08/10/2026
š” MARKETING TIP #1
Your reality isnāt what drives business decisions. Your customersā perception of reality is.
One of the very first lessons we learned in marketing completely changed the way we approach branding.
Early on, we made a post about something we thought was a great idea when someone much wiser than us stopped us and said:
āPeople are constantly reading into what you do. Donāt give them a reason to misinterpret you, because perception is everything.ā
At first, we thought they meant we needed to make everything look perfect. Thatās not what they meant.
What they meant was this: people donāt experience your reality. They experience their perception of it.
They donāt know what happened behind the scenes. They donāt know if youāve had a difficult week, if an event didnāt go as planned, or if youāve overcome ten obstacles just to get where you are.
They only know what you consistently communicate.
We learned this firsthand.
We once hosted an event that, if weāre being honest, had a much smaller turnout than we hoped. We could have focused on the attendance. Instead, we focused on the one on one conversations we were able to have, the people who came, and the purpose behind the event. In the end, we were actually able to turn lemons into lemonade and make a really funny post out of it!
To us, the reality was a disappointing turnout.
To everyone else, the reality was a business coming up with a fun and creative idea that they missed out on. In fact, it was one of the most talked about events weāve ever created. It even resulted in people mentioning for months after, āThat was a really cool idea you guys had! I wish I could have made it!ā
Same event. Two completely different realities.
That was the day this lesson really clicked.
Every customer experiences your business through the lens of perception. If you donāt shape that perception intentionally, someone else will shape it for you.
So hereās a question we still ask ourselves before we post anything: If someone knew nothing about our business except this one post⦠what would they believe about us?
That one question has shaped almost every marketing decision weāve made since.
ā Brooke & Julia