---
title: See, Think, Do, Care · Avinash Kaushik's Audience-Intent Framework · RGM Frameworks
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/frameworks/see-think-do-care-framework/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/frameworks/see-think-do-care-framework/
---

**Original concept & attribution.** The See-Think-Do-Care framework was developed by Avinash Kaushik (Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google for years, now Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Croud) and published on his blog Occam's Razor in 2013. It has since become standard in many performance marketing teams. This article reviews the framework with our operator perspective.

## What the framework says

Kaushik's argument is that the traditional purchase funnel (Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Loyalty) under-represents the largest audience and over-emphasizes the smallest. Most digital marketing investment ends up in the Do (purchase-ready) stage, where the addressable audience is smallest. The largest audience is the See stage — and most brands ignore it.

The four stages, defined by audience intent:

- **See.** The largest addressable qualified audience. People who have characteristics that could one day make them a customer, but aren't actively considering anything yet.
- **Think.** The largest addressable qualified audience with some commercial intent. People starting to research the problem you solve.
- **Do.** The largest addressable qualified audience with strong commercial intent. People actively comparing and deciding.
- **Care.** Your existing customers, especially the ones who have made two or more purchases.

## Why it matters

Keep going · Free training

### Measurement & Attribution

Concepts only go so far. Operate them — RGM's measurement training covers GA4 setup, attribution model selection, MMM basics, and incrementality testing. Hands-on, free.

[Start the training →](/training/)

Most marketing spend pours into the Do stage — paid search, retargeting, comparison content. The audience there is small but high-intent, so ROI looks great and teams double down.

The problem: you're fighting over the same small audience as every competitor. Margins compress. Customer acquisition cost rises. Growth tops out because you've maxed out an audience that was always finite.

Investing in See and Think builds the audience that will eventually become Do. Brands that skip these stages can grow until the Do-stage audience saturates, then stop.

## What lives in each stage

| Stage | Content | Channels | Measurement |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| See | Brand storytelling, education, entertainment | Display, YouTube, social, PR, podcast | Reach, brand lift, video completion |
| Think | How-to, comparison, research | SEO, content, paid social, retargeting | Site engagement, time on page, lead |
| Do | Product pages, demos, reviews, pricing | Paid search, shopping, branded retargeting | Conversion rate, CPA, ROAS |
| Care | Onboarding, success, community | Email, in-app, lifecycle | Retention, expansion, LTV, NPS |

## Where it fits with other frameworks

STDC works alongside [AARRR](/learn/frameworks/pirate-metrics-aarrr/) and [growth loops](/learn/frameworks/compounding-growth-systems/). AARRR measures the funnel internally. STDC maps the marketing investment externally. Loops are the compounding engine.

The intent-mapping discipline is what makes STDC useful. Once you can say "this campaign is See-stage, success looks like reach and brand lift, not conversions," your measurement stops punishing the investments that actually build long-term growth.

**RGM operator perspective.** The most common failure we see: a company under-invests in See and Think, then complains that paid search CPAs keep rising. The reason CPAs rise is that the See and Think audiences aren't being warmed up — every new buyer is having to discover the brand the hard way. Investing 30–40% of marketing in See and Think tends to lower blended CAC within 6–12 months.

### Related on RGM

- [AARRR / Pirate Metrics](/learn/frameworks/pirate-metrics-aarrr/) — internal funnel companion.
- [Growth loops](/learn/frameworks/compounding-growth-systems/) — the compounding view.
- [Marketing beyond growth](/learn/frameworks/marketing-beyond-growth/) — why See-stage brand work matters.

Sources & further reading

1. Kaushik, A. (2013). *See, Think, Do, Care: A New Business Framework for Marketing & Measurement*. Occam's Razor. [kaushik.net](https://www.kaushik.net/avinash/see-think-do-care-win-content-marketing-measurement/)
2. Kaushik, A. *Web Analytics 2.0* (2009) and earlier writings on intent-based segmentation.
3. Google internal use of STDC for media planning (referenced in industry talks).
4. RGM operator notes — STDC application in client engagements 2023–2026.