As a small-to-medium business (SME), juggling multiple responsibilities often leaves little room for perfection in marketing. Here’s the good news: you don’t have to do everything. By applying the 80/20 rule—also known as the Pareto Principle—you can focus on the tasks that drive the most results and stop wasting time on things that barely move the needle.
In this post, I’ll explain how the 80/20 rule applies to digital marketing and how I use it to help businesses like yours achieve fast and effective results.
What Is the 80/20 Rule?
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. This principle, originally observed in economics, is surprisingly effective in digital marketing. The idea is simple: not all tasks, channels, or strategies are equally valuable. A small portion of your work will create the biggest impact.
For example:
- 80% of your website traffic may come from 20% of your blog posts.
- 80% of your sales may come from 20% of your customers.
- 80% of your leads may come from 20% of your campaigns.
The key is to identify that 20% of high-impact activities and focus your energy there.
How SMEs Can Apply the 80/20 Rule
As an SME, your resources—time, budget, and manpower—are limited. Here’s how to prioritize your marketing efforts using the Pareto Principle:
1. Focus on High-Impact Channels
Not every marketing channel will work equally well for your business. Instead of spreading yourself thin, identify which channels bring the most ROI.
Example: If most of your leads come from Google Ads, prioritize optimizing those campaigns rather than investing heavily in every social media platform.
2. Optimize Top-Performing Content
Take a look at your website or blog analytics. Which pages or posts bring the most traffic? Focus on updating and optimizing those high-performing pages to drive even more engagement.
Example: If one blog post generates 50% of your organic traffic, add internal links, optimize its SEO, and promote it further.
3. Prioritize Quick Wins in Campaigns
Instead of launching an elaborate, expensive marketing strategy, focus on quick wins.
Example: Create a simple landing page and run targeted Google Ads to start generating leads in days, not weeks.
4. Streamline Your Social Media
Not all platforms are worth your time. Identify where your audience is most active and concentrate your efforts there.
Example: If your target audience is professionals, spend your energy on LinkedIn ads and posts instead of Instagram.
5. Test, Learn, Repeat
Don’t waste time guessing what works. Run small experiments to find the 20% of strategies that bring the most value, then double down on them.
Example: A/B test your email campaigns to see which subject lines or CTAs perform best.
How I Use the 80/20 Rule at EEDM
I’ve built my entire process around the 80/20 rule to deliver fast, high-impact results for my clients. Here’s how I put it into action:
1. Prioritize MVPs (Minimum Viable Products)
When I build a website or create a campaign, I focus on delivering an MVP first. This allows my clients to launch quickly, gather feedback, and iterate based on real-world results.
Example: Instead of spending months perfecting a full website, I launch a lean, high-converting landing page first, then expand it based on what works.
2. Eliminate Waste
I follow a lean process inspired by the Toyota Production System, breaking projects into small, focused tasks. This ensures that only the most valuable work is done while avoiding unnecessary delays.
3. Focus on High-ROI Activities
For every project, I identify the 20% of tasks that will generate 80% of the results.
Example: For a client struggling with lead generation, I prioritize creating targeted Google Ads campaigns and building an optimized landing page—both proven to deliver fast results.
4. Fast Iteration
Once the high-impact tasks are complete, I test, measure, and adjust to improve performance further. This iterative approach ensures that we’re always optimizing for maximum results.
Your Next Step: Apply the 80/20 Rule Today
If you’re overwhelmed by the complexity of digital marketing, it’s time to focus on what matters most. Here’s a simple action plan to get started:
- Analyze your current efforts: What’s driving results, and what’s not?
- Identify the 20% of tasks or channels that deliver the biggest impact.
- Eliminate or scale back the rest.
- Double down on the activities that work—and keep testing to refine further.