Is Awareness Really the Problem?

Hi reader,

The other day, we talked about getting specific with your goals before jumping into a new marketing tactic.

But once you’ve got a clear goal, there’s still the question of where to focus. And that’s where a lot of small businesses get stuck.

Because if you're solving the wrong problem, even the best tactic won’t help.

Today’s advice

Figure out whether you need more awareness or more conversions.

You’re trying to grow your business, so of course you want more customers. But “more customers” can come from two different places:

1. People who’ve never heard of you before.

2. People who know about you, but haven’t bought yet.

Those are two very different problems…and they need different solutions.

If not enough people know your business exists, your focus should be on awareness. That might mean showing up more consistently on social media, getting involved in your local community, or finding ways to reach new audiences.

As Rand Fishkin points out in this article, awareness happens where people spend time (not just where they search). So the goal is to get in front of the right people where they spend time, and make them curious.

But if you’re already getting some attention (i.e., site visits, social follows, email signups) but not seeing those turn into sales, then your focus should be conversion. That means you can work on things like clearer messaging and stronger calls to action, etc. 

Knowing which one to focus on helps you stop guessing and start choosing the right tactic for where you are.

Why this matters

You’ll know exactly which marketing tactics to focus on.

It's easy to grasp at straws with marketing, trying a bit of everything and hoping something sticks. But once you understand your exact problem, it’s much easier to focus.

If you're in the awareness stage, that might mean showing up more consistently online, asking past customers to spread the word, or finding simple ways to connect with new people in your community.

In this case, it would be a waste of your time to spend hours creating a special promotion…because no one’s around to see it yet.

Once you're in the conversion stage, you can shift to making sure your message is clear, your website is easy to navigate, and your offer gives people a reason to act ASAP.

Knowing the difference helps you spend your energy where it really counts.

You’ll increase your chances of turning interest into revenue.

When someone discovers your business, that’s only the beginning. They still need a reason to buy, and a clear, easy way to do it. If you skip this part and focus only on reaching more people, you’ll keep pouring effort into marketing without seeing much return.

Once you’ve identified this as the issue, you can work on fixing the points where people hesitate (i.e., confusing offers or unclear next steps). Then, more of that interest will turn into action. And that means more people booking, buying, or signing up. 

Soon enough, you’re finally turning that attention into income $$$.

Here’s how to start

Map out what’s happening between “finding you” and “buying from you.”

Grab a piece of paper and sketch out the steps a potential customer takes from the moment they first hear about your business to the moment they make a purchase.

Use these questions to help:

• How do most people find you? Word of mouth? Social media? Google? If you’re not sure, start asking your customers.

• What do they usually do next? Do people visit your website, DM you on social, ask for a quote, stop by in person?

• Where are they getting stuck? (Are people viewing your posts but not clicking? Asking questions but not booking? Visiting your site but not contacting you?

If you’re not sure, pick 2–3 recent customers or leads and trace their path as best you can. Or better yet, just ask them! 

A quick, casual question like “Hey, how did you end up finding us?” or “Was anything unclear when you checked out our site?” can give you a lot of helpful info.

Once you get even a rough idea of the steps people take, you’ll know if your real problem is not being seen or not closing the deal.

Let me know if you try this out, and what you find. 

Best,

Jono