Funnels, messy middle and the Hankins Hexagon

How much can we influence people with advertising? What’s the best way to understand and model buyer behaviour? How should we set about growing market share?

James Hankins has worked in agency, consultant and client roles, tackling these very questions. In this episode, he challenges marketing myths and woolly thinking, and explains why understanding your market matters more than chasing funnels. The conversation blends practical strategy with behavioural insight to help marketers - and leaders - make better decisions.

I worked at the same media agency as James in the 2000s (Walker Media). Since then, his insights have regularly appeared in the marketing press, at the IPA, and in my LinkedIn feed. He’s a veteran of the UK's major media and advertising groups and, more recently, Global VP Marketing Strategy and Planning for Sage. He’s also the creator of the Share of Search and Hankins Hexagon models. 

Listen to this episode to learn:

• Why market dynamics are the gravity upon which strategy and execution must be built
• How Share of Search works and how it gives the rest of us valuable market share data
• Why funnels are misleading and how the Hankins Hexagon is better for marketers looking to influence buyers   
• The impact of slowing SaaS growth on businesses like Sage
• How brands, influence and ‘share of model’ will likely play out in the world of ChatGPT  

All that, and this episode features the podcast’s first mention of devil worship.

The Hankins Hexagon:
https://www.marketingweek.com/forget-funnels-new-model-path-to-purchase/

If you’re a WARC subscriber, the full paper is here:
https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/warc-exclusive/the-hankins-hexagon-a-new-practical-model-for-the-path-to-purchase/en-gb/137888?

More about Share of Search and how to calculate yours:
https://www.myshareofsearch.com

Connect with James on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-cp-hankins/

Read James' blog:
https://theeqplanner.wordpress.com

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Thanks for listening.

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