I’ll admit it—I used to be a tactic junkie.
Five years ago, I’d have sold my left arm for the latest “growth hack.” Instagram algorithm update? I was all over it. Viral TikTok trend? Sign me up. And yet, despite all those late-night A/B tests and obsessive metric tracking, my campaigns kept flaming out after a few weeks.
Then one brutal Monday, my client (a eco-friendly skincare brand) asked me the question that changed everything:
“Why are we doing this?”
Not “How many leads did we get?” Not “What’s our CTR?” Just… why?
Turns out, I’d been so busy chasing shiny objects, I’d forgotten marketing’s golden rule: Strategy isn’t what you do—it’s why you do it.
The Moment Tactics Betray You
Remember when everyone was obsessed with LinkedIn carousel posts? My buddy Jake dumped $20k into them for his SaaS company. Got 500K views. Know how many customers? Twelve.
That’s the dirty truth about tactics:
They work… until they don’t.
They scale… until the platform changes the rules.
They look impressive… until you realize you’ve attracted the wrong crowd.
How Real Strategy Feels (It’s Not Sexy)
Last year, I worked with a struggling DTC coffee brand. Instead of jumping on the Reels bandwagon, we did something radical:
We stalked our customers (legally).
Found out our best buyers weren’t hipster millennials—they were 45-year-old dentists who listened to true crime podcasts and hated Keurig machines.
We rewrote everything.
Swapped “artisanal small-batch roast” for “Your 6 a.m. patients won’t smell your breath.” Sales jumped 37%.
We killed vanity metrics.
Stopped caring about likes. Started tracking how many people clicked “Shop Now” then actually checked out. (Pro tip: Your grandma could get likes. Sales pay rent.)
Why Your Ads Are Underperforming (Probably This)
You’re talking to everyone → Try whispering to someone
Your hook is “We’re great!” → Make it “This sucks, right?”
You’re measuring opens/clicks → Start measuring “Did we move the needle?”
What Works When Nothing Else Does
Here’s my unsexy marketing playbook:
1. The “Bar Test” Rule
If you can’t explain your USP to a drunk stranger in 10 seconds, your messaging is too complicated.
2. The “So What?” Filter
Every ad, email, or post gets asked: “Why would my customer care TODAY?” No good answer? Trash it.
3. The “Phone Scroll” Reality Check
Your landing page has 3 seconds to answer:
What is this?
Do I need it?
Why now?
Miss one? They’re gone.
The Hard Truth Nobody Tells You
Marketing isn’t about being clever. It’s about being obvious to the right person.
The best campaign I ever ran? A plain-text email with the subject: “You’re overpaying for ______.” 62% open rate, 28% conversion. No fancy design. Just painful relevance.
So next time you’re tempted by some guru’s “secret formula,” ask yourself: “Does this actually help my customer, or just feed my ego?”
Because in the end, the marketers who win aren’t the smartest—they’re the ones who stop playing games and start solving real problems.