5 Marketing Assumptions You Need to Question to Create Real Demand

As marketers, we’re often running on a treadmill of metrics, data, and campaigns. But here’s something that many of us overlook: while the numbers can be telling, they don’t always get to the heart of what marketing is really about—relationships. Too often, we rely on surface-level indicators and forget to question the premises that guide our decisions.

Over the years, I’ve realized that creating demand isn’t just about throwing ads at people or boosting vanity metrics. It’s about connecting, listening, and building trust. If you’re only focused on the numbers, you’re missing the human side of marketing. Here are five common assumptions we should all be questioning:

1. “We know exactly who our ICP is.”

We’ve all been there. The sales team gives us a profile, the product team gives us their take, and we build campaigns around this internal consensus. But are we sure we’re speaking to the right people?

Why You Should Question This: Your internal view of your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) might not match reality. Customers evolve, industries shift, and you need to stay on top of it. The people you think are your audience might not be the ones feeling the most pain—or even the ones paying attention.

What To Do Instead: Have real conversations with your customers and prospects. Look for patterns that go beyond demographics. What keeps them up at night? Why did they choose you—or a competitor? Go beyond the superficial traits and dig into their challenges.

2. “The more ads, the better.”

When budgets are available, the instinct is to pump out more ads, more content, more everything. But volume doesn’t equal value.

Why You Should Question This: If you’re flooding your audience with ads but not building trust, you’re just creating noise. It’s like trying to start a conversation by shouting through a megaphone—people tune it out. Ads can drive awareness, but they don’t build relationships—and relationships are what sustain long-term demand.

What To Do Instead: Take the time to understand what your audience needs before you start selling to them. Think about your outreach as a conversation, not a transaction. Use your marketing efforts to educate, provide value, and genuinely engage. When people feel understood, they’ll be far more likely to respond when the time is right.

3. “Conversion rates are up, so we’re nailing the messaging.”

I’ve seen so many teams celebrate rising conversion rates as a sign that messaging is working. But here’s the thing: metrics don’t always tell the full story.

Why You Should Question This: Higher conversion rates might mean your messaging is compelling enough to get people to take action, but are they converting for the right reasons? Are they staying? Are they turning into loyal customers or just one-time transactions?

What To Do Instead: Go beyond conversions and look at long-term impact. Talk to the customers who convert. Ask them what resonated and why. Sometimes, small shifts in how you speak to your audience can deepen the relationship and create lasting loyalty.

4. “We can’t build a community without a big budget.”

I used to think building a community was all about funding—ads, influencers, campaigns. Turns out, it’s not.

Why You Should Question This: A community doesn’t care how much you spend; they care about the value you offer. Communities are built on relevance, engagement, and trust—not how much money you throw at them.

What To Do Instead: Start small. Create spaces (online or offline) where your audience can engage with you and each other. Building a community is like planting seeds—you nurture those relationships, and over time, they grow into something bigger than a one-time campaign. Focus on listening and offering value, and trust will follow.

The Radview Approach

At Radview, we experienced this firsthand. We grew our community and our newsletter subscribers to around 500—not a huge number, but proof that you can build an audience without a big budget. The focus wasn’t on flashy promotions; it was about listening to our customers and creating content based on what they told us mattered to them. Our content was driven by their pain points and insights, helping us foster meaningful interactions and deeper trust. That’s the foundation of any strong community—relevance and value, not just reach.

5. “Digital campaigns are the end game.”

This is a big one. For many, the goal of marketing is to create demand through digital campaigns. And while they’re important, they’re not the whole picture.

Why You Should Question This: Campaigns are finite. Relationships are not. Once a campaign ends, so does the surge of leads. But if you focus on relationships, you’re creating continuous demand that doesn’t depend on a start and stop.

What To Do Instead: Use digital campaigns as an entry point, but don’t let them be the final touch. Build a strategy that involves nurturing relationships over time. That might mean regular check-ins, newsletters that offer real insights, or even personal outreach. The key is to keep the conversation going long after the campaign ends.

Final Thoughts: It’s About Relationships, Not Just Ads

At the end of the day, marketing isn’t just about getting people to click on your ad or fill out a form. It’s about creating real demand by building relationships. Ads can get attention, but relationships build trust. And trust is what keeps people coming back, long after the campaign ends.

So, question your assumptions, dig deeper, and remember: marketing isn’t just about the data—it’s about people.

#demandgeneration #maerketing #B2BMarketing #DigitalMarketing