There are more things in the buyer's journey than are dreamt of in your tracking system.
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| Illustration of the streetlight effect or the drunkard's search |
The mistake marketers, especially SaaS B2B marketers, make in focusing on what is easy to measure rather than on what is truly meaningful reminds me of an old joke that has gained the distinction of the name "the drunkard's search" or the streetlight effect."
It goes like this:
A police officer sees a drunken man searching the ground under a streetlight. He asks what he's looking for, and the man answers that he dropped his wallet (or a quarter or keys in some versions).
The policeman aids him in the search for a few minute but doesn't find anything. He then ask the man if he's certain he dropped it there.
No, he said, he dropped the wallet across the street.
"Then why are you looking here?"
“The light is better on this side."
In the same way, B2B marketers go for the light -- whatever is easily tracked -- even if the key information like what really made an impression on the customer cannot be found in the click stats and the like. The actual trigger that converted the prospect into a customer may not be something you sent at all but a recommendation on a review site or even one given orally by a friend.
But you wouldn't likely discover that if you limit your understanding to what your analytics tell you about your site, blog, and social media content.
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