5 essential questions for your marketing plan

If you don’t know where to start when creating a file Marketing strategyif it’s yours Commercial activity oh new productstart with simple questions. These will have the merit of giving concreteness and thoughtfulness to your reflection and preventing you from forgetting an important element of yours plan marketing.

You’ve all heard the phrase: “ We didn’t see it coming«This should happen as little as possible within a company. We cannot predict everything, obviously, but a lot.» communication crisis or errors of product positioning could be avoided if these questions were actually asked.

Too excited about our idea, we sometimes tune out these questions. Our product is so good, who wouldn’t want it? Remember that it is better to be hard on yourself than for others to be hard on you later. Criticism from others is increasingly difficult to digest. Most are common sense questions, too often avoided.

WHO?

Who do you want to reach ? In reality the question is poorly posed: who you can reach ? We don’t always choose our customers, even if marketing sometimes still works wonders to make a desire germinate in the consumer’s head. If you think what you have to offer would be of interest to everyone, ask yourself the question. Seriously.

In the process of creating a communication strategy, we always try to define the type of people we want to reach (no, I don’t like the word target, who really wants to be a target?) through our different messages.

Don’t fight this idea, otherwise your message will become confusing. You won’t be able to please everyone and not everyone will need your product/service,…

COMMENT?

You have a wonderful product, excellent after-sales service, impeccable service. Perfect ! This is the beginning of an extraordinary adventure! But how will your future customers be informed about what you have to offer them?

One thing makes me particularly sad: unknown or untapped talents. We are so inundated with advertising messages and announcements that I wonder if, among all these rumors, we are missing an incredible artist, a brilliant composer, a revolutionary product,…

Because advertising constantly bombards us with the same brands and artists, those who have the means to appear there. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I know that there are so many better artists and singers than we swallow all day, that there are movie ideas that will never get made because a studio decided they couldn’t take a risk, etc.

But let’s get back to your project. What plan will you implement to make what you offer known to the general public? The best product is nothing if you don’t bring it into the light of day.

WHAT STORY WILL YOU TELL THEM?

To engage consumers, your product must have more than functionality or technical features. What makes a product rich is his story. Always communicate who you are before communicating what you do.

How will I relate to your company? Will its values ​​resonate with me? There is nothing exciting about a car, a computer or a camera. If we present them like this, there is the design that may or may not interest you and then a series of features that most people don’t care about. It is not binding, it only concerns material goods.

However, if you add the right story, YOUR story (and not a fake story), it could be yours the product suddenly becomes more interesting. This is what distinguishes Apple from most of its competitors in the computer market. They don’t sell a technical sheet but their reason for existing. This makes the difference.

Work on your story. Learn to tell it. It could be made up of elements that seem trivial to you but which can influence the people who find themselves in your speech. If you have started your own business or product, you are definitely passionate about what you do. Share this passion and don’t hesitate to escape the high-sounding mysteries of institutional communication. Tell the story of how and why you do what you do, instead of talking about your product. Don’t forget that I can help you with this task!

WHEN?

When do you want visitors to your site or store to take action? In most cases the answer is “now”. But what stops these people from saying «later»? How will you convince them that now is the right time?

This is why we see, among others, the tricks of the SNCF, which artificially increases prices between two visits by the same person to stimulate sales. It works, it’s true, but at the cost of a less than glorious image associated with the online service.

I invite you to be more creative, to never give your customers the feeling of being deceived. They’ll give it back to you someday. I recently discovered that CDiscount offers the ability to negotiate the price of an item on certain products. This fuels the desire to buy through the feeling of having immediately got a good deal and brings you back to what you can experience in a real store (this can also lead you to ask yourself the following question: why am I not offered this price directly?)

WHICH WORD FROM YOUR MOUTH?

How will your customers talk about you and their experience with your product or service? It is essential that you take care of the experience you offer your customers. If you go out there, you will definitely get word of mouth, but certainly not the kind you want.

Remember! The Internet can be your best ally and your worst enemyit will all depend on what you need to hide and how you see your customers. Give them the little “wow” effect that makes them want to come back. This is not necessarily expensive. It could be a little attention, a short delivery time, remembering a customer’s name and story, or a pleasant and efficient after-sales service.

Facilitate word of mouth by allowing quick access to your social networks and open comments on your site. Don’t be afraid of criticism and monitor the web to find out what people are saying about you.

To conclude I would like to give you one last piece of advice: never think that spending time on corporate identity and marketing is a waste of time. This would be a terrible strategic mistake. The action, the field, is where you want to go directly, but as an athlete, if your preparation is not good, the disappointment could be extremely discouraging. Take the time to ask yourself the right questions!