As the confetti settles and we return to our desks, I want to give some thought to marketing this year.
Here are reflections on a few marketing mindsets to win in 2025.
They focus on things that don't change. Which I think is important to embody in your marketing. You can spend all your time studying ad platforms, and figure out algorithms. But I'd argue studying human behavior and the market is a better use of your time.
1 - Psychology. Not Technology
Successful marketing is mainly psychological, not technological.
When you see people queuing up to buy Labubu toys, is it because of technology? It's psychological. Everyone wants a Labubu (or many) because having it means they are as trendy and current as Blackpink's Lisa.
Technology just amplifies the effect. In this case, Instagram (the tech) allowed people to see Lisa carrying the odd-looking doll at scale.
It's always psychological.
- What is your customer's fear?
- What are their pain
- What are their dreams and hopes?
If you're launching a new app, sell it to one person before you spend money on Facebook ads. That's how you get the deep insights of your ideal customer. Only turn to ads when it's time to scale.
2 - Focus on Authenticity. Not Metrics
"How many clicks did we get? How many comments? How many new followers?"
Marketers focus too much on the "digital" in digital marketing, that they forget it's real humans behind all the clicks and numbers.
And I'll let you in a secret.
90% of our best customers – do not like, comment and share on our social media posts. This has been true not just for Daily CMO, but I've seen it in our client's businesses.
Sure, it might not be right on the dot at 90%. But I suspect a good number of your best clients don't engage on your social media posts or ads.
Don't obsess over vanity metrics. Focus on being authentic and building relationships on social media and more so in real life.
3 - Desire > Products
The biggest rookie mistake is to first build a product, and then look for customers.
I get it.
After all, Steve Jobs said, "Give the customers what they want." But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do".
And Henry Ford was famously quoted as saying, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
Steve Jobs
I think people interpret this wrongly.
Yes, when Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, it wasn't because there was a big demand to turn an iPod into a device that could also make calls. But Apple has always been evolving its products. We've come a long way since the first iPhone in 2007.
So, there can be innovation. But that innovation has to solve a problem for people (even if they don't know they have it yet.)
Does this sound familiar (especially if you're a marketer):
A company decides to build a product (that they have never validated). They experience a hard time selling it. They think they have a marketing problem, so they reach out to a marketing agency for help. A marketing agency tries helping them without figuring out product-market fit and fails. The company blames marketing agency.
Ahh, the classic challenge.
Marketing cannot fix a product that nobody wants.
Before going to market, there's always one thing you want: A hungry market who want what you have to offer.
4 - "How-To" Content is Dead
Take a look at the post below:
- No personality.
- No authority. (Who are you to say this?)
- No fun.
No wonder this post failed.
I've noticed that people are sick of "How-To" content. AI just made it worse. The internet is now filled with garbage content that sounds the same.
So what works these days?
Personal experiences.
Check out the post below, where I shared a story about finding a sponsor for Underdog Con.
Totally different results.
People want to know about your stories and experiences. They want to relate. Customers buy from those they know, like, and trust.
This year, focus on sharing experiences.
5 - Facts, facts, facts... don't sell.
It's not a secret that all of us buy emotionally.
The problem is every marketer wants to highlight all the logical parts when marketing their product.
- Our coffee is made with premium beans!
- We use a Lever espresso machine. It extracts better coffee.
- Our barista has won 5 awards.
All of these are very logical benefits. But they don't sell.
I remember reading the menu of an up-and-coming cafe in Bangkok. Something caught my attention. There was a whole story about how they source coffee beans. I don't remember it word by word, but here's a gist of it:
"We go beyond taste. Our coffee are sourced from several farming families in northern Thailand. For every cup of coffee we serve you, we allocate part of the revenue to our farmers and ancestors. With this, all our coffee people are able to collaborate, learn from each other and improve ourselves with the right technology. That one day – we'll be able to put Thai coffee on the map alongside the other coffees of the world."
Ooohh. I became emotionally invested and bought a cup of coffee. In fact, I went over and above to tell other people about it.
Don't sell facts. Get your customers into an emotional state and they'll buy more.
6 - You Can't Do Everything
I'm ambitious. I'm guessing you are too.
You work hard. Take matters into your own hands.
But there's one thing you must realize: You can't do everything.
Over the past year, I've helped a few companies with marketing. It usually looks like this at the end of the meeting:
Great! Let's set up a webinar for next week. We'll also do a physical event on the 20th. On top of that, we'll run ads on Facebook and Instagram. Adam, you're in charge of finding 20 key opinion leaders that will create content about our product. And Abby, you'll build the landing page and create daily social media content for TikTok.
From my recent experiences, if the conclusion of your meeting sounds like that – you'll probably fail your marketing.
You need speed in marketing – to execute fast, uncover marketing channels that work, and kill those that don't.
But at the same time, a good chief marketing officer must know how to balance marketing ideas and the available resources that he has. In 2024, I had a lot of marketing ideas & strategies, but I wasn't strategic enough about what to execute and which to delete.
After trying a few goal-setting systems, I find myself going back to setting SMART goals for every marketing project I'm involved in.
Reuben Ch’ng
Speaking about goals this year...
Having an accountability partner changed my life.
As an entrepreneur, you're on your own. No bossgoal-settingto tell you what to do. If you slack off and miss your goals, that's on you. If you don't pick up the phone to call on clients, it's your fault.
What if you had a system and a small group of people to keep you accountable in 2025? We've set that up in Ready, Set, Go - at an offensively stupid price.
It'll change your life. Or you could just ask for your money back. See you on Wednesday.
