Episode 195: Stop Doing More Marketing: Fix What's Really Stalling Growth, with Jason Howard So

If your team has never been busier, why isn't revenue moving? Jason Howard So, fractional CMO and founder of Strand Consulting Group, says more marketing usually isn't the answer. It can't fix a deeper business constraint. Jason has worked with Porsche, Bombardier, Telus, Hootsuite, and private equity-backed businesses, and he is writing a book called Stop Doing More Marketing. He and Dr. John Dentico talk about slowing down to speed up, the difference between being efficient and being effective, and why great content goes unseen without distribution. They also cover how leadership trains capable people to become order takers. You'll come away knowing how to find what's really holding back growth and fix that first. Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Meaning is the New Money 01:25 – Welcome and meet Jason So 03:14 – From Vancouver to Porsche and the dot-com boom 07:14 – Dot-com vs. AI: is history repeating? 10:40 – Marketing isn't a band aid: slow down to speed up 18:07 – "Effective efficiency," busy work, and strategic thinking 25:29 – Quality content, distribution, and the "best kept secrets" 31:50 – Why capable teams become order takers 38:10 – Can order-taker companies survive? Informed intuition and the website lead 46:17 – What's next for Jason and Stop Doing More Marketing Key takeaways Find what's really holding back growth and fix that first. Pouring money into marketing often magnifies the real problem. Efficiency isn't the same as effectiveness. AI can produce content in seconds, but what counts is whether it turns into qualified leads, closed business, and revenue. Content quality and distribution both matter. Assets like brand videos often sit unused, and "what's old to us is new to the audience." Companies that reward order-taking train good people to stop thinking. Small and mid-sized businesses need to use their agility, measure what matters, and use "informed intuition." Sales and marketing are different disciplines, but they need to work hand in hand. Enterprise deals depend on relationships, not on waiting for the phone to ring. If this conversation challenged your thinking, please subscribe to the Throttle Up Leadership Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share this episode with a leader who needs to hear it. You can also connect with Dr. John Dentico on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/johndentico