Why being found matters more than being perfect.
I recently had the privilege of working with a brilliant cohort of entrepreneurs and founders, our conversation revealed something crucial that every business needs to understand in 2026: businesses are working incredibly hard on their marketing, but can be focusing on entirely the wrong stage.
Let me share the framework that’s helping these businesses stand out in an overcrowded digital marketplace.
The three truths we must accept
First, the false promise has expired. For years, we were told: build a website, create a LinkedIn profile, post on Instagram, and customers will magically find you. That’s simply not how it works anymore (did it ever?). You cannot rely on passive discovery. Instead, you must orchestrate what I call a “being found” campaign. And that requires intentional effort, strategic planning, and consistent execution.
Second, it’s not about marketing excellence. Customers don’t choose you just because your marketing materials look polished. They choose you because your communications demonstrate three vital qualities: common sense in how you approach business, clarity in how you communicate, and confidence in the customer experience you’ll deliver.
This is what I call “before-sale care.” Just as after-sale care reassures existing customers, your marketing must reassure potential customers about what it will be like to work with you before they’ve even made contact.
Third, under-communication kills momentum. In 2026, in the age of AI overviews, the art of marketing is the art of being explicit. You cannot assume people will fill in the gaps. Your online presence must match the enthusiasm and information you’d share in a face-to-face conversation. If there’s a gap between how compelling you are in person versus online, you’re losing opportunities every single day.
The customer journey framework
Successful marketing follows three distinct stages:
Visibility comes first. This is about being discovered by the right people at the right time. It means using the power of others: guest appearances on podcasts, contributions to established publications, speaking at trade shows, collaborating with complementary businesses. Visibility takes approximately 60% of your marketing effort, yet most businesses spend the least time here.
Credibility follows discovery. Once people find you, they verify you. Your website, social media profiles, testimonials, and content library all contribute to credibility. This stage answers the question: “Can I trust what I’ve discovered?”
Interactivity completes the journey. This is where relationships deepen through social media engagement, email conversations, and ongoing dialogue.
Why did it start to go wrong?
During our session, I asked the founders how businesses increased visibility in 1985, before the internet existed. Their answers were brilliant: newspaper advertising, trade shows, television commercials, product placement, word-of-mouth marketing, and more.
Every single tactic leveraged the power of established platforms and other people’s audiences.
Then I asked why businesses seem to have abandoned these principles. The truth emerged: working on visibility is harder than updating your own platforms. It’s less demanding to polish your website or create Instagram content than to research the best PR outlets, pitch guest articles, or build strategic partnerships.
But if you think about it, if you’re only working on your own platforms, you’re stuck in the credibility stage without doing the visibility work that brings people to you.
Your 2026 visibility commitment
As you plan your marketing for the year ahead, ask yourself three questions:
What are we doing to increase our visibility swiftly with the right audience? Where are our ideal customers already gathering, and how can we show up there? Who has already built the audience we want to reach?
The businesses that will thrive in 2026 won’t necessarily have the biggest budgets or the fanciest websites. They’ll be the ones who remembered that being found requires using the power of others, who communicate their customer experience explicitly, and who put their effort into visibility rather than just credibility.
The good news? A lot of your competitors may have forgotten these principles. Which means there’s never been a better time to stand out.
Pascal Fintoni
AI & Digital Marketing Consultant
For more info: pascalfintoni.com