Marc Binkley is an evidence-based marketing consultant, President of the Calgary Marketing Association, and co-host of the Sleeping Barber podcast. Through his consultancy, Quatical, he helps organizations apply marketing science to brand and business growth.
This conversation explores how evidence-based thinking can improve marketing decisions, why digital measurement has distorted our understanding of effectiveness, and what marketers can learn from the scientific method. Marc and Pedro examine the limitations of the traditional marketing funnel, how people actually make buying decisions, and why better diagnosis often matters more than having more tactics.
They also discuss mental and physical availability, the 95–5 Rule, the Theory of Constraints, and how marketers can build a stronger latticework of mental models without mistaking any single framework for reality.
Resources talked about in this episode:
- A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger
- How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
- The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field
- The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- Future Demand by James Hurman
- Better Brand Health by Jenni Romaniuk
Follow Marc Binkley:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/
- https://sleepingbarber.ca/
- https://calgarycma.com/
- https://www.quatical.com/
Follow Pedro Porto Alegre:
Join The Strategy Collective to connect with, learn from, and support the country’s strategic planning community. Become a member at https://www.thestrategycollective.co/.
Grow Your Brain is proudly sponsored by The Gathering, the award-winning yearly brand festival hosted in the Canadian Rockies. Learn more at http://thegatheringfestival.com.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Marc Binkley and His Work
03:31 The Importance of Evidence-Based Marketing
06:10 The Evolution of Marketing Measurement
08:32 The Impact of Digital Marketing
11:00 How Digital Changed Marketing Thinking
13:37 The Limits of Digital Measurement
16:18 Why Small Brands Default to Social Media
17:21 The Importance of Asking Better Questions
20:36 Can Scientific Thinking Scale Across Marketing Teams?
22:55 Why New Ideas Threaten Core Beliefs
23:16 The Origins of the Marketing Funnel
24:59 The Strongest Arguments For and Against the Funnel
27:10 How Consumers Actually Make Buying Decisions
28:32 Mental and Physical Availability
29:48 Satisficing and the Reality of Consumer Choice
31:19 The Role of Mental Models in Strategy
33:18 Understanding the Theory of Constraints
36:21 Why Diagnosis Matters More Than Tactics
37:25 The 95–5 Rule and Future Demand
40:29 Alternatives to the Traditional Funnel
41:23 The 95–5 Cash Flow Funnel
43:05 Measuring Mental Availability
45:11 Turning Marketing Research Into Action
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