Skip to content If you have invested in social media, advertising campaigns, content, branding, or lead generation and the results have not been as expected, you've probably asked yourself the same question as many business owners:
What are we doing wrong?
The answer is usually surprising.
In most cases, the problem isn't with the advertising.
He/She is not on social media.
He/She is not at the agency.
He's not even on the sales team.
The real problem usually appears much earlier: in the strategy.
And more specifically, on the information upon which that strategy was built.
Many companies make marketing decisions based on internal opinions, hunches, or accumulated experience over years. While that experience is valuable, it doesn't always reflect what customers truly think, feel, or need.
This is why we see companies communicating benefits that no one values, highlighting attributes that don't influence purchase decisions, or competing on price when they could differentiate themselves through much more powerful factors.
If you want to build an effective marketing strategy, the first step isn't launching a campaign.
It's listening.
Listen to your customers.
It's common to hear phrases like:
But when we interview current customers, prospects, or even lost customers directly, we frequently find a different reality.
Maybe your clients don't choose you for quality.
Perhaps they choose you because you represent less risk to them.
Perhaps they don't value the speed you promote so much.
Perhaps they value the ease of doing business with you.
You might consider a company a competitor that the customer doesn't even take into account.
Even worse, perhaps there's a competitor you hadn't identified.
The difference between an average company and a highly competitive company is usually one word:
Evidence.
The best decisions are made when you replace assumptions with real market information.
One of the biggest mistakes in marketing happens when the entire strategy is built from the company's perspective.
Management has an opinion.
Ventas' opinion.
Marketing opines.
Operations opines.
And after several meetings, a value proposition, positioning, and communication strategy are defined.
The problem is that none of those opinions necessarily come from the customer.
Imagine you want to remodel your house and you hire an architect.
The architect could design a house based on what they consider ideal.
Or I could start by asking you how you live, what you need, what you like, and what your priorities are.
Which one do you think will be more likely to succeed?
The same applies to a marketing strategy.
If you want to connect with your customers, you first need to understand them.
Many companies believe they know their customer because they can describe them.
You know their age.
They know their location.
Do you know the size of your company?.
Do you know how much she/he/they earn/earns?.
But that information barely scratches the surface.
What you really need to understand is:
When you understand these variables, your strategy stops being generic and starts being relevant.
People rarely buy because they want to buy.
They buy because they want to solve something.
Pains represent the frustrations, obstacles, or problems the customer experiences.
For example, a company that sells software might believe its customers are looking for automation.
However, during interviews, she discovers something different.
What they really seek is to reduce errors that generate economic losses.
The software is simply the vehicle.
The real problem is something else.
And when you understand the real problem, you can communicate value much more effectively.
As important as understanding the problems is understanding the aspirations.
The gains represent what the client considers success.
It can be
When you connect your value proposition with those results, the conversation completely changes.
Stop talking about features.
You're starting to talk about results.
This concept is known as Jobs To Be Done.
And it's one of the most powerful tools for designing a growth strategy.
People don't buy a drill because they want a drill.
They buy it because they want to make a hole.
They don't buy a gym membership because they want access to machines.
They buy it because they want to look better, feel better, or improve their health.
In the same way, your clients don't buy your services.
They buy what those services allow them to achieve.
When you understand the “job” the client needs to get done, you find opportunities for differentiation that the competition often overlooks.
If there's one source of information capable of transforming your strategy, it's the voice of the customer.
In-depth interviews allow for the discovery of information that rarely appears in reports, dashboards, or traditional surveys.
During a conversation you can identify:
This information becomes the raw material for any solid strategy.
Imagine an industrial company that is convinced it is losing business because its prices are higher than those of some competitors.
After interviewing current and prospective clients, you discover something unexpected.
Buyers are not concerned about the price.
They are concerned about supply chain delays.
Every day of delay represents significant losses.
What they really value is reliability.
Suddenly, the strategy changes.
The company stops talking about price and begins to communicate operational continuity, compliance, and risk reduction.
The value proposition is strengthened.
And the pressure on the price decreases.
Let's think about a nutrition clinic.
Initially, all communication revolves around losing weight.
However, the interviews reveal something different.
Many patients are looking to feel more energetic.
Sleep better.
Reduce inflammation.
Regain confidence.
Weight loss is important, but it's not the main motivation.
By changing the communication approach, the clinic connects much better with its ideal patients.
Another common error consists of defining competence from an internal perspective.
The real competition is what the customer considers during their decision-making process.
And many times it doesn't match the list you have in mind.
That's why it's essential to ask:
These answers often reveal positioning opportunities that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Most SWOT analyses are built within a meeting room.
But a much more powerful alternative exists.
Build it from market perception.
When interviewing clients, you can identify:
Strengths
What they truly value.
Weaknesses
Aspects that generate friction or concern.
Opportunities
Unmet needs.
Threats
Competitors or market changes that could affect your growth.
This approach provides a much more objective and actionable view.
All of this information has a purpose.
Help you build a clear and differentiated value proposition.
An effective value proposition answers three questions:
The answer should come from the market.
Do not give internal opinions.
Many companies try to define their positioning first.
But positioning isn't invented.
Is being built.
And it is built from:
When these elements are aligned, positioning emerges naturally.
Tools like ChatGPT can greatly help you develop content, messaging, and strategies.
But there is a condition.
First, you need to deeply understand your customers.
If you feed artificial intelligence with generic information, you will get generic answers.
If you feed it with real market insights, it becomes an extraordinarily powerful tool.
AI amplifies your strategy.
It does not replace it.
The best marketing strategies aren't born in a boardroom.
They are born listening.
Listening to purchasing decision-makers.
Listening to those who choose your company.
Listening to those who chose your competition.
Because when you deeply understand your client, you start making decisions based on evidence, not assumptions.
And that difference can completely transform the way you grow, position yourself, and compete.
At Barrilete Azul, we help you discover what your customers truly value, identify opportunities for differentiation, and design sustainable growth strategies based on research, interviews, and competitive analysis.
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