As the year winds down, many business owners start asking the same uncomfortable question: “Did our marketing actually work this year?”
If your answer is “kind of” or “not really”, you’re not alone.
The final weeks of the year are when smart businesses pause, diagnose what went wrong, and fix gaps before January resets budgets, algorithms, and buyer behaviour. With consumer habits shifting, especially with early holiday shopping starting earlier every year in Canada, many 2024 strategies quietly underperformed.
This article breaks down five of the most common marketing mistakes businesses make, why they hurt growth, and, most importantly, how to fix them before January.
Mistake 1: Treating December as “Too Late” to Optimize
Many businesses mentally check out in December, assuming buyers have already made their decisions. That’s a costly assumption.
Why This Hurts
While early holiday shopping has grown, December is still a high-intent conversion month, especially for:
- Last-minute buyers
- Decision-delayers
- Gift-card purchasers
- Service-based businesses
- B2B research for Q1
If you ignore December optimization, you miss the final opportunity to turn warm traffic into revenue.
How to Fix It Before January
- Audit November–December performance data now
- Identify top-performing pages and ads
- Optimize landing pages, CTAs, and retargeting
- Adjust messaging for “final decision” buyers.
Read more on consumer behaviour during the holiday period.
Mistake 2: Not Segmenting Your Audience (Everyone Got the Same Message)
If you sent the same emails, ads, or posts to your entire audience, you likely underperformed.
Why This Hurts
Modern consumers expect relevance. Generic messaging leads to:
- Lower open rates
- Poor click-through
- Ad fatigue
- Wasted spend
This is especially true during competitive months like November and December.
How to Fix It Before January
- Segment by behaviour (buyers vs browsers)
- Segment by timing (early shoppers vs late shoppers)
- Segment by intent (research vs ready-to-buy)
- Create 2–3 tailored messages instead of one generic one
Even small segmentation improvements can significantly lift performance.
Mistake 3: Ignoring Local SEO Opportunities
If you’re a service-based business and didn’t actively optimize for local search, this mistake likely cost you qualified leads.
Searches like:
- Tow truck in Waterloo
- best towing truck in Waterloo
- Towing company in Kitchener
…are driven by urgency and intent, especially at year-end when businesses plan for January.
Why This Hurts
Without local optimization:
- You miss high-intent traffic
- Competitors dominate the map pack
- Google doesn’t associate your brand with location-based relevance
How to Fix It Before January
- Optimize your Google Business Profile
- Update services, categories, and descriptions
- Add location-specific content
- Publish locally relevant blogs (like this one)
- Strengthen internal linking
Local SEO improvements now compound into Q1.
Mistake 4: Creating Too Much Content and Measuring Too Little
Many businesses published consistently but didn’t track what actually worked.
Why This Hurts
Content without measurement leads to:
- Content fatigue
- Burnout
- Low ROI
- Repeating the same mistakes
More content does not equal better marketing.
How to Fix It Before January
- Review top 10 best and worst-performing pieces
- Identify patterns (topics, formats, CTAs)
- Repurpose winners instead of creating from scratch
- Remove or consolidate underperforming content
This complements the end-of-year clean-up mindset.
Mistake 5: Delaying Strategy Decisions Until “Next Year”
Waiting until January to plan is already too late.
Why This Hurts
January is competitive. Everyone launches campaigns. Those who prepared in December start ahead.
Businesses that delay:
- Rush strategy decisions
- Waste Q1 budget testing basics
- Miss early momentum
How to Fix It Before January
- Review this year’s performance now
- Lock in priorities and channels
- Align marketing with revenue goals
- Decide what to outsource vs handle internally
This is where many growing businesses realize they need outside expertise, especially when managing SEO, ads, analytics, and content simultaneously.
The best-performing businesses don’t wait for January to improve. They use December to reflect, refine, and reset.
Fixing even one or two of these mistakes before the new year can lead to:
✔ Higher January conversions
✔ Better rankings
✔ Lower ad costs
✔ Stronger pipelines
✔ Clearer growth strategy
Ready to fix what held your marketing back this year and start January with a clear growth plan? Book a free consultation with Moonstone Digital today, and let’s map out what actually works for your business.