The Three Know$ of Marketing

Most marketing advice is written for marketers. This book isn't.

The Three Knows of Marketing is for CEOs, founders, brand managers, and anyone who's spent money on marketing without being able to say which part of it worked. It replaces guesswork with three questions — do you know your customer, do you know yourself, and do you know your funnel — and shows you how to answer each one honestly, then act on what you find.

There's no jargon and no theory for its own sake. Just the framework Alex Hultgren has used to help companies from Ford-sized organizations to PE-backed growth-stage businesses stop spraying and start selling.

Know Your Customer The foundation everything else is built on — who they are, their pain points, why you lose them, and how to earn their trust.

• Who to target — segment your addressable market instead of treating every customer as equally attractive, build personas for each segment, and map purchase and repurchase cycles.
• Why they love you (or don't) — understand what makes your best customers stay and what caused others to leave. The only way to know is to ask them.
• What keeps them up at night — identify the real problem you solve and reposition what you sell as a solution with benefits, not a product with features.

Know Yourself What you stand for, what makes you worth choosing, and whether your marketing reflects it.

• Vision, mission, and values — clarify why the company exists and what drives it, seen through a customer-first lens rather than internal or shareholder language.
• Who you are to your customer — shift from telling your own story to building a shared one centered on how you help them.
• Your value proposition — pin down what's genuinely unique about your business and shape it into a value proposition that resonates, differentiates, and compels action.

Know Your Funnel Defined campaign objectives, where you lose people in the process, and how you build loyalty & repeat business.

• Your go-to-market process — map the steps a customer takes from first awareness to first purchase, then track what happens after: repeat purchases, referrals, satisfaction.
• Objectives, metrics & budget — set targets for every stage of the funnel and determine how much investment each stage needs to hit your revenue goals.
• Your go-to-market strategy — align marketing and sales across every touchpoint, adapting tactics for whether your solution is already understood or entirely new to the market.

The Three Knows of Marketing is available on Amazon.

What is The Three Knows of Marketing? The Three Knows of Marketing is a practical marketing framework by author and fractional CMO Alex Hultgren, built around three questions every business must be able to answer: do you know your customer, do you know yourself, and do you know your funnel. It replaces marketing guesswork with a repeatable system for founders, brand managers, and marketing leaders.

What are the three knows of marketing? The three knows are: Know Your Customer (who they are, their pain points, and why you lose them), Know Yourself (what your business stands for and whether your marketing reflects it), and Know Your Funnel (where you lose people in your go-to-market process and how you build loyalty and repeat business).

Who is Alex Hultgren? Alex Hultgren is a marketing executive and fractional CMO with 20+ years of experience, including roles at Ford Motor Company, Polaris/Victory Motorcycles, and Haworth Marketing + Media. He is a partner at the Chameleon Collective and the author of The Three Knows of Marketing.

Who is The Three Knows of Marketing written for? The book is written for CEOs, founders, brand managers, and marketing leaders who want a clear, repeatable framework for building marketing that works, rather than relying on trial and error.

Is The Three Knows of Marketing an Amazon bestseller? Yes — The Three Knows of Marketing is an Amazon bestseller and reached #1 the week of January 6, 2025 across multiple categories, including marketing strategy, e-commerce, business pricing, and industrial marketing.

What industries does the Three Knows framework apply to? The framework applies across industries. Alex Hultgren has used it in automotive, healthcare, CPG, real estate, and engineering services, both in corporate marketing roles and in fractional CMO engagements with PE-backed businesses.

Is there a free way to test the Three Knows framework on my business? Yes — the Three Knows of Marketing website offers a free 5-minute self-assessment that scores how well your business knows its customer, itself, and its funnel, and shows you which area to fix first.

Can I hire Alex Hultgren as a fractional CMO? Yes — Alex Hultgren works as a fractional CMO through the Chameleon Collective, helping growth- and turnaround-stage companies, often privately owned or recently acquired, build marketing functions designed to keep working after he leaves.

Where can I buy The Three Knows of Marketing? The Three Knows of Marketing is available on Amazon.

Not sure if the book is for you? Take the free 5-minute assessment first. It'll show you exactly where your marketing has gaps — and which Know to tackle first.