Today we have not one, not two, but 14 shared traits from multimillion-dollar marketing operations — and key questions to see if you share them too.

These tips come directly from a recent Affiliate World event where Amin Siala dropped knowledge directly from his experience scaling businesses as Google’s Senior Growth Consultant. We could barely fit them all, so let’s get into it…

#1 Clarify Your Desired Business Outcome

Successful marketing operations know what their targets for leads, sales, and revenue are for the day, month, and quarter. Focusing your team’s energy and resources on that “magic number” can make growth more stable and sustainable.

Ask Yourself: Can you build your business through slow but stable and calculated growth or fast profit?

#2 Know Your Competitive Landscape

A working knowledge of your top direct competitors and their approach is crucial for success in any vertical, even if you choose to pivot in a different direction and create your own path.

Ask Yourself: Will you learn from and be inspired by others in your industry, or can you innovate in your niche?

#3 Use Your Strengths and Unfair Advantages

If you have skills, technologies, or knowledge that others in your niche do not, use them! This isn’t sports, and you don’t get rewarded for fair play.

Ask Yourself: Are you competing in a space where you have advantages or a unique selling proposition (USP)?

#4 Track All Conversions to Your Ad Account

Successful marketing operations diligently capture micro and macro conversions, not just purchases.

Ask Yourself: Are you capturing and attributing every funnel interaction?
Basic & Full-Funnel Conversions

#5 Adopt Rigid Systems & SOPs

From daily reporting on core KPIs to fixed performance review periods, standardized systems are the antidote to the chaos and randomness behind inconsistent results and operational challenges.

Ask Yourself: Do you have systems in place to produce predictable and repeatable success?

#6 Ensure a Strong Operational Foundation

If you’re not careful, successful online demand generation for a popular product or service can overwhelm the tangible aspects of your business.

When shipments are slow or call centers are at capacity and you don’t have solutions, you could wind up leaving money on the table — or worse, issuing refunds.

Ask Yourself: Do you have the capacity to fulfill the demand you generate?

#7 Make ROI- and Profit-Focused Decisions

Now that we’re at the halfway mark, it’s important to look back at where we started.

It’s easy to get distracted, even when you know your desired outcome and magic number. Make decisions that ensure your energy and resources are directed at profitable projects, not just growth for growth’s sake.

Ask Yourself: Are you profitable enough to grow through experimentation, or are you too focused on revenue to take chances?

#8 Be Patient with Results and Quick with Your Actions

Scaling quickly and cashing in before a crash may work in some scenarios, but it’s a difficult way to build a business. Unpredictability creates challenges for owners, their teams, and potential buyers.

Ask Yourself: Do you want slow, consistent, and stable growth, or growth that is fast, high, and short-lived?
Stable & consistent or fast & short-lived?

#9 Double Down on Winners

Successful marketing operations that diligently track results can quickly and clearly identify winners to maximize their potential.

Ask Yourself: Are you putting your energy and resources into boosting winners, or into distractions?

#10 Become a Deep Specialist

Sometimes a successful niche or location is more than a one-off, and marketers can reap greater rewards by becoming specialists in those areas.

Ask Yourself: Is there one specific geo or niche that you can dominate through systematic experiments and knowledge?

#11 Expand to New Markets Carefully

Effective marketing operations don’t just translate campaign copy for new territories and fall into success. Understanding cultural and demographic differences across markets, local competitors, and how to adapt your funnel is a must.

Ask Yourself: Why do you want to expand to new markets, and are you truly prepared to do so?

#12 Master a Specific Campaign Type

Certain campaign types — Search, Display, YouTube, Performance Max, etc. — are a natural fit and perform well in specific niches and verticals. You can optimize results further by mastering that type of campaign as a part of your specialization.

Ask Yourself: Would you get better results as a specialist in one campaign type or by staying active in every type of campaign?
Mastering a specific campaign type

#13 Prepare for the Unexpected

Unexpected events ranging from platform outages to data breaches can negatively impact your campaigns. Savvy marketing operations prepare for these scenarios with strategies and systems that can flag problems before they grow.

Ask Yourself: Is your business built for never-ending wins, or do you have contingency plans?

#14 Build for Sustainability (and an Exit)

Investors and buyers want predictable businesses with consistent, sustainable results that aren’t solely reliant on the owner. In simple terms, if you can make your company’s growth boring, the marketplace will reward you.

Ask Yourself: Can your business function without you? Can you put structures in place to make that possible?