just digs a deeper hole.

The real skill isn’t commitment. It’s knowing when to walk away.

Actionable Steps:

1. Run a marketing portfolio audit. 

Look at all active efforts.

If a channel or campaign hasn’t moved key metrics in 60–90 days, flag it for re-evaluation.

2. Ask the tough questions:

• “If I hadn’t already spent money on this, would I continue it today?”
  

• “What would I do if I had to start from scratch?”

3. Reallocate budget ruthlessly. 

Shift spend from underperforming channels to fast movers, even mid-quarter.

A — Apply Data-Driven Decisions with AI

There’s too much noise in marketing to go by gut alone.

AI and data help you separate opinion from insight.

In my own marketing, we’ve used AI tools to predict top-performing content angles, prioritize campaigns by conversion potential, and personalize messaging in ways manual analysis couldn’t scale.

But the key? 

Don’t just collect data. Let it drive the decision.

Actionable Steps:

1. Use predictive insights. 

Tools like Jasper, Mutiny, and ChatGPT (with the right prompts) can help simulate scenarios, forecast results, and suggest optimizations.

2. Create a KPI dashboard that matters. 

Align metrics with outcomes, not vanity.

Focus on CAC, pipeline contribution, conversion velocity, not just impressions.

3. Run weekly decision reviews. 

Ask: “What’s the data telling us? Are we listening?”

Make at least one small data-led pivot each week.

Data doesn’t remove creativity.

It frees it by showing you what to stop wasting time on.

P — Prioritize Logical Decision-Making

We want to win. We want our idea to work. We want the campaign to go viral.

But emotion makes us double down on the wrong bets. Logic keeps us grounded.

The most effective marketers don’t chase trends. They test them.

Actionable Steps:

1. Introduce “pause points.” 

Before launching a campaign, pause and review:

• Are we solving the right problem?
  

• Are we targeting the right audience?
  

• What does success look like?

2. Have a logic-first playbook. 

Create a checklist for major decisions (new campaign, rebrand, offer shift) that includes data support, market context, and alignment with business goals.

3. Invite cross-functional feedback. 

Logic is strengthened with perspective.

Bring in sales, product, even customer support for feedback loops before launch.

It’s not about removing emotion. It’s about balancing it with structured thinking.

T — Track Success and Refine

This is where most strategies fall apart. Not in the planning. Not in the launch.

But in the follow-through.

You’d be surprised how many marketers don’t check performance until the end of the quarter.

By then? It’s too late.

Actionable Steps:

1. Set leading indicators. 

Don’t wait for end-funnel data.

Define weekly metrics (e.g., engagement rate, MQL velocity) that show whether you’re on track.

2. Build an optimization habit. 

Reserve 10–15% of your weekly effort for optimization, not just creation.

3. Document learnings. 

Every campaign should have a “what worked / what didn’t” post-mortem. S

hare it across your team. It builds marketing intelligence.

Marketing isn’t a one-shot game.

It’s test, learn, tweak, repeat.

If your marketing feels stuck, scattered, or stagnant right now, it’s time to A.D.A.P.T.

The A.D.A.P.T. formula is a mindset to help you scale faster and smarter without burning out or getting lost in guesswork.

Start small, pick one letter to focus on this week.

Then build from there.

You’ll be surprised how quickly things start moving when you stop doing what used to work—and start doing what works now.

Until next time,

Karthick Raajha