Experience

I’ve been buying clicks since dial-up. Back then ‘targeting’ meant shoving banner ads anywhere an eyeball might wander. 

Nobody explained to me back in 1999 when I joined Digitas, that the real game … is narrower: 

• Find the few folks who actually care about what you’re selling,

• Ignore the rest:

Fast-forward to 2006-2010. Two shiny NYC startups I joined – ooVoo (Skype killer!) and Community Connect (MySpace killer!) – flamed out. Why? 

We built cool stuff for… no one. 

—

The same pattern just hit the big leagues: last week GroupM told staff that 40-45% of its U.S. people will be “impacted” as WPP jams multiple units into one (Adweek). 

Translation: thousands of smart media experts searching … Indeed ☹️

Digital marketing, like life, punishes spray-and-pray. And rewards focus. 

So here’s my scar-tissue takeaway: product-market fit isn’t a slide on an investor deck. 

It’s oxygen. 

Lose that oxygen, and the lights go out – whether you’re a startup or a 34-thousand-person giant (i.e. Group M).

Which begs the question: could you name your core audience without squinting at a deck?

Reflection

Layoffs suck. I’ve had to tap teammates on the shoulder – it’s a terrible gut punch every time. 

The deeper problem isn’t HR. It’s aim. 

CB Insights combed through 500+ startup autopsies: 42% died because there was “no market need” (Forbes). That stat keeps me up more than any AI doomsday thread.

Flip side? Tiny “insurgent” brands – under 2% share – captured almost 39% of 2024’s category growth (Adweek). Ruthless focus = loving service.They pick a micro-tribe and over-serve it while big brands chase everyone. (And get no one.)

The message is so simple:

You have to know who you’re aiming for. Exactly. 

What do they like? What do they dislike? What makes them cringe? 

They’re not audience segments. They’re individuals. Just like you and me. 

And they’re where the gold is.

At Delve Deeper, as a Performance Media Agency we stick to recurring-revenue DTCs – charities, insurers, card issuers. 

Saying “no” to potential deals that don’t fit our target market feels harsh, but the willingness to sacrifice protects my team and our P&L. 

Greater expertise. Fewer distractions. More wins.

So here’s the mirror moment: if focus is freedom, what’s stopping the rest of us from drawing a tighter circle?

Action

Step 1 – Jump the comfort fence
Block two hours, shut Slack, call three or thirty actual customers. Ask why they still pay you. No decks, no AI prompt chains. If their answers feel squishy, so is your fit. Digital rule of life: clarity lives outside the building.

Step 2 – Level-up one skill that scares you
Maybe it’s SQL, maybe it’s phone etiquette (harder). Pick the gap that, once closed, gives you a sharper view of the market than the CFO has. Your usefulness grows in proportion to the unknowns you can illuminate. Think flashlight, not fireworks.

Step 3 – Prune for profit
List every channel, report, and ‘innovation’ you’re funding. Circle the one that directly nudges your core tribe. Everything else? Gray it out and schedule a kill-date. Yes, even that shiny AI-SMB-TikTok pilot I green-lit last quarter. Focus is the kindest thing you can do for a team’s sanity – and the P&L.

Step 4 – Ride the next wave up
When the tide turns – and it always does – brands with tight product-market fit rise first. Capture that lift to renegotiate your scope, your title, maybe even your Tuesday tee time. Career velocity is just market momentum made personal. Stay laser-locked on the tribe, and the org chart shifts in your favor.

Four moves. Zero fluff. Your machete is waiting – ready to carve a path?

References

• GroupM North America CEO Sharb Farjami: restructure will “impact” 40-45% of U.S. staff (Adweek, May 2025).

• CB Insights post-mortems: 42% of failed startups solved a problem nobody had (Forbes, May 2023).

• Bain & Company “Insurgent Brands” report: brands <2 % share drove 39% of 2024 growth (Adweek, May 2025).

• McKinsey 2025 AI survey: redesigning workflows is top lever for EBIT impact; only 21% have done it so far (Adweek).

If you’d like to discuss your career journey with me one-to-one, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or message me on LinkedIn.

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