Bias #1: why shouldn't you judge your marketing by your own taste?
Short answer — Laurent Goffin, Belly & Brain: because you're not the one buying. The only opinion that counts is your target's. Your taste is the main bias in your marketing.
It's the most natural reflex in the world. You look at your website, your logo, your brochure, and ask yourself whether you like it. It's also the one that costs the most: it replaces "does this convince my customers?" with "do I like it?".
This bias has an often underestimated consequence: visual identity is far more technical than people think. Typography, legibility, hierarchy, consistency: customers see immediately when branding isn't professional. Including in B2B, where people wrongly assume that "only substance counts".
Watch out: by trying too hard to look approachable, you can end up looking unserious. Being affordable and looking cheap are not the same thing.
A good identity is justified by what it has to say, not by a preference. For Exempla, a management and consulting firm, the identity is built on the circle, a symbol of community and co-creation, paired with a serif typeface (see the Exempla case).
Bias #2: do your current customers represent your market?
Key takeaway — Laurent Goffin, Belly & Brain: no. Your current customers are the people you've already managed to convince, meaning the ones most like you. The market is everyone else.
Asking your customers is essential. Drawing conclusions about the market from them is dangerous. They've already crossed every barrier the others haven't: they know you, trust you, understand your offer.
To understand the market, you have to go to those who didn't choose you: lost prospects, competitors' customers, non-customers in your target. Not imagine them: meet them. Pick up the phone, go and see them, show them, and listen to them say no.
That's the purpose of our insights and market intelligence engagements, which we run for SMEs as well as for groups such as AXA (see the AXA case).
Bias #3: is expertise in your trade enough to sell well?
Short answer — Laurent Goffin, Belly & Brain: no. Product expertise and marketing knowledge are two different skills, and one doesn't bring the other.
"I know my trade better than anyone, so I'll know how to sell it." It's one of the most common lines of reasoning, and an understandable one: expertise breeds confidence. But knowing your product says nothing about what the customer perceives, what they compare, or where they look.
The typical risk: a very rich story about the "how" (the technique, the know-how), and almost nothing about "why me" from the customer's point of view. That's exactly what the ten-word test reveals.
Bias #4: is marketing about creativity or numbers?
Key takeaway — Laurent Goffin, Belly & Brain: marketing isn't poetry. It's an acquisition cost, a cost per lead, a cost per sale, a market penetration rate. They're numbers, and you track them.
Creativity has its place, in service of measurable goals. The basic metrics of a managed marketing function:
| Metric | What it measures | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Customer acquisition cost | What a new customer costs, all channels included | Is my marketing profitable? |
| Cost per lead | What a contact or quote request costs | Which channel brings the cheapest contacts? |
| Cost per sale | What a closed sale costs | Are the contacts the right ones? |
| Conversion rate | The share of contacts who become customers | Where does the journey lose customers? |
| Penetration rate | The share of the target market already buying from you | How much growth room is left? |
These are the numbers that make decisions possible, and that show results. For CLL (Centre de Langues), SEO work delivered +30% organic traffic, and up to +200% on lead-generation pages (see the CLL case).
Good to know: the business model itself depends on marketing. Price, channels and purchase frequency are marketing decisions. In some businesses, marketing is the model.
The 4 biases and how to correct them: the table
| Bias | Symptom | Correction | How to measure it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judging by your taste | "I like it" as the approval criterion | Test with the target, aim for the level of the best in your sector | Prospect reactions, conversion rate before/after |
| Mistaking customers for the market | Research limited to the customer base | Meet non-customers and lost prospects | Reasons for refusal, market share |
| Believing expertise is enough | A story centred on the "how" | Phrase "why me" from the customer's point of view | Ten-word test, response rate |
| Seeing marketing as poetry | Budget without numeric goals | Set and track acquisition cost, cost per lead, cost per sale | Monthly dashboard |
Want an outside view, backed by numbers, on your marketing? Book 30 minutes with the founders.
Frequently asked questions
Why shouldn't a business leader approve marketing based on their own taste?
Because they aren't the buyer. Their taste reflects their preferences, not their target's. Approval should come from customers and prospects, and from the numbers.
Does branding matter in B2B?
Yes. B2B buyers also judge a supplier's seriousness by its image. Branding that doesn't look professional weakens credibility, even when the offer is excellent.
Are my current customers a good sample of my market?
No. They're the ones you've already convinced, so the ones most like you. To understand the market, you need to talk to non-customers and lost prospects.
How do you really get to know your target?
By meeting them: calls, meetings, offer tests, listening to refusals. A target imagined from behind a desk remains a hypothesis.
Is being an expert in your trade enough to sell well?
No. Product expertise and marketing skill are distinct. Experts often talk about the "how", while customers first look for "why you".
Which marketing metrics should you track first?
Customer acquisition cost, cost per lead, cost per sale, conversion rate and, where relevant, penetration of the target market.
How do you look approachable without looking cheap?
Keep a professional execution (typography, layout, tone) while simplifying the message and the access. Approachability lies in clarity, not in a bargain-bin image.
In short
Four biases distort business leaders' marketing decisions: judging by taste, mistaking customers for the market, believing expertise is enough, and seeing marketing as poetry. The correction is always the same: go to the real target, and manage with numbers.
Further reading
