How targeted is your Marketing?

Our screens give us the illusion of control. Problems arise when we disconnect from our screens to communicate with real people, especially prospective customers, they are a source of friction. AI told us they were our ideal customer, that they would benefit from a conversation with us, why don’t they believe us? 

Well, sorry to be the ones to bust your bubble, but that’s probably because you are ignoring their reality. People have agency. They do what they want according to the stories they tell themselves. If you want them to do something you want, you need to tell them a story that is better than the one they tell themselves. 

When marketing attempts to manipulate people into our way of thinking, it’s selfish. We broadcast what we want to sell instead of addressing the problem they face. The results of selfish marketing are predictable: ignored messages, zero conversions, or worse, converting customers that feel betrayed after paying.

What should you focus your marketing efforts on?

Let’s move away from selfish broadcasting to effective marketing. This requires shifting from manipulation to alignment. Marketing exists to return more money than you put in, you want it to work. If you have a large budget, you can afford to broadcast everywhere until someone pays attention. But if you are eating cans of beans for breakfast, lunch, and dinner just so you can afford to keep going, you need an effective way to convert the money you have, into revenue. You cannot afford spray-and-pray tactics. Instead, you must ensure you are found where people are most likely to suffer from the problem you solve.

Before spending a single dollar, you must work through two non-negotiable considerations:

• Clarify the exact problem you fix: wait until you can state this clearly before you spend money on marketing. Grab a notebook and block out the noise or talk with your sounding board ( preferably human ) until you can define the precise pain point you eliminate. Algorithms will love every one of your ideas, you need someone who will be critical of them, either yourself, or someone you trust to tell you the unpleasant truth.
• Map where the problem lives: People search for solutions. Effective marketing happens when your brand appears where people go to fix it.

The solution to selfish communication is targeted marketing. Targeted marketing respects other people’s agency. Instead of trying to convince indifferent strangers to care about your offer, you place a clear, problem-solving message directly in the path of people who are already looking for help. When you trade boastful broadcasting for targeted utility, marketing works as a predictable driver of growth.

What will get you to your next step?