The Ultimate Marketing Reset Checklist for B2B Companies
- Huw Waters
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Most B2B companies don’t need more marketing. They just need a reset.
Not a rebrand. Not a new website. Not another campaign.
A reset.
It’s the act of stepping back, looking at what’s actually happening across sales and marketing, and making deliberate choices about what to stop, what to fix, and what to double down on.
Below is a practical diagnostic checklist I use with B2B businesses before building new plans, launching new campaigns, or investing in new tools. If several of these questions feel uncomfortable, that’s usually a sign a reset is needed!
1. Can we clearly describe who our ideal customer is?
Not a vague segment.
Not “mid-sized businesses”.
A defined profile: industry, size, maturity, buying triggers, fears, and pains.
If different people in your business describe your target customer differently, marketing will always struggle to focus or be blamed for not delivering the right leads.
2. Is our value proposition obvious to an outsider?
If someone unfamiliar with your business visits your website, can they understand within seconds:
What you do
Who it’s for
Why it matters
If not, no amount of campaign spend will fix conversion performance.
3. Do sales and marketing tell the same story?
Listen to a sales call.
Read your website copy.
Scan your LinkedIn page.
Review your most recent sales deck or pitch document.
If each one tells a different story, buyers feel that friction. Trust drops. Sales cycles lengthen. Or you just don't win the business.
4. Do we know which channels actually create pipeline?
Many B2B businesses invest in events, paid media, content, PR, and outreach - butdon't actually know which activities drive qualified opportunities.
If you can’t confidently answer “where do our best leads come from?”, it’s time to reset measurement.
5. Are we measuring outcomes or activity?
Reports filled with impressions, clicks, and followers look impressive.
But leadership needs to see pipeline contribution, conversion rates, and revenue influence.
If your dashboards don’t answer commercial questions, they’re useless.
6. Does our martech stack feel joined up?
CRM, email tools, automation, and analytics should feel like one system.
If teams rely on spreadsheets to reconcile data, confidence in reporting will always be fragile.
7. Do we have a defined buyer journey?
If teams can’t clearly explain how a prospect moves from awareness to purchase, campaigns become guesswork.
A simple buyer journey map is often the foundation that unlocks better content, automation, and sales alignment.
8. Are our campaigns built on strategy or habit?
Many B2B companies simply repeat activity because “it worked once” or “we’ve always done it this way”.
A reset challenges assumptions. What should we stop, start and continue?
9. Does our team have clarity on priorities?
Busy teams without clear priorities fall into reactive mode. Work expands to fill capacity. Strategic projects stall.
If everything feels urgent, nothing is strategic. You then know it's time for a reset.
10. Do we have leadership ownership of marketing?
Agencies, tools, and junior teams can deliver execution.
But someone senior must own direction, alignment, and accountability.
If marketing feels leaderless, a reset is well overdue.
How long does a reset take?
In most businesses, a meaningful marketing reset can be completed in 60-90 days through:
Diagnosis
Positioning and messaging clarity
Channel and pipeline planning
Measurement and martech alignment
Operating rhythm and priorities
Fixing all this gives you a foundation for sustainable growth.
What a marketing reset delivers
Most marketing underperformance is caused by accumulated complexity and unclear direction. A marketing reset cuts through all the noise.
If your marketing feels busy but uncertain, it’s probably time to step back before stepping forward again.
A good reset gives you clarity on:
Who you serve
What you stand for
How you acquire customers
How you measure success
What to invest in next
From there, execution becomes simpler, faster, and more confident. And the results follow...
Fancy working through my checklist yourself? Download my 90-day Marketing Reset Guide - a practical roadmap for B2B SMEs that want focus, confidence, and measurable growth.