Always hear talk endlessly about top-of-funnel stuff like SEO, social reach, lead magnets, etc. But is that really where the magic happens?
What if most brands are over-investing in awareness..
…while completely underestimating what mid or bottom-of-funnel strategies can actually do?
If you had to ignore one funnel stage for a month & double down on another, What would you drop & where would you focus?
Adding sibertius
Overhyped Stage : Awareness
The awareness stage often gets the spotlight — flashy campaigns, viral content, influencer marketing — all aiming to attract attention. While visibility is crucial, businesses sometimes over-invest here, forgetting that awareness doesn’t always translate to conversions or loyalty.
Underrated Stage : Retention
The retention stage deserves more love. Keeping existing customers happy through personalized communication, loyalty programs and proactive support can significantly increase lifetime value and lead to organic growth through word-of-mouth. Yet, it’s often underfunded compared to acquiring new customers.
CEO - Customer Emotion Optimization?
Overhyped stage: Yes.
Underrated Stage: Not obsessing.
Awareness doesn’t pay the bills if it doesn’t convert 
I would focus on conversion + retention, because these people already know you, they’re already considering a decision or are loyal customers, and on other hand, improving conversion rates and lifetime value is often cheaper and faster than acquiring cold leads..
True, awareness is just the spark, but it is conversion & retention that keep the lights on.
focusing on people who are already engaged with your brand is such a smart play also more cost-effective to reach & often just need a little nudge or better experience to stick around or come back for more. + in a crowded digital space, building long-term trust can be your biggest differentiator.
When optimizing for conversion & retention, Have you found any small tweak (like a change in messaging, checkout flow or onboarding) that had a surprisingly big impact on results?
Mid-funnel deserves more love—nurturing leads is where trust builds. I’d drop top-funnel noise for a month and double down on email sequences and retargeting.
Not exactly focusing on emotions. It means focusing more on after sales services. Collecting feedback and taking necessary actions to improve business.
More of a parody of all SEO stuff. But trust touches on emotions IMO.
Trust being deeply emotional resonates. In the marketing world often get caught up in metrics & forget that at the heart of every decision is a human seeking connection & authenticity.
What are effective strategies in building genuine relationships (emotional aspects of trust) with audience that go beyond the surface-level tactics?
About the same as a marriage. Predictability, reliability and listening to your partner. (among other things). Treat your customer as you would like to be treated,