--- title: Are you relying on ‘gut feel’ marketing without even realising it? description: Feeling like your marketing is a hit-and-miss guessing game? Here’s why instinct isn’t enough - and what to do instead. image: https://rosconkie.com/hubfs/Website%20Blog%20Images%20(1).png --- [![TMMW_main logo_RGB-1](https://rosconkie.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png?width=150&height=266&name=TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png "TMMW_main logo_RGB-1")](https://rosconkie.com) Search toggle - [Home](https://rosconkie.com) - [How I Work](https://rosconkie.com/how-we-work) How I Work - [Client Stories](https://rosconkie.com/case-studies) - [Work with us](https://rosconkie.com/get-started) Work with us - [Support for CEOs](https://rosconkie.com/ceo-marketing-support) - [Mentoring for Marketers](https://rosconkie.com/mentoring-for-marketing-managers) - [Training for Micro Businesses](https://rosconkie.com/small-business-marketing-training) - [Support for Charities & NFPs](https://rosconkie.com/pro-bono) - [Resources](https://rosconkie.com/resources) Resources - [Read the Book](https://rosconkie.com/shop) - [Listen to the Audiobook](https://rosconkie.com/audiobook) - [Blog](https://rosconkie.com/blog) - [Free Guides & Tutorials](https://rosconkie.com/resources) - [My Story](https://rosconkie.com/about) - [Book Ros as a Speaker](https://rosconkie.com/speaker) - [Contact](https://rosconkie.com/contact) [![TMMW_main logo_RGB-1](https://rosconkie.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png?width=150&height=266&name=TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png "TMMW_main logo_RGB-1")](https://rosconkie.com) - [Home](https://rosconkie.com) - [How I Work](https://rosconkie.com/how-we-work) How I Work - [Client Stories](https://rosconkie.com/case-studies) - [Work with us](https://rosconkie.com/get-started) Work with us - [Support for CEOs](https://rosconkie.com/ceo-marketing-support) - [Mentoring for Marketers](https://rosconkie.com/mentoring-for-marketing-managers) - [Training for Micro Businesses](https://rosconkie.com/small-business-marketing-training) - [Support for Charities & NFPs](https://rosconkie.com/pro-bono) - [Resources](https://rosconkie.com/resources) Resources - [Read the Book](https://rosconkie.com/shop) - [Listen to the Audiobook](https://rosconkie.com/audiobook) - [Blog](https://rosconkie.com/blog) - [Free Guides & Tutorials](https://rosconkie.com/resources) - [My Story](https://rosconkie.com/about) - [Book Ros as a Speaker](https://rosconkie.com/speaker) - [Contact](https://rosconkie.com/contact) Search toggle [![TMMW_main logo_RGB-1](https://rosconkie.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png?width=200&height=266&name=TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png "TMMW_main logo_RGB-1")](https://rosconkie.com) - [Home](https://rosconkie.com) - [How I Work](https://rosconkie.com/how-we-work) How I Work - [Client Stories](https://rosconkie.com/case-studies) - [Work with us](https://rosconkie.com/get-started) Work with us - [Support for CEOs](https://rosconkie.com/ceo-marketing-support) - [Mentoring for Marketers](https://rosconkie.com/mentoring-for-marketing-managers) - [Training for Micro Businesses](https://rosconkie.com/small-business-marketing-training) - [Support for Charities & NFPs](https://rosconkie.com/pro-bono) - [Resources](https://rosconkie.com/resources) Resources - [Read the Book](https://rosconkie.com/shop) - [Listen to the Audiobook](https://rosconkie.com/audiobook) - [Blog](https://rosconkie.com/blog) - [Free Guides & Tutorials](https://rosconkie.com/resources) - [My Story](https://rosconkie.com/about) - [Book Ros as a Speaker](https://rosconkie.com/speaker) - [Contact](https://rosconkie.com/contact) Search toggle What are you looking for? Search # Are you relying on ‘gut feel’ marketing without even realising it? 6 Aug 2025 ![Picture of Ros Conkie](https://rosconkie.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Ros%20Conkie%20-%20Portraits%20-%20turquoise%20marina%20024%20square.jpg?width=40&name=Ros%20Conkie%20-%20Portraits%20-%20turquoise%20marina%20024%20square.jpg) [Ros Conkie](https://rosconkie.com/blog/author/ros-conkie) ![Ros Conkie reading The Marketing Machine in a co-working space](https://rosconkie.com/hubfs/Website%20Blog%20Images%20(1).png) Sometimes a campaign took off. Other times, the exact same tactic flopped. And when it flopped, I was left scratching my head, wondering what went wrong. Was it the timing? The copy? The visuals? The offer? All of the above? It felt like marketing roulette - spin the wheel and hope for the best. That was exactly my experience when I was a Marketing Manager. I didn’t realise I was doing “gut feel” marketing. I thought I was just... doing marketing. That’s what everyone else was doing too, right? I had no process. No roadmap. I’d read the books, done the courses, studied the 4 Ps, the Boston Matrix, PESTEL, SWOT - all the acronyms. But they never told me what to actually do. They gave me tools, but no method. So when I was faced with a marketing decision, I’d look at the options and go with whatever felt like it had a good chance of working. “This seems like a good idea. Let’s give it a go.” That’s the thing about gut feel marketing: it’s unpredictable. It’s frustrating. And worst of all, it’s completely unrepeatable. I used to tear my hair out trying to figure out what went wrong. Without a process to analyse and measure, you’re stuck guessing. And the worst part? We couldn’t repeat our successes. Which meant I couldn’t build momentum - everything felt like starting from scratch. And over time, that guessing erodes your confidence. You start second-guessing your instincts. You begin to hesitate, not just in your marketing but in your wider business decisions too. You become more cautious. Slower. Doubt creeps in and decision-making becomes a whole lot more stressful than it needs to be. But when you have a process - a proper, structured, engineering-style process - everything changes. You can: - Diagnose what went wrong and fix it. - Learn from every result, good or bad. - Make confident decisions, backed by data. - Stop wasting time on tactics that "feel right" but don’t deliver. You gain clarity. Confidence. And best of all, consistency. Marketing stops being hit-and-miss and starts becoming a predictable system. I’ve built my entire methodology around this idea - that marketing isn’t about gut feel or creative guesswork. It’s about applying a structured process that gives you confidence, results, and growth. And that’s exactly what I teach in my book *The Marketing Machine*. It’s not a book full of theory and jargon. It’s a practical guide to building a marketing system that works - using principles you probably already use elsewhere in your business. So if you’ve ever found yourself saying, “Let’s just give this a go and see what happens,” this book is for you. You don’t need better instincts. You need a better process - one that means you’ll never have to cross your fingers and hope ever again. And that’s what *The Marketing Machine* gives you. Ready to stop guessing and start marketing with confidence? Grab your copy of *The Marketing Machine* today and start building a strategy that actually works. [Get your copy today (Amazon)](https://amzn.to/3FHqZxR)     ### Share: [Share on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://rosconkie.com/blog/are-you-relying-on-gut-feel-marketing-without-even-realising-it&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook) [Share on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://rosconkie.com/blog/are-you-relying-on-gut-feel-marketing-without-even-realising-it&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://rosconkie.com/blog/are-you-relying-on-gut-feel-marketing-without-even-realising-it&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://rosconkie.com/blog/are-you-relying-on-gut-feel-marketing-without-even-realising-it&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Are%20you%20relying%20on%20‘gut%20feel’%20marketing%20without%20even%20realising%20it) [Marketing Machine process](https://rosconkie.com/blog/tag/marketing-machine-process) ## Ros Conkie ## Comments ## Related posts Search [Why “Spike Tests” Don’t Work in Marketing (And What to Do Instead)](https://rosconkie.com/blog/why-spike-tests-dont-work-in-marketing-and-what-to-do-instead) [Fractional CMO: The Missing Link in Your Marketing Machine](https://rosconkie.com/blog/fractional-cmo-the-missing-link-in-your-marketing-machine) Search ![TMMW_white logo_RGB](https://rosconkie.com/hs-fs/hubfs/TMMW_white%20logo_RGB.png?width=170&name=TMMW_white%20logo_RGB.png "TMMW_white logo_RGB") The Marketing Machine Works is a Marketing Consultancy and Training company based in Portishead near Bristol, North Somerset, UK VAT: 468 4037 71 - [Home](https://rosconkie.com) - [How we work](https://rosconkie.com/how-we-work) - [Work with us](https://rosconkie.com/get-started) - [The Marketing Machine Book](https://rosconkie.com/shop) - [The Marketing Machine Audiobook](https://rosconkie.com/audiobook) - [Free Resources](https://rosconkie.com/resources) - [Our Story](https://rosconkie.com/about) - [Client stories](https://rosconkie.com/case-studies) - [Contact us](https://rosconkie.com/contact) - [Privacy Policy](https://rosconkie.com/privacy-policy) - [Cookie Policy](https://rosconkie.com/cookie-policy) - [Marketing for Engineering Companies](https://rosconkie.com/marketing-for-engineering-companies) - [Book Ros Conkie As A Speaker](https://rosconkie.com/speaker) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MarketingMachineWorks) [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/marketingmachineworks/) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketingmachineworks/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Ros Conkie", "url" : "https://rosconkie.com/blog/author/ros-conkie" }, "dateModified" : "2025-08-06T09:00:00.902Z", "datePublished" : "2025-08-06T09:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Are you relying on ‘gut feel’ marketing without even realising it?", "image" : [ "https://rosconkie.com/hubfs/Website%20Blog%20Images%20(1).png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://rosconkie.com/blog/are-you-relying-on-gut-feel-marketing-without-even-realising-it", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://rosconkie.com/hubfs/TMMW_main%20logo_RGB-1.png" }, "name" : "The Marketing Machine Works" } } ```