Activate a brand through the influence map
We've used it for years, but we always had the intuition that something was missing. The conversion funnel has been the dominant model in marketing and sales. A linear structure that visualizes how a person moves from not knowing you to becoming a customer. A useful idea but a limited one. Because it assumes that the decision-making process is rational, individual, sequential, and controllable.
Today, that model no longer reflects the complexity of the real world, of turbulent times in which activating a brand requires strategic flexibility.
We live in an ecosystem where decisions are made in a fragmented way, influenced by multiple stimuli and with interactions that don't follow a predictable order. Brands don't move through a funnel: they unfold in a map of influence.
And that changes everything.
What it is and why it matters
The influence map is a conceptual tool, much like the sales funnel once was, built on a fundamental premise: a brand isn't imposed, it's activated through relationships. It doesn't just communicate—it interacts. Today on one channel, tomorrow on another, and the day after on that touchpoint where the spark ignited.
The concept gained popularity recently thanks to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report in which they proposed moving away from linear views of the purchasing process. Now, real user behavior is prioritized over sequences that—in theory—are predictable.
According to Marta Factor, General Manager of Soluble, the influence map is useful because…
- It brings us closer to more fluid, and therefore more realistic, behavior.
- It recognizes intangible aspects (call it influence, call it brand) in decisions.
- It bets on rational and emotional coherence in deployments that can be touchpoints (now, points of opportunity).
The map works across the 4S of behavior. Streaming—a constant consumption of content—, scrolling, which refers to brand and product discovery through platforms like TikTok, searching, when the user is actively hunting for a product they know about, and shopping, the act of buying, which can happen at any point in the consumer journey.
Its value lies in identifying key nodes (people, platforms, communities, institutions) and relationships of power and trust. And that enables you to design more precise, coherent, and human activations.
A strategic tool
At Soluble we work with the influence map not just as a visual tool, but as a way of thinking about the brand, because it allows us to…
- Diagnose why a brand isn't growing: maybe it doesn't have an awareness problem, but one of consistency or working from authenticity.
- Identify relationships that generate traction: a supplier can have more activation power than a paid campaign.
- Choose channels that make sense: not for reach, but for resonance. Escape FOMO, really.
- Align teams around relationships, not just metrics. Although measuring branding is a necessary and possible horizon, we often pursue only what we measure. And when we only chase the number for the number's sake, we lose sight of something far more important: the relationship a brand builds with its environment. That a Coca-Cola can or a jar of Nutella reminds you of a person because their name is written on it is as meaningful as it is difficult to measure.
Moreover, this approach fits perfectly into B2B, B2C, or mixed realities, and is especially useful in contexts where growth depends as much on reputation as on visibility. Not all brands compete in mass consumption environments. Many operate in complex sectors, long cycles or low frequency, where decisions aren't made in a click, but in conversations, in accumulated trust, in relationships that mature over time.
In B2B, for example, an influence map allows you to identify who decides, who recommends, and who validates. Because they're not always the same people. And that's where many strategies fail: by not understanding that, before a buyer persona, there's a system of shared decisions.
In B2C, meanwhile, the relational approach is key when brand value exceeds product value, when what you're selling isn't just what you deliver, but what you represent. Brands that activate community, that build loyalty and that need to resonate beyond the moment of purchase.
Brand and context, context and brand
Because it recognizes that brands don't exist in a vacuum. That every word, every gesture, every interaction builds (or erodes) trust. The influence map starts from what's real: from how human relationships actually work. And, therefore, demands brands that are more coherent, more conscious, and more consistent.
It's not just about being visible. It's about being remembered with meaning. About showing up in the right conversation, with the right tone, at the right moment.
Moving from the funnel to the map is an act of strategic maturity, because understanding influence isn't just another tactic. It's a way of seeing the business. One that works equally for a tech startup seeking traction as for an established company that wants to scale without losing its essence.
