The main focus of our conversation was to answer a crucial question: What is FERMÀT? Aaron broke it down in a simple yet powerful way: "FERMÀT lets you create funnels the same way you create ads." This concise definition encapsulates FERMÀT’s functionality, aiming to make it easily understandable for everyone, from seasoned marketers to newcomers.
Your Advantage in the Early Days
When you are new to something you have a huge advantage. You have to figure everything out from scratch, just like your customer does. You are naive and unfamiliar with all of the nuance. Aaron argues this is when you are able to have the biggest impact on how others will understand your product. You can look at things with the same lens as customers with zero background knowledge.
This is a super power that you can use to help build understandability, and to this point FERMÀT has struggled with understandability in market.
Metaphors and Anchor Points
One of the most powerful tools you have in your toolbox when explaining something is to dress up an unknown concept in the clothes of something that is knows. A familiar anchor point or metaphor quickly allows someone to understand how they can think about your product by using something they already understand. In this conversation that metaphor comes from building ads.
"Create funnels the same way you create ads."
When marketers create ads they approach it by understanding the offer, the audience, and the creative they will use. With these key ingredients marketers experiment and test to find winning combinations, but rarely does that same approach extend through the funnel. Sometimes it will get to the landing page, but rarely to the PDP or cart.
Why Funnel Experimentation is Often Ignored
It makes sense why funnels should be build with the same experimentation methodologies as ads, but why is it rarely the case. Aaron argues that besides not knowing about the existence of something like FERMÀT, it's historically been very difficult. To customize through the entire funnel would require changes to Shopify which is usually much more involved than changing something at the ad creative level. You have to get approvals and go through a specific design process.
When you're able to build those experiences independent of the site though you run into less red table and roadblocks. You are able to build without worrying who beyond those who clicked will see it. You are able to build with confidence that another tool or app won't be conflicting.
Wrapping Up
Our conversation with Aaron Orendorff provided a comprehensive look at what FERMÀT is and how it can revolutionize the way marketers create and manage funnels. By making the process as straightforward as ad creation, FERMÀT opens up new possibilities for experimentation and helps brands connect with their audience more effectively.
If you’re interested in learning more about FERMÀT or want to follow Aaron’s insights, be sure to follow Aaron on Twitter for more updates and examples.
If you want to build funnels like the best on Shopify, be sure to also grab Aaron's latest funnel guide.