The best brands do not just collect feedback - they operationalize it.

They track it, analyze it, and act on it with the same rigor they bring to their financials.

This week, we look at why Operationalizing Customer Feedback is one of the most powerful strategies there is. Like Zappos or Chewy, build your brand around authentic human interaction, not by hiding behind policies.

Because in the Marketing Pinball Machine™, a bad customer experience is the fastest way to make the player walk away. Game over.

Ever feel like you are showing up to the game without enough quarters in your pocket?

In today’s Marketing Pinball Machine™, credibility is the new currency. Reviews, real-world validation, and trusted voices determine whether the ball even makes it onto the board.

Without credibility, you should not play at all. With it, you have the chance to keep the ball in motion at lower cost and with higher impact.

This week I dive into why credibility matters more than ever, the three big sources to focus on, and how to start banking it.

Ever feel like your marketing strategy is less of a plan and more of a game of chance? You are not entirely wrong.

We can spend too much energy trying to control what cannot be controlled. The smarter play? Master the few levers that are truly yours.

The customer journey today looks a lot more like a pinball machine than a funnel.  So this week let’s look at how I think about the flippers, bumpers, tilt… and what counts as the jackpot!

The funnel is gone.

We are in The Marketing Pinball Machine™—chaotic, unpredictable, and full of unexpected bounces.

Why did the funnel collapse?

• Rising CAC (privacy laws, Meta/Google shifts)

• AI supplanting SEO

• Algorithms deciding reach (followers ≠ reach)

• Performance marketing plateau

The real question is not whether the funnel is broken.
It is how to keep the pinball in play.

Today’s customer journey looks less like a funnel and more like a pinball machine; chaotic, unpredictable, and shaped by countless bounces across platforms, devices, and, just as importantly, human touchpoints. I call this the “Marketing Pinball Machine™”. It’s the framework I’ve developed to describe today’s reality. And I’ve lived it, leading teams through wholesale and DTC transformations, scaling a start-up to 9-figure growth, and repositioning a legacy apparel brand for omnichannel success.

This isn’t about abandoning measurement or discipline. It’s about changing the game we think we’re playing. In pinball, your job is not to control the ball. Your job is to keep it in play.  With credibility, with content, with consistent touchpoints… keep it in play long enough to build trust and then earn the ability to keep it.