Most companies that call me do not have a budget problem. They spend enough on marketing, often more than necessary. What is missing is someone who decides what it is spent on. As long as nobody does, agencies, tools and the last loud suggestion in the meeting decide. The following seven signs are the ones I see most often. If three or more apply, an honest look at leadership is worth it.
1. Nobody knows the cost per enquiry
How to spot it: The monthly report shows clicks, reach and impressions. Asked "What did a qualified lead cost us last quarter?", there is no number, only a guess.
Where it comes from: Every channel measures itself. The link to the CRM, where enquiries turn into business, is missing.
First 30 days: agree on one metric that counts (cost per qualified enquiry or per meeting), pass the source of every enquiry through to the CRM and report exactly that number once a month.
2. Three agencies, no direction
How to spot it: One agency runs ads, one does social media, one the website. Each reports success, nobody has the full picture, and coordination runs through you.
Where it comes from: Agencies were added as needed, never led as a team. Briefings come from different people.
First 30 days: one shared plan with goals per channel, one meeting a month with everyone, one person who sets priorities. Often it turns out one agency is not needed.
3. The website measures nothing useful
How to spot it: Google Analytics is installed, but nobody looks at it. Forms, calls and bookings are not counted as goals, or tracking runs without valid consent.
Where it comes from: The website was built; measurement was never part of the brief.
First 30 days: define goals, set up tracking cleanly through consent, and click through the three most important paths (enquiry, call, booking) yourself once.
4. Campaigns get paused on gut feeling
How to spot it: After a quiet week the budget is stopped, after a good one it goes up again. Nobody can say whether the campaign works or just the season.
Where it comes from: There is no test plan and no idea how long a campaign has to run before it says anything.
First 30 days: reorganise campaigns by goal, set run times and thresholds, move budget only on data. Where money gets lost is covered in the article on the most common budget drains.
5. The team has no priorities
How to spot it: The marketing people work hard, but on twenty things at once. Nobody knows which of them drives revenue. Whoever asks loudest gets the capacity.
Where it comes from: There is no quarterly plan that says no. Without leadership, every request becomes equally important.
First 30 days: three goals for the quarter, a list of what you deliberately will not do, and a short weekly rhythm. That often relieves the team more than a new hire.
6. Management does marketing on the side
How to spot it: The founder or managing director writes briefings in the evening, approves ads and decides on logos. Marketing happens in the gaps between everything else.
Where it comes from: In the growth phase that was right. Beyond a certain size it costs more time than it brings, and decisions stall.
First 30 days: hand over responsibility, not just tasks. Management sets goals and budget and sees the numbers once a month. How that works in practice is described in the article on the first 90 days with a fractional CMO.
7. Nobody knows how you show up in AI search
How to spot it: Customers say they found you through ChatGPT, or they don't. Whether and how you are named there, nobody has checked.
Where it comes from: The topic is new and falls between SEO, content and PR. No agency feels responsible.
First 30 days: measure once how you do for your customers' ten most important questions and sort out the basics: consistent company data, quotable references, clear service pages.
Leadership does not have to be full time
If several points apply, the answer is rarely another agency or a new tool. You need one person who takes responsibility, sets priorities and reports numbers. That can be a permanent hire, an interim solution or a fractional CMO who works with you one to three days a week. How the models differ is covered in the comparison of fractional, interim and agency, and what a fractional CMO costs in the article on fractional CMO costs.