Marketing Dopamine • October 18, 2026
The Questions Data Cannot Answer
Dashboards are good at telling you what happened. They are not very good at telling you why.
You can see how many people opened an email, clicked a link, or visited a page. Those numbers matter. But they cannot tell you what your customer was worried about when they reached out, what almost stopped them from saying yes, or why they chose you instead of someone else.
Only people can tell you that.
And most of us rarely ask.
The most valuable marketing research is often a conversation you have not had yet.
Asking a few customers why they chose you can feel awkward at first. It should not. Most people are glad to be asked, and their answers are often surprising. The thing you think sets you apart is not always the thing they noticed. The words they use to describe your work are often better than the words on your website.
Those conversations do something numbers cannot. They show you how your business actually feels from the other side.
That is where clearer messaging, better offers, and stronger relationships begin.
Data shows you the behavior. People show you the reason behind it.
If you want to understand your marketing, start by understanding the people it was meant for.
Lisa Carmichael is the author of The Marketing Dopamine Workbook: From Awareness to Action, available now, a companion to her book Marketing Dopamine: What Your Brain Is Really Doing When You Think You’re Building a Business, coming soon. Learn more at marketingdopamine.com
This is so under-rated. Not just in online businesses…
Absolutely! I think this applies to so many areas of life. We’re often so focused on what’s next that we forget to recognize and appreciate what’s already working. Sometimes a little reflection can change our perspective. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent Advice. Marketing is a “people” business, that’s for sure. It is good to learn and utilize statistics as well as actually asking questions and getting real answers. People do business with people they know, like and trust!
I couldn’t agree more! Data can tell us a lot, but conversations help us understand the people behind the numbers. I’ve always believed that relationships are at the heart of good marketing. Trust isn’t something we can manufacture with a marketing campaign. It’s something we earn. Thanks for sharing!