Don’t Waste Your First Ad: Fix Your Strategy First

In today’s crowded online world, just being “seen” isn’t enough to succeed. Thousands of brands are all shouting for the same few seconds of your customer’s attention. To turn that brief moment of interest into a real, lasting relationship, you need two things working together: Your Values (the “how” & “why” you do what you do) & The Customer’s Path (the “where” & “when” they find you).

Before you spend a single dollar on ads, these four principles should be baked into everything you do. Think of them as the DNA of your brand.

Marketing isn’t about what you want to say; it’s about what your customer needs to hear. To do this well, you have to look past basic facts like their age or city. You need to understand their hopes, their fears, and the specific problems they are trying to solve when they go looking for help.

We live in an era where everyone is tired of being sold to. The only way to get your foot in the door is to offer value first. Whether it’s an educational post, a free tool, or just an entertaining video, you must give something of worth before you ever ask someone to open their wallet.

The internet is basically a giant laboratory. Every time someone clicks (or doesn’t click), they are giving you a clue. Instead of sticking to a rigid, boring plan for the whole year, use those clues to see what’s working in real-time. If something flops, change it. If something works, do more of it.

A customer might see your post on Instagram, read a review on a different site, and then finally visit your website. If you sound like a different person or offer a different deal at each of those stops, you’ll lose their trust instantly. Keeping a consistent voice and message makes you feel reliable.

The user journey is the narrative arc of a customer’s relationship with your brand.

• The User’s Goal: Identifying a problem or seeking inspiration.
• The Strategy: Broad reach and education.
• Tactics: SEO, social media content, and high-level “How-To” guides.

• The User’s Goal: Comparing options and weighing pros/cons.
• The Strategy: Establishing authority and building trust.
• Tactics: Case studies, webinars, and detailed whitepapers.

• The User’s Goal: Minimizing risk and finalizing the purchase.
• The Strategy: Removing friction and offering incentives.
• Tactics: Free trials, testimonials, and simplified checkout processes.

• The User’s Goal: Maximizing the value of their purchase.
• The Strategy: Transforming a customer into a “fan.”
• Tactics: Loyalty programs, personalized support, and referral rewards.

The real magic happens when you apply a Tenet to a Journey Stage. For example, applying “Personalization” (Tenet) to the “Consideration Stage” (Journey) might involve sending a customized email to a user who spent five minutes looking at a specific service page but didn’t book a call.