Your Customers Aren't Leads - They're Luke Skywalker

Have you ever poured money into an advertising campaign—maybe a few $1,000 on META or Google? — only to look at the results later and just wonder, What did that even do for me?

And then, a day later, your inbox is just flooded with “The Five New Digital Marketing Strategies for 2025!” It feels like this never-ending cycle, just trying to catch the latest trick.

So many companies jump straight to the tactical side of advertising without first asking a really crucial question: “Why would anyone even pay attention to this?” The focus often stays squarely on selling features or advantages, but it rarely generates the sustained connection and growth that brands are truly seeking.

The cycle of chasing tactics is exhausting.

In Season 2 Episode 14 of Bullhorns & Bullseyes, Tom Nixon and Curtis Hays instead focus on something more foundational. Marketing isn’t about who can shout louder or who can outspend the other in advertising. It’s about genuinely understanding your customers, aligning with their journey, and becoming part of their story.

Here’s the thing, though, you’re not the hero in their story; they are.

“Go Be Awesome”

In our last Episode, Tom’s one piece of advice he’d give brands right now is, “Go Be Awesome.” So what does that actually mean in practice?

Before investing in ads, take a hard look inward. Customers share authentic experiences, not ad clicks.

“You need to give people a reason to want to be your fan first, and customer second.” — Tom Nixon

That means stop the gimmicks. Stop thinking of content marketing as just lead magnets and landing pages, or optimizing for conversions. It’s a “give me your money” approach and mindset. And it’s off-putting in most instances.

Content marketing, properly understood, is providing real, “free” service to an audience first, to earn their trust and build a relationship with them, not to trick them into a sale. Those you authentically attract will become your audience…your fanbase…and fans can’t wait to support those they follow.

Customers will come. But only if you build the audience first.

Audiences not Visitors

Building on that idea earning trust, it naturally leads us to think more deeply about who we’re trying to reach. We talk about ICPs and Personas but an “audience” isn’t just a demographic target. It’s a group of people who already think something is awesome and are on a journey to get somewhere. Seth Godin calls them a Tribe.

The primary goal isn’t selling. It’s about getting an emotional response from your audience. That response comes from understanding their Why, that deep instinctive desire, or the problem they’re just desperately facing, or maybe an aspiration they hold on to.

You as the business want sales or leads, but that’s the seller’s outcome. The customer just wants to solve a problem in their life. The real outcome we need to focus on as marketers is always the audience’s outcome, not ours.

Your Customer is the Hero, Not You

This is where Joseph Campbell’s framework, the hero’s journey, comes into play. Tom uses Star Wars as an example, which tells the story of a person, maybe with a gift or a flaw, who gets called to an adventure, like Luke Skywalker. Luke, the lowly farmer who discovers the force after his village and family are destroyed. That call leads to trials, transformation, and eventually a restored outcome.

So how does that map to marketing?

The customer is the hero in their journey, not your company. Your brand acts as the guide, the mentor. Think of Obi-Wan Kenobi or Han Solo guiding Luke Skywalker; you’re helping the customer along their path.

You shouldn’t be selling a product. Primarily, we should relate to the customer’s problem and guide them towards a solution, ultimately achieving the desired outcome.

If we’re truly putting the customer at the center, seeing them as the hero, how do we effectively map out their journey?

Mapping The Hero’s Journey

Once you have their aspiration, that emotional trigger that prompts their call to adventure, that feeling that says, “I can’t live like this anymore. I need a solution.” That’s the WHY.

After the WHY comes the HOW. This is when customers start looking for solutions, and if you’ve connected with them, you have them as an audience, they will naturally look and wonder, “How will you solve my problem?”

In Luke Skywalker’s case, he asks Obi-Wan. “You fought in the clone wars?” Which translates to, you’ve been in my shoes? Obi-Wan then presents Luke with his father’s lightsaber. Here’s a tool that might help you solve your problem. You could use a blaster, i.e., a competitor. But this lightsaber here is the more “elegant” solution.

Now Obi-Wan has Luke’s attention. He starts educating. “For a thousand years, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.”

As the conversation moves on Luke wants to learn more about the force. He’s drawn completely into his new mentor. Obi-Wan has an audience.

Then comes the WHAT. At the core, it’s the specific products, services, or actions your organization offers. It’s what you do or sell.

The Whats look almost indistinguishable from competitors’, feature for feature. But if a company connects deeply on the WHY and offers a truly differentiated HOW, then the WHAT, the actual purchase, becomes almost a given. Price becomes less of a factor because you’ve already built that foundational trust and connection.

Playing the Long Game

Obi-Wan played the long game. He lurked in the shadows, making himself known to his audience for when the time was right. Luke was “in market” when he was called to his adventure.

That’s the crucial point of content marketing: it isn’t just about immediate sales. It’s about demonstrating expertise, establishing authority and gaining trust before a customer is actively looking, so you’re top of mind when they do need you precisely. Luke sought out “Old Ben.” You want your brand to be known as the expert. When a problem does eventually arise, you’re the first one they think of. Which you could say is definitely playing the long game.

So, what kinds of content actually work best for this long-game approach?

Well, you tailor it to that hero’s journey. You tell stories. You use case studies, you educate, you hit them with content at different stages of the journey where those potential customers are on their learning and decision-making path.

That’s where being awesome comes into play. You’re finding where you can create the best content in the world, and you’re putting it where your audience actually hangs out. So when the need arises, your customers can find you.

Your ultimate goal with content is building an audience of loyal fans who can’t wait for your next piece of content, your next product or feature.

Fans of brands don’t need a hard sell. When the next iPhone is released, people will wait in line for hours to purchase their new device. Not just because it has a better camera or a faster processor. They could get that from Android. They buy from Apple because somewhere along the way, Apple established a level of loyalty and deep connection with an audience of true fans who couldn’t be pried away from the brand.

What would that level of loyalty and deep connection look like for your brand?

It’s a powerful idea to consider. Even more powerful to implement.

As you rethink your own approach to content marketing, ask yourself, How can we actually be awesome?

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