Use A Playground, Not A Funnel - Ashley Faus - Hard Corps Marketing Show - Episode # 329

The thought leader featured in this episode is a marketer, writer, speaker, singer, and actor. This premier product marketing expert also hosts the Rants with Ashley and Devin live stream. Ashley Faus is the Director of Integrated Product Marketing at Atlassian. Ashley smashed the use of funnels as a forward-looking strategy, why you should use the Playground Approach with your audience, and how to structure your content using Content Depths. Busted Myths:“The funnel is dead, use a playground instead.” In reality, a funnel is a retrospective measuring tool, not a significant driver of a company’s strategy. Using a “playground” allows prospects to design their own journey based on what works best for them. Takeaways:While your funnel isn’t a forward-looking tool, you can still glean many insights into your customers by examining the historical data from your funnel. This is a great source to learn about how people found your product and which channels were most effective.Think of which channels drove prospects to your company as a lagging metric and not a leading metric when reviewing funnel data. Channels move fast and so does the market, meaning channels that worked last time won’t necessarily work this time.Data from your funnel can tell you what worked in the past and what didn’t, but it will not tell you what changes to make, where the changes should be made, or when you should make changes in the future.The playground approach means creating an experience for your audience that allows them to design their own journey with seamless handoffs and that lets them get what they want when they want it. For example, pricing has traditionally been seen as a bottom-of-funnel discussion to be had once a seller has convinced the buyer of the value. However, for many buyers, pricing information is vital early on so they can see if the price is within their budget.When thinking about what content to create and how to structure it, consider using the Content Depth framework. There are three tiers to Content Depth: 1. Conceptual, 2. Strategic, 3. Tactical. Conceptual-level content explains the what and why of an idea and helps people think about the problem space. Strategic-level content speaks to the tools, processes, and key knowledge components needed to make that idea a reality. This helps people think about the solution space and do their own research.Tactical-level content provides prescriptive best practices and step-by-step instructions which are required to execute that strategy. Quote of the Show:“The funnel is dead, use a playground instead.” - Ashley Faus Shout Outs:Rev.com - Audio Transcription Service Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyfaus/ Atlassian website: https://www.atlassian.com/ Compass website: https://www.atlassian.com/software/compass Blog: https://consciouslycorporate.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashleyfaus  Ways to Tune In:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-show/id1338838763Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/37228621-2f9c-4905-a223-1844effb49ddSpotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/1vVLpNI1LssMTiL6KdsamnStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-hard-corps-marketing-showGoogle Podcasts: https://play.google.com/music/m/Im7mytmu2wa2mekhoeixlja5hpe?t=The_Hard_Corps_Marketing_ShowYouTube: https://youtu.be/us9lyP_HHY4  Hard Corps Marketing is produced and sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/