Key Takeaways
- Don’t use ads to fix deeper business problems, they won’t.
- Know your audience, fix your systems, and track everything.
- Ads are an amplifier. Make sure what you’re amplifying is worth it.
Read More: Digital Marketing for Beginners: Which Metrics Should You Be Tracking For Success?
Yes, you read that right.
See, I’ve seen plenty in my professional career. From my early days working in advertising, to switching to the client side in oil and gas, financial services, trading and e-commerce sectors, and now as a marketing consultant, I’ve seen too many businesses treat advertising like a magic pill. The truth is, running ads at the wrong time can burn your money faster than sitting in Third Mainland bridge traffic burns fuel.
Here are five moments when you should hit pause on advertising, no matter how tempting it feels to just start spending:
1. When Your Product or Service Isn’t Ready
If your product is full of bugs, inconsistent, or just plain confusing, advertising will only amplify the mess. Ads bring attention. If what you’re offering doesn’t deliver, you’re spending money to lose trust. Fix the product first, after which you can spend to scale awareness.
Ask yourself: “Will someone recommend this after trying it?” If the answer is “no”, drop the advertising idea sharp sharp.
2. When You Don’t Know Who You’re Targeting
The moment I hear “our target is everyone”, I know we are in for a long, wasteful thing. Running ads without a clear audience is like throwing flyers off a rooftop and hoping one lands in the right hands. Without defined buyer personas or at least basic audience insights, your ad budget is basically a donation. Why throw money away?
If you can’t describe your ideal customer in one sentence, pause the ads.
3. When Your Back-End Systems Are a Mess
What happens after someone clicks your ad? Where do they go? What do you say to them? How do you close the sale? If your website is slow, your checkout process is broken, or your customer service is non-existent, it doesn’t matter how great the ad is, you’re leaking leads.
Fix the funnel before you pour in the money, and ensure all the parts of your operations are working as they should.
4. When You’re Not Tracking Anything
This is the one that baffles me the most – how can you possibly want to commit resources (as in, actually spend money!!!) to an activity, where you have no way of measuring the impact?
No tracking = no learning. If you can’t measure what’s working and what’s wasting money, you’re better off just strolling down the street, throwing your money in the air for passersby to catch.
Make sure your analytics, pixels, and conversion goals are working before you hit “publish” on any advertising campaign.
5. When You Just Want “Quick Results”
If you’re running ads out of desperation, pause. Advertising is part of a broader strategy, and not a silver bullet. You need clarity, consistency, and patience.
Ads can accelerate growth, but they can’t fix a business model that’s still figuring itself out.
So, When Should You Advertise?
Once your product is solid, your customer journey is smooth, and you know who you’re speaking to, then go for it. Advertising is a powerful tool, but only in the right hands at the right time and for the right purpose.