The Marketing Question Every Business Must Answer
The Questions I Ask My Clients Daily
We all get asked at one point or another in our lives what our goal is, what do we want to be. The alternative questions being: what is your Purpose, your Why?
I capitalize these because they are big questions, and ones with often-changing answers as we move through our lives.
I find myself asking these kinds of questions regularly to my clients. Not necessarily their big Why—that I know from onboarding with them—but all of the little ones that you learn along the way.
They could be:
Why are you making this business decision?
Why do we want to share one thing over another?
Why do you want to market this piece or your services?
You may think that the last one is obvious. Of course, they want to do marketing to make more money!
Well, that's where you get into some of the nerdy marketing details that make my job interesting. The real answer is not necessarily. Yes, it all usually ladders up to one final goal of revenue. We live in a capitalist society in which that is what is most valued.
But beyond that, we can go a step further. For each plan, each piece of marketing content (captions, written pieces, videos, images), and each post there can be individual goals.
The Core Marketing Debate
These questions instead boil down to a debate that many marketers have been having for years, and isn't going anywhere:
Do you care about Performance or Awareness?
For those of you who aren't in my field, here's what I mean:
Performance marketing drives a direct result you can measure, typically sales numbers. For example: how many people clicked on a link after you posted it, and how many actually purchased after they clicked? Instagram and social media ads generate these hard, measurable numbers.
Awareness marketing is about getting your name out there. It's much more intangible and typically more expensive. Think billboards, partnerships with mega influencers (millions of followers) and celebrities, and sports team sponsorships. How do you measure how many people saw your billboard? You can only get estimated numbers.
In an ideal world, you are working on a marketing budget that can support pursuing both. Rarely is that the case, particularly for smaller businesses.
How This Plays Out in Influencer Marketing
In particular, this is a game we play every day in the influencer marketing world. My clients and I are trying to solve this by making potential clients pick a package up front that states which they would prefer (awareness or performance).
In influencer marketing, Amy from next door is your performance play: her word of mouth means a ton to those who know her, and they will go out and buy the product. But that influencer you love with many followers who will shoot you a beautiful campaign will likely be an expensive awareness play.
They both have their merits at different times, but also require a different mindset, budget, and overall strategy. This has led to many a debate at influencer panels I've attended, and can often show you a company's values.
For example, at FabFitFun, the Influencer marketing team actually sits in the sales department, and at most beauty companies, the team sits within the general marketing department. With that simple change, they've made their goals clear.
Here’s the Thing…
There's no right answer, but there are different ways to answer the same question. It's one I'll keep asking as long as I do this job to make sure I'm always doing the best for my clients. It's one I'll always keep asking myself, too.
Lesson learned: The biggest favor you can do yourself and your business is to get clear on your big and small Whys and communicate them clearly. It will create a more effective, strategic, and happier campaign and client.
