Marketing in B2B is like a midfielder in football: it’s supposed to cover the whole field and only occasionally push forward. Meanwhile, all the glory rightfully goes to the strikers, while our role is to reliably back the team.

Still, remove marketing from any business, and you’ll immediately recall Stewart Britt’s line about winking at a girl in the dark. Working without marketing today means being unarmed and invisible in the sea of offers and background noise that’s only getting harder to cut through.

Today, we’re celebrating Trueplay’s 7th anniversary — and as a small but meaningful gift, our marketing team would like to offer a bit of striptease and self-flagellation by offering fixes for some of the most common mistakes marketing teams make.

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Clear your meeting calendar

Let’s start with a universal pain point for remote-era businesses: weeding through online meetings. Endless regular calls — with or without a clear purpose — fill up the day and ruthlessly devour your time.

Our conclusion: meet only when the issue cannot be solved in writing. Video calls are great for fast, efficient status updates, but become a protracted torture when the only reason is “just to have a call.”

We’re not denying the value of human connection — even through Google Meet — but add this to your calendar: meet only with purpose.

Work together — validate your ideas

Important decisions should always be made collectively, with all relevant perspectives taken into account. To execute any process — especially one that impacts the company’s success — you need a complementary team.

Only in fairytales or propaganda do people unanimously accept top-down decisions. In reality, any idea — especially a creative one — will have both supporters and critics. That’s why you need to build processes where important decisions are validated collectively.

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If you’re launching a new website, building a key campaign, or preparing for a major expo — take the time to gather all the department heads around the (virtual) table, especially Sales. Run the idea by them and give them a heads-up about what’s coming.

One of the most common mistakes marketing teams make is leveraging their authority to impose changes: “This is how we’re doing things now.” But if the rest of the team doesn’t support your idea — at least tacitly — failure is almost guaranteed.

It reminds us of a brilliant example from Ichak Adizes, who once visited a shoe factory. Taking aside a factory worker, he discovered how employees responded to unpopular management decisions. They didn’t argue or complain — they simply packed mismatched shoe sizes into the same box and sent them to stores.

Just imagine: marketers, managers, and strategy consultants working around the clock to design company-wide strategies — and a few disengaged people silently undo it all by refusing to cooperate.

Leave time for execution

Marketers love ideas. But even the best concept can fall apart due to a lack of time, budget, or resources.

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We’ve held pure gold in our hands — ideas that could’ve flown. But when it came to execution, we stalled. You never know where the problem will arise: a legal nuance, a burning deadline, or a system that simply isn’t ready.

So always build in time. Don’t rush. Remember that cycles repeat — if it didn’t work now, you can always return later with stronger preparation.

Test the product

Even if no one expects it from you — use your market knowledge to help improve the product. Talk to clients. Validate hypotheses early. Stay in touch with the market. Share your insights with the product team.

The worst service you can provide is silent acceptance. You’re not paid to promote anything blindly — you’re here to make products and services better.

Watch your costs

Prices always go up. Invoices from contractors, expo fees, event costs — they’ll all increase each year. That means you must constantly monitor the budget and plan for risks.

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To stay ready for tough negotiations — research the market, look for alternatives, check out new vendors. A shark dies if it stops swimming.

Keep your eyes open

Marketing is a 24/7 job. You’re always learning — no matter the field. Every brilliant campaign, viral case, or breakthrough idea is your teacher.

Read the news. Follow innovation and creativity channels. Feed your brain with inspiration. Your superpower is insight, intuition, and ideas. And they can come from anywhere.

Remember your role

Marketing is the company’s radar. Its navigation system. Its sails. You’re always where it’s loud and messy. Your job is to make the company seen, to build the brand. It’s a serious responsibility.

And yes, product creators often get the credit — and that’s fair. But remember: you shape the packaging. And packaging makes things desirable.

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That’s your work.
That’s your win.