Today, the whole process of selling online can feel extremely challenging. Everything is happening at incredible speed and the digital space is full of conflicting advice of varying quality.

For the average business owner, online advertising can feel as imprecise as throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. It is like flying blind, having no idea where you’re heading until you get there; like playing darts blindfolded, hoping you’ll hit the bullseye.

I also see many businesses ‘dabbling’ in marketing and advertising – a bit here, a bit there. Or worse, they partake in reactive marketing, where they see their sales pipeline go dry, so they panic.

I call this ‘hope marketing’, and in reality, it is this mostly unconscious marketing strategy that so many small businesses typically employ. If you’re a business owner, it is easy to just ‘wing it’ in marketing, without a plan.

You’re not measuring anything and you’re basically just throwing money at Facebook, Google, and any other channel that catches your eye, hoping that something, anything, will work. Sound familiar? If so, you might be guilty of a bit of hope marketing.

The problem with this kind of marketing is that it’s a total waste of time and money. If you’re not planning your marketing efforts, you’re not learning anything from your mistakes. If you want to get real results, you need to ditch the hope, inconsistency, and reactivity, and get strategic.

This means taking the time to understand your target market, crafting messages that speak directly to their needs and desires, and mapping out clear, measurable steps for your customer journey.

Once you’ve created a strategy, we can look at your system. Does it effectively capture leads, cultivate them, and convert them into sales? With a proven strategy operating through a successful system, you can scale your business by reaching new audiences, retaining customers to resell to them, and continually refining your approach.

If you, like so many others, are guilty of hope marketing, don’t worry – the good news is that there is very little randomness to digital marketing. Professionals create and stick to a plan. There is always a method to the madness, and here I share my tips on how to cut through the noise and grow your business.

Everyone’s always chasing the next shiny new object, distracted by advertising and social media content making big promises and missing what really matters. But the reality is, there are only four ways to boost your revenue.

When I started out, I was bombarded with advice from all sides. It was overwhelming. But over time, I figured out it all boils down to this:

1. Leads
2. Conversion rate
3. Average sale value
4. Purchase frequency

To have the right mindset, you need to be focused on the right things. These are the four ‘dials’ of your revenue growth and if you crank up any of these, you’ll generate more revenue. Crank them all up and you’ll crack the code to serious growth.

It’s a straightforward game plan to take your business to the next level. Let’s break it down:

Increase leads: More leads mean more potential customers. Simple as that. Everything is downstream from leads. You have to focus on traffic. It’s all about putting your business in front of more people, via both paid and organic methods. Paid traffic is like hitting the gas – quick results, but at a cost. Think Google or Facebook Ads. Organic traffic is more like planting seeds – it takes time (which is also a cost), but it pays off long term. Invest in SEO, content, and social media; mix it up to keep your pipeline full.

Increase conversion rate: Leads are great, but worthless if they don’t buy. Your conversion rate is the percentage that do. Make it incredibly easy for people to buy from you. Streamline your website, train your team, follow up fast. Use a good CRM to stay on top of things. The smoother the process, the more sales you’ll close.

Increase average sale value: This is the average amount each customer spends per purchase. Make each sale count. You’ve done the hard work in getting them – now maximise it. Upsell and cross-sell – you don’t have to be pushy, but if you don’t make offers, no one can buy from you. Offer premium versions or complementary add-ons. Show them the value in upgrading or adding on. It’s about educating, not hard selling.

Increase purchase frequency: This is how often your customers return. You want to keep them coming back because loyal customers are gold – they spend more over time and bring in new business. Focus on reselling, reactivating dormant customers, and getting referrals. Set up a loyalty programme, stay in touch through email and social media, and give incentives for referrals. Happy customers are your best marketing.

It’s simple, but powerful. If you’re aiming to become a market leader, you will have to change, adapt, and innovate the way you think about marketing. This has always been true, but today, change needs to happen more quickly and be more radical than ever.

Francis Rodino is an award-winning expert in sales automation and digital marketing, focused on helping SMEs thrive in the AI-powered era.

With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology and marketing, Francis has led digital campaigns for global brands like PlayStation, Disney, and the Olympics, and helped Top Gear reach its first 10 million followers on Facebook.

Now, as an international speaker and founder of Lead Hero AI, Francis helps SMEs leverage AI tools, marketing automation, and scalable strategies to generate leads, boost profits, and secure lasting success in today’s competitive digital landscape. He is also the author of Leads Machine.