KYC is back in Vogue

There’s a noticeable shift happening in the world of marketing right now, one that signals a return to the roots of good business: knowing your audience. Over the past decade, performance marketing has dominated the landscape, with Google Ads and social media campaigns driving sales through laser-focused targeting. Marketers were lulled into a comfortable routine of placing ads, spending money, and watching direct results roll in. But that routine is now showing its cracks, and many businesses are realising that they’ve overlooked one of the most crucial aspects of long-term success—building a genuine connection with their audience.

As I discussed in a recent podcast episode of Bear Business, understanding your audience is finally coming back in vogue. And it’s about time too! While performance marketing, with its quick wins and data-driven approach, has served its purpose, there’s been a growing realisation that you can no longer “paper over cracks” where audience understanding is lacking. It’s not enough to throw money at ads and hope for the best; now, businesses are refocusing their efforts on truly getting to know the people they’re trying to reach.

But why now? Why are businesses reconsidering their approach after so many years of relying on the funnel-happy world of paid search and social ads?

The Allure of Performance Marketing—and Its Limitations

Let’s face it, performance marketing is hard to resist. Who doesn’t love the instant gratification of putting a budget into an ad platform, seeing clicks, conversions, and profits all neatly calculated in front of you? It gives marketers that magical feeling of control—spend X, get Y in return. That immediate feedback loop is addictive, and it’s why businesses have leaned heavily on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and other digital platforms.

However, there’s a catch: these campaigns often target the very bottom of the marketing funnel, focusing on individuals who are already poised to buy. You’re catching people who know what they want and are ready to purchase it. And that’s fantastic for short-term wins! But what happens when these audiences dry up, or your competitors jump in with bigger budgets and better offers?

This is where the cracks start to show. Performance marketing has always been about conversions, not connections. It’s transactional by nature, and it neglects the bigger picture: building a brand that people actually feel something for. The data may show that you’re getting sales, but are you really building loyalty? Are you reaching new potential customers, or just skimming off the top of the same pool?

Rediscovering Your Audience: A Business Necessity

In today’s crowded marketplace, it’s no longer enough to rely solely on transactional ads. Building a brand is about more than just driving clicks—it’s about understanding who your audience is, what they care about, and how your business can solve their problems or enhance their lives.

This is where audience research comes in. Not the surface-level “let’s target people aged 25-34 who like this page” type of research, but truly getting to know your audience on a deeper level. We’re talking about going beyond the quick wins of performance marketing and delving into the emotional and psychological drivers behind consumer decisions.

Think about the brands you personally love. Chances are, they’re not just the ones that had the best ad on Google, but the ones that made you feel something. Brands that understood your needs, spoke your language, and connected with you on a level that goes beyond a one-click purchase. That’s the power of knowing your audience, and it’s why businesses are now returning to this approach after years of over-reliance on digital ad spending.

The Tools for Today’s Marketers

Thankfully, understanding your audience isn’t some mystical, impossible task. Modern tools make it easier than ever. With social listening tools, customer surveys, and even AI-driven insights, businesses can gather detailed information about their audience’s preferences, habits, and pain points.

More importantly, these tools allow you to track how your brand is perceived, not just by the clicks you get, but by the conversations people are having about you. What do customers love? What do they want you to improve? These insights are invaluable and will serve you far better in the long run than just knowing which keywords drive the most traffic.

Additionally, using these insights can help you move up the marketing funnel. Instead of focusing solely on people who are ready to buy, you can start engaging people who might not even know they need your product or service yet. By crafting messaging that speaks to their interests and values, you create a relationship that leads to long-term loyalty.

Bridging the Gap Between Data and Humanity

What’s great about this shift is that it doesn’t mean abandoning the valuable data-driven approaches of performance marketing altogether. In fact, data plays a crucial role in understanding your audience more deeply than ever before. But the key difference is that businesses are no longer treating consumers as just numbers to be tracked in a dashboard.

Instead, the focus is shifting to finding the balance between data and humanity. Sure, track those conversion rates, monitor those ad spends, but also invest time in understanding who the people behind those numbers are. Why are they buying from you? What do they care about? What motivates them?

The irony of performance marketing is that, in its quest for efficiency, it sometimes makes us forget that marketing is ultimately about people. And people, despite what the algorithms might say, are more complex than clicks and conversions. Brands that recognise this will come out on top, as they will be better equipped to build authentic, lasting relationships with their customers.

The Big Question: Are You Engaging or Just Converting?

So here’s the big question: are you engaging your audience, or are you just converting them? If your marketing strategy is all about immediate returns, it might be time to take a step back and think long-term. Yes, performance marketing will still play a vital role, but if you’re not also focusing on building a brand that resonates with people, you’re leaving a lot on the table.

Take a moment to ask yourself: Do I really know my audience? When was the last time you revisited your audience personas or conducted in-depth research into your customers’ evolving needs and desires? It’s not enough to assume you know them based on past data. Consumer behaviour shifts, and what worked five years ago might not cut it today.

Understanding your audience is no longer an optional extra for those who like qualitative research. It’s the backbone of sustainable business success.

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What’s Your Audience Strategy?

Are you confident you know your audience inside and out? How do you gather insights to keep your finger on the pulse of customer trends? Let me know in the comments, or take this quick quiz to see how well you’re doing with audience engagement.