Win No Matter What: The Hub and Spoke Strategy (Digital Reset Foundations 491)

Your marketing goal should be to win no matter what happens in the digital space. Yes, the channels your customers choose first change all the time. We’ve gone through search and social and now AI. Just remember that tomorrow could be something else altogether. You don’t want to chase channels. You want a strategy that works no matter what. And that’s what the “Hub and Spoke” and “CORE” methodologies are all about.

The CORE Methodology is a framework for choosing the right channels to market your company. Your “Hub and Spoke” is about how you use those channels — the spokes — to grow your hub (website, CRM, community).

Together, both work to ensure you win no matter what. This Foundation episode of Digital Reset with Tim Peter breaks down what you need to know so you can win no matter what happens with AI… or whatever comes next.

Key Insights for Marketing Strategy Leaders Navigating the Shift to AI

• The spoke tax has expanded. When the original episode was recorded, your concern was Google’s algorithm changes. Today, it extends to zero-click AI search, ChatGPT ads, and social platform reach erosion. The gatekeeper problem has grown, not just changed.
• Your hub is now your primary AI defense. When AI gives your customers answers without sending them anywhere, only brand recognition that’s strong enough to generate direct/named search protects you. That’s the hub. And that’s what it matters.
• Prompt Brand Equity is your new SEO objective. How frequently your brand appears in AI responses must replace rank position as your key AI search metric. The Core and Explore methodology is the discipline you must adopt for building that frequency in a systematic way.
• Thinks Out Loud is now Digital Reset. The same show you’ve always loved. The same host you’ve come to know. Sharper focus on building your brand beyond Big Tech.

Want to learn more? Here are the show notes for you.

• The CORE Methodology: How to Build Traffic and Revenue Beyond Google — Part 2 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 425)
• The AI Value Gap: Why 82% of Companies are Failing to Gain from AI (Digital Reset Episode 486)
• The AI Coin Flip: Why AI Gives Every Customer a Different Answer (Digital Reset Episode 488)
• The Foundation: From Card Catalogs to Concierges — Your SEO + GEO Blueprint (Digital Reset Podcast)
• The Long Game: What 15 Years of Digital Marketing Teaches Us About AI (Digital Reset Episode 489)
• The Gatekeeper’s New Tax: What ChatGPT Ads Mean for Your Marketing Budget (Digital Reset Episode 490)
• How to Build Traffic and Revenue Beyond Google — Part 1 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 424)
• Partnerships Between Brands and Creators Will Define the Next Generation of Travel Marketing | HSMAI Americas
• Can Podcasting Help Your Business Bypass the Big Tech Gatekeepers? (Thinks Out Loud Episode 413)
• What Connects TikTok and the Hub and Spoke Model of Digital? (Thinks Out Loud Episode 299)
• Big Trends: Bundling, Unbundling, and Customer Acquisition (Thinks Out Loud Episode 411)
• How to Engage Your Hotel’s Secret Sales Force
• Where Content, Community, and Customer Experience Meet (Thinks Out Loud Episode 346) – Tim Peter & Associates
• Customer Experience is Queen? What Does That Mean? (Thinks Out Loud Episode 190) – Tim Peter & Associates
• Big Digital Marketing Trends: Customer Experience is Cool (Thinks Out Loud Episode 375)
• Content is King, Customer Experience is Queen (Thinks Out Loud Episode 188) – Tim Peter & Associates
• The Future of Email Marketing — Interview with Scott Cohen from InboxArmy (Thinks Out Loud Episode 410)
• Revisiting How to Escape Big Tech’s Web (Thinks Out Loud)
• The Rebirth of Trusted Gatekeepers (Thinks Out Loud Episode 307) – Tim Peter & Associates
• What Taylor Swift Can Teach You About Bypassing Gatekeepers (Thinks Out Loud Episode 393)
• Is Social Media Anti-Social for your Brand Now? (Thinks Out Loud Episode 391)
• How To Perform a Health Check for Your Business (Thinks Out Loud Episode 388)

Tim Peter has written a new book called Digital Reset: Driving Marketing Beyond Big Tech. You can learn more about it here on the site. Or buy your copy on Amazon.com today.

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