3 Things For December 3rd, 2025
Thinking Like Your Customer.
How do your customer’s make decisions?
If you build it, they might come, and luck is only part of it. If you’re a magnetic personality with a big network, regularly making the rounds in different circles, you’ll have better luck. This is because most customer journeys start with a referral. That is, if a referral is to be had.
If you’re selling an impulse item at a low price point, you need good visibility at the end of a retail aisle or social media ads, but most likely you’re selling something else. The higher the price point, the more consideration and research is done, and high trust is a winner.
A good rule of thumb for determining your marketing plan is to align marketing tactics with your customer’s journey. Consider the main things you offer, and for each, walk through the actions people will take on their way to making a decision.
Will they ask for a referral? From whom? Can you create a strong referral network and partnerships? Will they then read your Google reviews? What will they find? Will they look you up on social media wondering: “What are these people like?” What will be their impression when they find you? Will they ask AI for suggestions? (Tip: Ask AI who they recommend in your service area for what you offer and see what you find out). Will it be an emergency? If so will you be at the top of a Google search?
Know your ideal client for each thing you offer and walk through the most common scenarios from awareness, through consideration, and into the purchasing phase. Are you found? Do you answer all their questions? Are you an obvious choice?
There’s lots of things you could spend your time and money on and lots of places you can advertise but not everything will make sense. Walking through the mental process of how your customers make decisions is a great place to start.
This may seem obvious, and it should be, but it’s still often overlooked.
The Handshake You Leave Behind
Be honest now… When was the last time you remembered to follow up on a LinkedIn request buried in your notifications? Googled the cool shoe store you visited on vacation 6 months ago? Or how about that plumber your friend recommended, did you save the website link, what was their name? Now, think about that business card sitting on your desk, stuck to your refrigerator, or tucked in your wallet. It doesn’t need Wi-Fi. It doesn’t require a conscious decision to search Google, navigate to a website, or scan a QR code. It’s just there—a physical reminder of a person, a brand, or maybe a conversation.
In a world dominated by digital connections, AI-powered marketing, and virtual everything, there’s something profoundly powerful about the good old fashioned business card. In marketing it remains the closest thing we still have to a handshake. It stands above the never ending Google rolodex of endless options, and brings us back to what matters most—first impressions.
Staying True to Your Brand Means Showing Up Everywhere
Keep in mind your brand isn’t just a logo on a screen or a carefully curated Instagram feed. It’s the sum of every interaction, every impression, every touchpoint. While digital marketing lets you reach thousands, physical marketing lets you stay with someone. There’s a reason why a unique and well-designed business card can leave a lasting impression—it engages multiple senses and creates a moment of genuine human interest.
When you give someone your business card, you’re not just sharing contact information. You’re creating a tangible representation of your professionalism, your creativity, and your commitment to showing up. That card becomes an extension of your personality and brand values in a way that no digital profile can fully capture.
The Physical Is Still the Physical
No matter how immersive our virtual experiences become, we still live in a physical world. We still appreciate the weight of quality paper, the creativity of innovative design, and the simple pleasure of holding something in our hands. A business card that’s clever, beautifully designed, or unexpected doesn’t just sit there—it sparks conversation, gets shared, and remains unique to you and your business.
Remember, digital requires intention. You have to think to open an app, type in a URL, or pull out your phone to scan something. But something physical simply exists in your space, working quietly in the background of your daily life. That business card on your refrigerator door catches your eye every time you grab your morning coffee. The one in your wallet reminds you of that person every time you come across it. The one on your desk becomes part of your landscape, reinforcing brand recall without any effort. When someone finds your card weeks or months later, it’s not an interruption—it’s a rediscovery. It’s a reminder of a real moment, a genuine connection, a conversation that mattered. That card becomes a bridge between the person you were when you handed it over and the person they need when they’re ready to reach out.
Kate Miner
(253) 219-2211
kate@strategy3degrees.com
Google’s Latest Update Signals the End of Quick-Win Marketing
If your website analytics looked strange this fall, you’re not imagining it. Many small and medium-sized businesses saw impressions drop, average ranking improve, and click-through rates rise all at once. It feels contradictory, but it reflects a major change in how Google evaluates websites. The September update wasn’t a minor tune-up. It was a cleanup that pushes the entire industry toward usefulness and away from shortcuts.
For years, a lot of marketing advice focused on quick wins. Publish more posts. Add more keywords. Copy what competitors are doing. These tactics worked when Google rewarded volume over value, but that era is ending. The internet is crowded with low-effort articles, generic AI rewrites, and outdated service pages. Users weren’t getting real answers, and Google made a course correction.
A New Standard for Visibility
The biggest change is straightforward. Google reduced the visibility of low-quality or unhelpful pages across the search results. When that clutter disappears, stronger pages automatically rise. That’s why some businesses are seeing fewer impressions even as their rankings improve. You aren’t showing up for off-target searches anymore. You’re showing up more often for queries that matter.
This shift signals a long-term trend. Visibility is no longer won through output. It’s won through clarity, usefulness, trust, and structure. And that’s where most DIY marketing falls apart. Not for lack of effort, but because modern SEO has outgrown simple checklists.
This is also where a holistic approach becomes essential. At Strategy 3, we frame SEO as an ecosystem rather than a set of tricks. Technical cleanup, visual updates, user experience streamlining, accessibility, and long-term content planning all reinforce each other. When a site loads quickly, looks modern, guides users cleanly, and answers questions with depth, Google treats it as the safer and more reliable choice.
Why Holistic SEO Matters Now
Technical optimization solves the hidden problems: crawl waste, slow scripts, duplicate metadata, incorrect redirects, and structural issues that quietly drag rankings down. Visual improvements matter because design signals professionalism and credibility. A clear, intuitive pathway through the site reduces user frustration and increases engagement. Data-driven decisions tie it all together. Instead of guessing what content matters, we analyze real search behavior, competitor gaps, and user actions to decide what to build or update.
The September update reinforces why this approach matters. The brands that win are the ones that treat their website as a long-term asset, not a monthly deliverable factory. You don’t need to publish nonstop. You need to publish with purpose. You need pages built to solve real customer problems, and you need a site structure that helps Google trust them.
If your business relies on search visibility, this update is a chance to pivot away from the noise and toward a strategy built on substance. Quick wins will keep getting harder. Sustainable growth now comes from thoughtful planning, technical foundations, and a clear focus on helping users. The work is more involved, but the payoff lasts.
Scott Fultz
(253) 503-0328
scott@strategy3degrees.com