Those of you who know me know I love a good movie reference. Especially if it’s Spider-Man. In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man wrote out “I Love You” across the Brooklyn Bridge with his webs. A nod, perhaps, to one of the most beloved children's books ever, Charlotte’s Web, he used his web-crafting abilities to communicate. As marketers, we need to do the same.
Yet, what I have found to be more common is that rather than being the Spider (read: crafter of the web), marketers oftentimes find themselves the fly (read: victim of the web). Trapped by the ever-connected web of information, data, and complexities that are part of our world.
Untangle yourself. It’s time to stop playing the victim and learn how to craft a story. It’s time to be the spider, and communicate via your carefully crafted web.
Are You a Spider or a Fly?
Complexities are a part of our world. Flies get trapped in these complexities. It starts with an overengineered simplicity. That sentence feels like an oxymoron, but I did that on purpose. From CRM dashboards, to Google Sheets, to GA4 and LookerStudio reports, to third-party “reporting” and AI tools, marketers are overcomplicating their numbers before they have had the chance to build confidence in their foundation. Rather than moving from tool-to-tool and trying out the new thing, start with the basics. Understand your numbers and how they’re calculated before you use a filtered dashboard or an AI tool attempting to think for you.
Flies are always buzzing, seemingly busy, but never actually doing anything. Spiders move with intention and consistency. Intentionality and consistency are essential when it comes to building a strong foundation. Focus on your key performance metrics that reflect real business impact (intention) over and over (consistency). Over time, you empower yourself with a gut intuition that allows you to pinpoint red flags before they become an issue. In essence, you go from reactive to proactive. From buzzing endlessly to focused and methodical.
Flies are also consumers by nature, looking for their wins. Spiders are the creators of their own destiny. Consuming data like a fly means performing a linear analysis through rose colored glasses. Shallow consumption of data will never lead to the same depth of opportunities as creating an intricately connected and well-designed web. It’s important to look at the full funnel and not just hunt for potential high-level victories. All of your data needs to be filtered through a bias-checker to ensure you’re digging deep and identifying all potential opportunities.
| 🪄 Here’s a hint: for every good piece of data, look for contradicting metrics further in the funnel |
That’s why we focus on a full funnel analysis, because the answer is never “just generate more leads.” Ignoring the full journey of your customer is like trying to weave a web with one end attached versus multiple anchors. It sets you up for failure.
Last, flies are easily distracted by the lure of something bright and perfumey. As you’re evaluating the funnel and tracking a customer’s journey, be wary of commentary from other silos that could be reactionary conclusions drawn from a singular instance. These conclusions are often delivered with shiny confidence. Spiders know better. Always ask for more details, more examples, and specific instances that can be data-backed. Then use the shiny conclusions as either lures or anchors to your well-constructed web.
Weave Your Web, Spider-Man
If a fly is influenced, the spider is an influencer. And an intentional one at that. Spiders don’t stumble into their webs; they create them with purpose. As marketers, we need to operate the same way. That means we don’t just look at numbers, we translate them.
Once you feel confident with your data, it’s time to craft a story. Start with structure and questions that address the full funnel. A good marketing story isn’t just a list of metrics; it’s a narrative with layers:
- What was the goal?
- What did we do?
- What happened to the customer?
- Where were the opportunities?
- What are some actionable solutions (with considerations)?
When you build your reporting like a story arc, you bring clarity to chaos. More importantly, you demonstrate how marketing drives outcomes, not just activity.
And yes, that means the full truth. Tell the story of what worked and what didn’t. Being the Spider means being the strategic communicator, with anchors attached at every end. Ignoring mistakes or other silos will only lead to more failure.
⚡️ Key Reminders
You’re Not the Only Spider - The story cannot be written in a vacuum. Treat the funnel as a feedback loop. Collaborate with your sales team. Ask your OSCs what they’re hearing. Filter their feedback through a check for biases, and use it to add soul to your numbers. These inputs create a richer, more contextual narrative than numbers alone ever could.
Track Your Moves with Purpose - Campaign adjustments, creative updates, budget reallocations…write them down along with their why. Connect these actions to customer behavior and company outcomes. Your actions are the plot points in your marketing story.
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Marketing isn’t about leads. It’s about leadership. The best marketers don’t just report on performance. They shape the story around it. So ask yourself: Are you trapped in the web? Or are you the one weaving it?
Be the Spider. The storyteller. The one who turns noise into narrative, and narrative into action.
