Why marketers should never put all of their eggs in one basket

When you find a digital marketing strategy that works well, it’s easy to focus on that particular strategy at the expense of other methods. On the surface, it seems to make sense to invest more of your time and money into a strategy that’s working well. And while it’s true that you should invest more time and money into the strategies that are generating traffic and sales, you should never rely on a single strategy or channel.

If you put all of your marketing eggs into one basket, the minute something happens to disrupt your flow – like a suspended account – you’ll lose everything. Many business owners have learned this the hard way. Having the majority of your sales come to a halt can destroy your business. However, if you have a variety of marketing strategies in play and you’re using multiple advertising channels, you won’t get hit as hard. 

Here’s why you should never rely on a single marketing method or channel.

Your account might get terminated without warning

Once you create a steady flow of leads and/or sales from one marketing channel, there’s no guarantee it will last forever. Accounts get terminated all the time without warning, and that applies to everything from social media to paid ads. If you only have one strong source for leads, an account suspension will be devastating.

Following the rules won’t make you immune to account termination

If you think you have nothing to worry about because you always follow the rules, think again. You don’t need to do anything wrong to end up with a suspended account. Sometimes, the automated systems flag and suspend accounts under “catch-all” policy violations that don’t actually apply to your account. For example, your Google Ads account might get flagged by the system for violating the “Unacceptable Business Practices” policy.

A simple example of this would be if you’re an affiliate marketer and have permission to use brand names and logos. Google’s automated system will notice your domain name isn’t the same as the domain associated with the brand, and might assume you’re impersonating the brand. You can hire a professional company to reverse a Google Ads account suspension, but it will take time. While you’re waiting, you’ll need other lead sources to keep running your business.

Google isn’t exactly known for playing fair. There are countless people who have experienced arbitrary account suspensions, including business owners with new accounts who haven’t even created any ads.

Other methods might get better results

People behave differently on different platforms, and some channels are better than others. Just because you see an increase in success on one platform doesn’t mean that’s the right one to use.

Say you get 10,000 people to follow you on Instagram, and over the course of 6 months, you see an increase in revenue directly tied to Instagram. At first, it might seem like you should invest more money into growing your Instagram following and presence. While that might be true to a degree, if you’re not testing out other options, you won’t know if there’s something even better. For example, you might get a better return from having a Facebook page or a TikTok account.

Where you’ll find the most success will depend on where your market hangs out online, and whether or not you can engage them enough to convert them into paying customers. If you see a little success with one marketing platform, don’t get stuck there – try other platforms to see what works best and invest your marketing budget accordingly.

It’s not always about sales

Something important to keep in mind is that digital marketing methods aren’t all about generating sales. You don’t want to focus solely on one marketing strategy that brings you the most sales because you’ll be missing out on other important factors, like generating leads, brand recognition, and establishing yourself as an authority in your industry.

For example, email marketing is 40 times more effective at generating new customers than Facebook and Twitter combined. Once you capture leads, you nurture them until they become paying customers. It also helps with brand recognition. However, the financial returns aren’t immediate. You’ll need to run your email marketing campaigns over time and measure the results to see the true value.

You need a well-rounded digital marketing strategy

For sustainable, long-term success, you need more than just one marketing tactic. You need to utilize a variety of digital marketing channels, like social media, email marketing, and paid ads. When you put all your marketing eggs in one basket, you’re missing out on additional sources of success.