Yesterday SlopeFillers turned 10. A crazy number. An even crazier number? The 1,728 posts that came before this one.

Along this crazy ride there’s been one marketing lesson I’ve turned to time and time again. I turn to it for inspiration for my own marketing and I turn to it for inspiration when writing posts here on SlopeFillers (like I did on Monday) I turn to it when I’m trying to understand where we are and where we’re going.

It’s not fancy. It’s not a hack. Folks don’t write books about it., But, man, it works. And I can describe it in a single sentence.

Learn to recognize to when marketing influences you.

Yep, that’s it. It’s as simple as being able to catch yourself when:

• You click on a banner ad.
• You stop scrolling through that feed.
• You remember a message you read days before.
• You buy something on a whim.
• Your opinions start to change about a product.
• You find yourself defending a brand.

And then, in that moment, taking a few seconds to ask yourself a simple question:

WHY?

Why did I click? Why did I remember? Why did I buy? Why?

Focus groups have their place. Surveys too. Analyzing data is tough to beat. But, man, the most deeply insightful marketing observations come from the only source you have unrestricted access to: yourself.

There are many different types of marketers, but in my experience? The self-aware marketer often has an advantage.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.