Mark | GCMO

CORE STRATEGY & POSITIONING

CORE STRATEGY & POSITIONING

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by

Mark Gabrielli
in

Marketing Isn’t Magic—It’s Math (With Better Fonts)

Marketing Isn’t Magic—It’s Math (With Better Fonts)

CORE STRATEGY & POSITIONING

Let’s get one thing straight: marketing isn’t a mystical art practiced by hoodie-wearing wizards whispering to the algorithm gods. It’s not a vibe. It’s not a TikTok dance. It’s not even “going viral” (whatever that means anymore—your grandma’s banana bread recipe went viral in 2020, and she’s not a CMO).

Marketing is math. It’s strategy. It’s systems. And yes, it’s a little bit of storytelling—but the kind that sells, not the kind that wins you a Pulitzer. If you’re still treating your marketing like a slot machine, hoping the next campaign hits jackpot, it’s time for a reality check. And maybe a spreadsheet.

The Funnel Isn’t Dead—You Just Don’t Know How to Use It

Every few months, someone declares the marketing funnel dead. Usually someone trying to sell you a new funnel. Here’s the truth: the funnel isn’t dead. You just stopped feeding it.

Let’s break it down like a DJ at a B2B rave:

  • Top of Funnel (TOFU): This is where you attract attention. Think content, ads, SEO, and social. If your TOFU is weak, your pipeline is on a hunger strike.
  • Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Nurture, educate, and qualify. This is where leads decide if you’re a genius or just another LinkedIn bro with a Canva account.
  • Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Close the deal. Sales enablement, demos, case studies, and a CTA that doesn’t sound like a desperate Tinder message.

Want to know why your funnel isn’t working? Because you’re treating it like a one-night stand instead of a relationship. You ghost your leads after the first click, then wonder why they don’t convert. Newsflash: nobody likes being breadcrumbed by a brand.

Metrics That Matter (And the Ones That Are Just Vanity in a Fancy Hat)

Let’s talk numbers. Not the kind that make your CFO sweat, but the kind that actually tell you if your marketing is working. Here’s a cheat sheet:

  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): If it costs you $1,000 to acquire a $500 customer, congrats—you’re running a charity, not a business.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): This is your north star. If you don’t know it, you’re flying blind with a broken compass.
  • Conversion Rate: If your landing page converts at 0.3%, it’s not a funnel—it’s a sieve.
  • Pipeline Velocity: How fast are leads moving through your funnel? If it’s slower than a DMV line, you’ve got a problem.

Stop obsessing over likes and impressions. You can’t pay your team in Instagram hearts. Focus on metrics that tie to revenue. Because at the end of the day, marketing isn’t about being popular—it’s about being profitable.

Framework: The 3M Model (Message, Market, Mechanism)

Here’s a framework you can tattoo on your marketing brain: Message, Market, Mechanism. Get these three right, and you’re halfway to the CMO Hall of Fame (or at least a LinkedIn post that doesn’t flop).

1. Message

What are you saying, and why should anyone care? Your message should be clear, compelling, and customer-centric. If your value prop sounds like it was written by a committee of buzzwords, start over.

2. Market

Who are you talking to? Be specific. “Small businesses” is not a target market—it’s a census category. Know your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) like you know your Netflix password.

3. Mechanism

How are you delivering the message? Email? Ads? Carrier pigeon? Choose the right channel for your audience and optimize the hell out of it. Don’t just spray and pray—target and slay.

Case Study: The SaaS Startup That Stopped Guessing

One of our clients—a scrappy SaaS startup with more ambition than budget—was burning cash on Facebook ads like it was 2012. Their CAC was higher than their CEO’s blood pressure.

We applied the 3M Model:

  • Message: We rewrote their value prop to focus on outcomes, not features. “Automate your workflow” became “Save 10 hours a week and never miss a deadline again.”
  • Market: We narrowed their audience from “anyone with a laptop” to “project managers at 50–200 person tech companies.”
  • Mechanism: We shifted budget from Facebook to LinkedIn and retargeting. Added email nurture sequences that didn’t read like a robot wrote them.

Result? CAC dropped 42%, conversion rate doubled, and the CEO stopped stress-eating protein bars. That’s what happens when you stop guessing and start marketing like a grown-up.

Truth Bomb:

“Marketing isn’t about being clever—it’s about being clear, consistent, and connected to revenue.”

If your marketing strategy changes every time a new social platform launches, you don’t have a strategy—you have FOMO with a budget. Trends are fun, but systems scale. Build a repeatable, measurable engine that turns strangers into leads, leads into customers, and customers into evangelists.

And for the love of all things branded, stop saying “we just need one viral post.” That’s not a strategy. That’s a cry for help.

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