Systems Thinking in Marketing
At its core, systems thinking is about understanding how things are connected. Instead of viewing outcomes as isolated events, systems thinkers recognize them as the result of many interdependent parts interacting over time.
In marketing, that means moving beyond "channel X isn’t working" to:
👉 How does this channel interact with our messaging?
👉 How does it influence customer perception, funnel velocity, LTV, or even supply chain strain?
👉 What feedback loops are reinforcing or degrading performance?
👉 Where are the constraints in the system — and what would happen if we relieved them?
Every marketer needs to think systematically. Here's a few that I use to operate effectively
How I stay up to date
👉 I have a curated list of LinkedIn legends I check daily
👉 I check in with the peer group communities I'm a member of
My way of thinking
👉 Strategy first → tactical execution second
👉 Think in systems, not silos
👉 Challenge defaults: What does everyone believe and what’s actually true?
👉 Invert the problem: What would break this? What would make it obviously not work?
👉 Look for points of leverage, not volume: What few things move everything else?
My approach to testing
👉 Every idea must be a hypothesis: "If we do X, we expect Y because Z."
👉 Prioritize with ICE scoring: Impact, Confidence, Effort
👉 Ladder tests into themes and goals (not isolated)
👉 Always log results and learnings in an experimentation wiki
👉 Optimize for speed to insight, not perfection
My approach to campaign structure
👉 Start from the funnel backwards: define key moments and friction points
👉 Campaigns map to journeys, not just keywords or audiences
👉 Use a modular, scalable structure: clear naming conventions, audience layering, intent buckets
👉 Mirror ad creative, landing page, and offer tightly (message match)
👉 Bake in feedback loops: structure should tell us where the problem is (creative, copy, offer, targeting)
When things do NOT work as intended
👉 Go to the system: don’t panic, debug
👉 Step 1: Is tracking working? Are we measuring correctly?
👉 Step 2: Is volume aligned with expectations (CTR, CPC, CVR)?
👉 Step 3: Is the offer misaligned or weak?
👉 Step 4: Are we making assumptions that are untested?
👉 Log it. Learn from it. Move on.
When things DO work as intended (scale)
👉 Scale with rules: clear thresholds (e.g. ROAS > X, CAC < Y, AOV > Z)
👉 Don't just scale spend—scale messaging, landing pages, lifecycle
👉 Document what worked and why
👉 Build a playbook around the success and use it to train or "templatize"
👉 Ask: What other channels, segments, or geos can this win apply to?