By lbrowning@hubspot.com (Laura M. Browning)

I love talking to creative people because they always notice details that I don’t. Like today’s master in marketing, who saw a boost in impressions from one tiny, seemingly insignificant detail: when their photo model bent their knee.

Today’s master in marketing isn’t proposing — but she does have some proposals to consider.

Meet the Master

Grace Wells

Grace Wells works with brands like Huckberry, Soleil Toujours, and Fur as a creative strategist and director

Lesson 1: Share data between your paid and organic channels.

Oil and water. Hatfields and McCoys. Paid and organic. They rarely mix, and in at least one of those cases, it’s to everybody’s detriment.

Wells tells me, “The crossover [of] what’s performing at those two ends of the spectrum, paid and organic — that’s where you get the clearest and most interesting behavioral insights from your customer.”

When she works with brands, Wells says she’s always looking for ways to build collaboration between those two teams. At one brand, sharing data between teams revealed that “lifestyle photos that feature a bent knee perform better than a straight-leg, standing pose.”

And it’s those “little fine details that can really make a difference in how you’re presenting your brand.”

Lesson 2: Make space for your customer to envision their business as part of yours.

When she partnered with the beauty startup Fur, Wells worked closely with Ulta and other national distributors for its retail business. She also worked on the brand marketing for Fur’s B2B line, which markets to industry professionals like salons and spas.

“It was really interesting to see what professionals versus direct-to-consumer customers engaged with, visually and aesthetically.”

The professionals responded to a “very different visual representation and design aesthetic that was a lot cleaner and simpler” than what the D2C customers preferred. The industry pros wanted something that felt “consistent, serene, and easy to adapt into their salon aesthetics,” Wells says.

On the other hand, customers shopping at Ulta or other distributors responded to a “creative brand that feels contemporary and dynamic.”

It reminds me a little bit of staging a home for sale — you’re supposed to remove personal photos and effects so that potential buyers can envision their own families in the space.

Same kinda thing: Professional aestheticians creating a spa environment don’t want other brands to step on their style.

Wells sums it up: When you’re trying to get your customer to convert on something that “will ultimately be incorporated into their business, you have to make space for them to envision their business as part of yours.”

<img src="https://knowledge.hubspot.com/hubfs/masters-in-marketing-grace-wells-3-20250624-3047622.webp" style="margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;display: block;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%" title="" alt="“when you're trying to get your customer to convert on something that …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog