One of the most important lessons I have learned so far being a marketer is to always jump in with both feet. If something is worth doing, you always have to do it whole-heartedly for it to succeed in marketing. Maybe this seems like common sense, but I have seen this advice not be taken all too often.

For example, creating a new website.

Some people take the approach "Let's just update the design, add some good stock photos and some nice graphics and call it a day." This, in my opinion, is a complete waste of money.

You have to start at the root of the problem, and work from there. Why do you think you need a new website? Is yours difficult to manage? Are your leads going down? Are your conversion rates going down? What are the specific issues you have with your current website.

What does this all come back to? Branding. What should your website be like, based on your brand and your strategic goals.

In order to answer this question properly, you should follow these steps:

Perform a brand audit.
Evaluate your competitors and how you stack up. Make sure you are carving your own niche and are on a path to success. You can do this through web research, customer interviews, employee interviews, surveys, and focus groups.
Refine your core messaging.
Based on your findings, what exactly are you and what do you do? What value do you bring your customers and future clients? Who are your future clients? You should now be able to identify your current market and your target market.
How should you be communicating that value?
Think of the value you bring, and how that relates back to your targets needs and wants. Now write out your value statements, what do you bring to the table that matters to your target audience.
Now you are ready to start planning your website!
Only after performing the steps above are you ready to really start planning your new website. You now have a clear direction, a clear target audience, and a clear vision of where you want to be in your audience's minds.

I know, this seems like a lot of work before you even can start planning your website (website, project, campaign, etc. all the same rules apply!) Well... IT IS. It will take you much longer in the beginning but it WILL ensure your project is a success.

So when you tackle a project, I encourage you to always jump in with both feet! Don't take the easy way out, you will end up wasting your marketing dollars and seeing poor results. And isn't that the most important thing when doling out valuable marketing dollars? More ROI. Better results.