There is a little voice inside your head that does one of two things: it either gives you the impression that your idea is bulletproof (of which you listen to intently), or it subtly tells you that you have unrealistic expectations (of which you most often choose to ignore). It’s true that this “intuition” comes from experience and should not be expected to be refined if you are new to a topic, in this case, demand gen; however, it’s important to understand why these voices exist in the first place and why they are so crucial.
Demand gen and marketing at large are built on the assumption that control will result in a desired outcome. Controlling a bid strategy, campaign plan, and ad cadence, among other factors, will lead to a desired outcome. No doubt, these things are very important; however, there is a central flaw to many of these assumptions - the buyer is in control, not you. Your job as a demand gen marketer is to be available and to be clear. Be available when the need arises. Be clear about your goal of communicating your value to support the need when you have the opportunity.
Motivated reasoning is a powerful psychological bias that can often be the Achilles' heel of your demand gen strategy. If you process information based on a deep-seated desire for a specific outcome, the control of the situation becomes irrational. It’s like wanting to win the lottery - if you want it so bad that you convince yourself that 1:10,000,000 odds are “not that bad,” you give yourself reprieve from the logical objective truth that is reality. We often take this stance with demand gen. You are in charge of generating pipeline. You have goals to meet and a boss, who may or may not understand marketing, breathing down your neck for results. You look for ways to control the narrative by starting to believe in subjective truths, such as the idea that small changes globally impact performance, or the color of a CTA button increasing conversion rates by 25% (which is not possible for B2B). It’s massively important to calm that inner voice and make logical decisions based on the realities of what marketing “can” do and what small shifts will actually result in.
Confirmation bias is another well-suited psychological hurdle that demand gen marketers often fall prey to. You, as all humans, favor information that confirms your existing beliefs, ignoring contradictory evidence - this is one reason social media is such a powerful (and dangerous) platform for marketers. When you are tasked with meeting quarterly goals, you look for every possible tip and trick to help you get there. You scroll social media, finding ideas that do one of two things: either challenge your way of thinking, giving you insight to a “better way,” or support your ideas, which fuels a recycling of dopamine due to motivated reasoning - you just want X to be true so bad. Marketing, despite its global impact, is relatively small in terms of concept scale - there are just a few objective truths, but a multitude of subjective ideas. As demand gen marketers, it’s extremely important to separate objective truths from subjective ideas. You don’t need to fact-check absolutely everything; however, you must listen to the voice inside your head that tells you when something too good to be true, actually is.
These concepts, admittedly, could be seen as abstract, and many who read this will think that these concepts feel too “uncomfortable” to accept. However, there are two worlds - one in which you let the whims of subjective ideas send you around in circles chasing pipeline, and one in which you take a methodological, common sense approach based on the fundamentals of marketing. Knowing what is and what is not possible is ultimate power.
Let's start listening more and talking less.
