Have we misunderstood marketing?
My belief is that we’ve wandered into a world of trendy marketing jargon, forgetting that, at its core, marketing is about people and psychology.
In my view, the psychological aspect plays a crucial role in marketing. For me, it’s about convincing people that my brand, product, or service is worth their time, money, and even affection.
In other words, I think we need to zoom out and ask ourselves: what is marketing really about? My answer is: storytelling.
And no, I don’t mean storytelling as just another word for branding. I mean it from the heart.
I hope you’ll take the next 10 minutes to read this post. It might be the one that changes your entire approach to marketing over the next 6–12 months.
Curious? Then I recommend reading these books, as they support the ideas I’m presenting here:
- Viral Loop
- Contagious
Let’s dive in.
Every person is in a unique situation
Our job is to deliver content that fits an individual’s demographics and the stage they are currently in. That way, we support our product, service, or offering.
Different life stages and different people require different content.
The brain is better at decoding images than words and sentences, so let me show you the illustration I work from when dealing with various companies.
This illustration is one I often use in relation to e-commerce.
Isn’t that just a sales funnel?
No, it’s not a traditional sales funnel. It would be if all content at every level were the same, but it’s not. I genuinely want to educate and explain my project to customers, so let’s call it an education funnel instead.
We need to stop thinking that people will buy just because they click our ads. That’s simply not how it works — it’s an illusion. Unfortunately, many believe this illusion and stop advertising when they don’t see immediate sales.
The idea behind this illustration is to understand that you need different content for each level of the funnel because people are at different life stages. Therefore, they have different relationships to — or perceptions of — your product or service.
Let me simplify things by explaining each stage.
The Facebook funnel
When I work with Facebook advertising, I use a very simple funnel consisting of different stages. What’s interesting about Facebook is that its many targeting options allow us to reach people based on their life stage.
Assuming we’re dealing with an e-commerce shop, the funnel might look like this:
Top funnel
Audience: People who don’t know you yet.
- Lookalike audiences based on previous customers.
- Broad audiences based on demographics and geography (e.g. from Google Analytics).
- Interest-based audiences (e.g. fashion, cooking — depending on your product).
Content examples:
- Values: why should people choose your service, product, or brand?
- Inspiration: why should I like what you’re doing?
- Social proof: if others like your product or service, maybe I will too.
Mid funnel
Audience: People on the periphery — who might know you.
- Fans of your Facebook page
- People who’ve interacted with you on Instagram or Facebook
- Email subscribers who haven’t purchased
- Visitors who only checked your homepage
Content examples:
- Values: why should people choose your service, product, or brand?
- Inspiration: why should I like what you’re doing?
- Social proof: if others like your product or service, maybe I will too.
These middle audiences still need more information before entering the lower funnel. They may require the same types of messages, but shown using different formats.
Lower funnel
Audience: People who know you and have visited your website.
- Website visitors
- Returning customers
- Email subscribers who’ve purchased
- People who’ve viewed your latest content
Content examples:
- Product-focused posts: I know you, but do I trust you enough to buy?
- Core USPs: did you know we offer free shipping?
- New arrivals: have you seen our latest styles?
Retention
Audience: People who’ve bought from you before (possibly a while ago or frequently).
Follow-up
What are you actually doing for your loyal customers?
These are your best ambassadors — and yet most businesses only offer their best deals to new customers. Just look at the fitness industry.
What’s the logic in that?
The people who buy from you regularly should always be top of mind.
They could become your greatest advocates.
Content examples:
- Email flow with value-based messaging and a thank-you note from the company’s founder to add a personal touch
- Facebook ads shown 2–3 days after purchase with videos saying “thank you for your order” and showing the packing process (especially for e-commerce) — this is an excellent idea. It proves you’re not just a machine; you care about the customer.
What else can they expect?
Imagine owning a clothing store — what feeling do you want customers to leave with? That’s exactly the feeling you should aim to create when someone buys from your website.
Nurturing / winback
What about those who’ve purchased before — have you forgotten them? They’ve probably forgotten you.
We live in a complex age. We consume more information than ever, and new things constantly compete for our attention.
That’s why people forget you and your brand — but you can win them back by sharing your story, your values, and a sense of care.
We’re drowning in CPA metrics and boring analytics, and we often take for granted that it’s all about selling stories.
Ask yourself: what kind of content does each person deserve through each specific channel?
It’s no coincidence that many large companies invest heavily in audience research and segment-specific targeting.
Er det så nemt?
No. We’re seeing a general increase in the cost of paid advertising, which has its downsides. Andrew Chen, growth hacker at Uber, makes several great points about paid marketing.
1/ Addiction to paid ads is bad. The Paid Marketing Shark Fin happens when CAC goes up over time, causing unprofitability, which then drives budget cuts, slower growth, and more cuts. More here: https://t.co/0Mlavumihw
— andrew chen (@andrewchen) May 9, 2018
If we want to win that game, we have to think differently.
I’m thinking here about major players like Wish, Amazon, Alibaba, ASOS, and Zalando — just to name a few.
Marketing is no longer one-to-one — if it ever was.
Today, marketing is about orchestration across multiple channels. It’s about the story you tell your potential customers and the universe you invite them into.
What story or feeling can your customers repeat about your brand, product, or service?
Or are you just running an average business that competes on price alone?
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