Turning Contradictions Into Results: The MRketable Approach

Marketing is full of contradictions, and I’ve learned to embrace them.

Marketing is full of contradictions, and I’ve learned to embrace them.

In my 15+ years of practicing marketing—first as an in-house leader, then as a co-founder of a marketing agency, and now as a fractional CMO—I’ve worked with every kind of team, leader, and playbook you can imagine.

I’ve watched companies chase gimmicks, cling to templates, overhaul their brands every year, and expect marketing to deliver miracles on a shoestring budget.

I’ve seen in-house teams come and go, agency promises fall flat, and campaigns prioritize flash over fundamentals.

All of it shaped how I think about building marketing programs that don’t just make noise. They drive real, lasting results.

Over time, a few core truths kept rising to the top. Truths that, on the surface, sometimes seem like contradictions. But the best marketing embraces both sides at once.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Strategy Before Tactics—Always.

But don’t let that stop you from making quick wins happen.

You can’t shortcut your way to meaningful growth. Every successful marketing program I’ve built started with a strong strategic foundation and an actual plan for where we’re going and why.

But early on, I learned a hard truth: if you get so wrapped up in perfecting the strategy that you never take action, you lose momentum before you even start.

Quick wins aren’t just nice to have. They’re essential. They build trust, spark belief, and give teams the energy to keep pushing toward the bigger vision.

The key is balancing thoughtful planning with a bias toward smart action. Map the road ahead but don’t be afraid to take that first step while you’re still charting the course.

2. Growth Lives in the Mundane.

Efficiency beats flash, every time.

Later in my career, another truth became clear: real, sustainable growth isn’t born from big, flashy campaigns. It’s built through relentless, sometimes boring, efficiency.

Do more of what’s working. Cut what isn’t.

It sounds simple, but it takes discipline, focus, and data to actually do it well.

You can’t optimize what you don’t measure.

Before you launch anything—a campaign, a program, a new idea—you need to know exactly how you’ll define success. Otherwise, you're taking shots in the dark and hoping to hit a target you can't see. (Spoiler: hope is not a strategy.)

Growth looks less like a grand reveal and more like a series of smart, thoughtful moves that compound over time.

3. Marketing Success Is a Shared Responsibility.

Marketing drives growth, but we can’t do it alone.

Marketing isn’t just a department. It’s a business driver. And it works best when everyone plays a role.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that marketing can’t—and shouldn’t—operate in isolation. When marketing is disconnected from the rest of the business, it loses its power to move the needle.

Marketing should influence, and be influenced by, every part of the company. It should fuel product innovation, strengthen sales conversations, deepen client relationships, and even help define internal culture.

When teams share accountability for outcomes and when product, sales, client success, and leadership are all aligned on marketing’s goals, you’re no longer just “doing marketing.” You’re building a business that’s truly scaling.

4. You Need to Invest in Marketing.

But smart investment doesn’t always mean a full-time hire.

And finally, the practical reality: not every business has the budget (or the immediate need) for a full-time, in-house marketing leader. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a senior-level marketing strategy.

Sometimes, a fractional model is exactly what’s needed. It gives growing companies access to experienced leadership without the overhead of building a full team before they’re ready.

Fractional marketing leadership brings the strategic foundation you need now and builds the runway for the full team you’ll need later. It’s smart. It’s flexible. It’s future-proofing your business.

At the end of the day, marketing is a balancing act between strategy and execution, data and intuition, big-picture thinking and tactical action. Helping organizations find that sweet spot is exactly what I do. Because when you get it right, the results speak for themselves.

Let’s make something happen.

– MR