"If you had to teach a class on marketing titled 'The Most Important Thing,' what would you teach?"

Getting close to your customer.

Because I believe the company that is closest to the customer wins. Especially with AI.

So, what would be included in the curriculum?

• Customer interviewing (listening)

• Empathetic design (building for a small segment)

• Designing hypothesizes [with your customer]

Let your assumptions go, and use only info (truth) from your customer. Become a scientist.

That's the one thing that matters in marketing (to me).

What about you (and your "craft")?

Enjoy this week's letter:

Marketing Micro Essay 💡S2E8: Content + Brand + SEO Featuring Trish Seidel

Time to read: 4:01 minutes
Time to listen: 50:25 minutes
——

Trish is the marketing big sis you never knew you needed.

Her mission is to help uplift other marketers.

She knows a lot about content, SEO, and many other marketing disciplines. That's what makes our conversation much fun.

Aside from that, she's a compassionate and caring person who truly wants to see you win. I love that. We need more people with that altruistic ethos.

Here are the top five insights from our conversation:

1. Marketing should focus on brand awareness and conversion, not closing deals.

2. Personal branding is essential for modern marketers to differentiate themselves.

3. Empathy and compassion should be core values for marketers in understanding audiences.

4. Active listening to understand others can build meaningful relationships.

5. Finding moments of silence, gratitude and forgiveness daily through routines supports well-being and balance.

Click here to read the essay with Trish’s insights

Listen to the episode (or click the image below)

Three Books / Three Quotes

"The best way to approach evaluating AI technology is to always start with a business case (use-cases)." – Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput (Marketing Artificial Intelligence: AI, Marketing, and the Future of Business)

Do not find a nail first. Find the hole.

The same is true with the tools we use. Don't look for a tool without having a problem or opportunity to exploit with it.

These companies have great marketing and will trick you into thinking you need their product. And you may begin adopting it without realizing you're losing time or effectiveness in the long run.

With all the AI hype, please focus instead on your process. And then find tools that can enhance your established process.

Or you can let the tools change you (process). 

//

"It's not just your own learning from failure that matters; it's also your willingness to share those lessons with others." – Amy Edmondson (Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well)

Rarely do we openly share our failures. Our successes? We yell about them from the rooftop.

Yet, we hide our failures or downplay them. Failing (pun intended) to see that's where the power is in failures:

To help the next person avoid or fail less seriously.

It's why I strive to be transparent and open about my shortcomings.

I enjoy sharing my failures with others, hoping they can avoid my mistakes. That's why I enjoy this newsletter.

I can share my failures and the things not working, with the goal of you learning from them without wasting time and energy.

How do you share your failures?

//

"Your ability to engage with the minds of others is one of your brain's greatest abilities. You'll be happier if you actually use it." – Nicholas Epley (Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want)

I love questions.

I probably ask too many. But the reason why is to see someone's thinking (mind). Without inquiry, how can I know what you're thinking?

As humans, we love to express our minds rather than explore others. It's why asking someone questions about themselves always gets them talking. We love talking about ourselves (myself included).

Sadly, most of us don't make a conscious effort to explore the minds of others. Even those closest to us. We would rather live with the illusion that we know them well.

Can you make it a goal this week to explore someone's mind? Maybe a close friend or a complete stranger.

You'll be better off after you do it. Trust me.

Heard / Saw / Experienced

Heard:

"Write for practice. Write for your clients. But don't expect anyone to read your memo for sage advice when you're 28." – Howard Marks.

That hit home for me.

I need to reframe (constantly) my why for writing. It's not to get noticed or attention.

It's to get better at writing.

Improving my ability to observe the happenings around me and distilling them.

And ultimately, to improve how I think. Because writing = thinking.

So the better I write, the better I think.

I can commit to that.

Click here to watch

Saw:

How do you judge good marketing?

I saw a post a few days ago from a brilliant thinker (Olga Andrienko) sharing her hot take on a recent McDonald's ad. I'm not sure if I agree or not.

But I observed the polarization of opinions in the comments.

Some said that they loved the greyish vibe and no logo.
Others agreed with Olga that it was a good idea but poor execution.

That's one thing I see daily and hate most about marketing: It's subjective as hell.

It makes me realize why it's hard to get consensus.

Especially when you fail to build on first principles.

Do you think the ad below is "good?”

Experienced:

Jazz.

I played in a jazz band in 8th grade. I was terrible. But I loved the concept of freestyling, which is core to Jazz (I think...).

Last Thursday, my wife and another couple went out for dinner and Jazz at the Legacy Hotel. It was fancy, fabulous, and freeing.

It's incredible what music can do.

How it can transport you to a better place.

I'm grateful to have friends to experience some Jazz with. Without that, I'm not sure the music would have been as healing.

Check out Jazz Nights on Thursday at The Legacy Hotel if you're looking for a good time in Green Bay.

I’m grateful February is finally gone. Did it feel extremely long to you too?

If it’s been awhile since we’ve talked, drop a reply and share something you’re working on or is new in your life.

I’m curious to know what’s going on in your life. Let me know!

– Jo (every second counts)