If English is your first, second, or even your third language, you certainly must have come across the WH questions: Who, When, Where, What, Why and How! Don’t ask me why “How” is included, it just is! In any case, I promise this post won’t be an English grammar lesson – it’s about marketing!
I’m surprised no one ever looked at the WH questions from a marketing perspective. I’m no Philip Kotler, but this is definitely a timeless marketing concept. I used the words timeless not to immortalize the lesson to be learned, but to emphasize that it is applicable in traditional marketing, e-marketing, social media, personal branding, basically any form of marketing at any given time!
Enough blabbering … let’s get to the point. What do I mean exactly when I refer to the WH questions of Marketing:
Q: Who? A: Person(s)
- Who are my participants? (if you’re curious why I used “participants” instead of audience, I invite you to read my previous post: New Marketing Terminology: Participants)
- Who do I intend to reach with my campaign/blog/product/service/activity/etc…?
- Who is my competition?
- Who is reading my posts?
Q: When? A: Time
- When should I launch this product/service into the market?
- When should I post a blog?
- When do I place this Facebook ad?
- When do I start monetizing on my personal brand?
Q: Where? A: Place
- Where should I advertise my business?
- Where do I reach the biggest number of participants?
Q: What? A: Object/Action/Idea
- What is the objective of this campaign?
- What is my intention with this post?
- What is the added value of my service offering?
- What marketing tools should I use?
Q: Why? A: Reason
- Why should my subscribers be interested in this post?
- Why should they buy my product/service?
Q: How? A: Manner
- How do I get more reader to post their comments on my blog?
- How do I calculate the value of my brand?
- How do I calculate my ROI?
I thing you get the point – as simple as that maybe, it’s amazing how we tend to forget to ask some of these very basic questions. When we were kids, this all we did, we asked, and we asked, and then some! Unfortunately, as adults, and more specifically, as marketers, we think we know all the answers so we don’t need to really ask such trivial questions – I beg to differ. Forget the four Ps, the four Cs, the Boston matrix, Porter’s Five forces, etc … it’s much easier than that – all you need to do is ask. Think of it this way – asking questions, costs you nothing, but not asking them, can cost you everything!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions – bring out the kid in you, Think About It!
Thanks, John.
You reminding us about the “Why’s” really got me thinking. I remember that when I started my marketing business that I was taught to focus on my “why’s” for doing it and I had written them down. The “why’s” are what gave me tremendous motivation to work hard and kept me going when things were difficult (and still sometimes are).
So, not only do I need to ask myself all these questions in reference to my business, but you have reminded me to remember my why’s for even doing what I am doing.
Cheers,
Jason Sibert
Absolutely Jason! I think it is crucial for our pruning and growth to always ask question! I had a teacher once that started his class by saying “there is no such thing as a stupid question …”, I took that and made it my own, “there’s nothing more stupid than not asking questions (and wishing that you had when it is already too late!)”
I love how you use “WHY” to define the objectives in your life – i think that question in particular serves as a compass, our Northern Star!
Thanks for sharing your experience Jason!
Great post, John! It reminds me of what they teach journalists in creating articles. They use the exact same questions in defining their stories. Well, isn’t the marketing campaign like a story? It even has a beginning, middle, and end, so we, as the authors of that story, should be able to answer the same questions a journalist does. Thanks, John!
Hey Kate – thanks for sharing! So true about Journalism – answering the WH questions thoroughly allows us to create a well-rounded front page story! As marketers, we certainly have to be great storytellers – i mean logically, who’s not interested in a good story!