19 Questions You Need to Ask to Build a Killer Marketing Strategy

Despite what the plethora of ‘simple’ marketing guides on the internet might imply, developing an effective marketing strategy is complicated and difficult work. Sure, you could patch together a quilt of tricks and tactics and call it a strategy, but that’s far from a recipe for an intelligent, measured approach to promoting your brand, products, or services in a meaningful way.

Before you start drafting a marketing strategy, it’s important to gather some key information about you and your brand.

The following questions are a good place to start:

1. Who are you?

Yes, you – not only as an entrepreneur but as a brand. Think of your brand as a person. How would you describe that person in reality? Think about character traits, values, strengths, weaknesses, and demographics. For instance, are you an older male with decades of experience in management or a younger female with advanced degrees and a high income? Where did you grow up? How has that influenced who you’ve become?

2. Who would you like to be?

If your brand were a person, how would you want them to be described? This is your desired image.

3. Is there a disconnect between your reality and your desired image?

If so, spend some time understanding why. Ask yourself, how did this disconnect arise in the first place? What would it take to bridge that gap? Is it something akin to getting another degree? How about a new fitness routine? Though the metaphors might seem silly initially, you’d be surprised by how far they can take you.

4. Who are you talking to?

Knowing your audience is the key to an effective marketing strategy. Just as you’ve envisioned your brand as a person, imagine your audience as individuals rather than as an amorphous entity. This exercise can help you better connect with your audience and develop empathy for their needs and perspectives. Doing this exercise, it is important to go beyond the basic demographics. Ask yourself granular, substantive questions like what’s their day-to-day life like? What are their fears, hopes, and dreams?  This exercise will also give you insight into your current market strategy. You could find that who you thought you were talking to bears little resemblance to who is actually paying attention. This exercise and its results present opportunities for positive change.

5. Who would you like to be talking to?

Maybe you’re already reaching the right people, or perhaps you’ve found you need to pivot based on your answer to question #4. Either way, this answer will steer your response to the next questions.

6. Why do you want to be talking to them?

Think hard on this point. If your immediate answer is ‘profit,’ pause and give this some more thought. This isn’t to say that profit is the wrong motivation, of course, but it shouldn’t be your primary driver. With the right mission and framework, the money will follow.

7. Can you talk to all of them?

Sometimes, it’s possible to design a message that appeals to a broad audience, but sometimes, it won’t be possible without alienating one or more demographic segments. Revisit your answers to questions 1-3 to help place this in perspective. “To thine own self be true” matters a lot here. You’ll have to weigh your options relative to who you are and where you’re at before making a choice.

8. Why should they care?

Sticking with the ‘brand-as-a-person’ metaphor, imagine a scenario where that person, i.e., you, has to sell themselves. What value do you bring to the table? Think about it in a situational context. Perhaps you’re speed dating and have limited time to demonstrate your appeal and make a connection, or maybe you’re at a job interview where you need to lay out your qualifications. Pick a scenario that makes sense in terms of the world-building you’ve done so far and how your brain works.

9. What is your audience’s communication style?

The message delivered by your marketing strategy will be best received if you speak in your audience’s preferred manner. Given the notoriously short attention spans most of us have today, you’ll want to keep your messaging concise and direct at a baseline. Beyond that, you will have choices in terms of tone and delivery. For instance, some groups like a little bite to the content they consume. Others would rather have a dry, formal delivery. Spend a good amount of time on this one, as delivery is key.

10. Where is your audience communicating?

You’ll also have to consider the medium you’re using to reach your audience. Do they primarily use email, or are they more active on social media? If so, which platform? Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn? The list goes on and on. The important thing to keep in mind when exploring this question is determining where to find your people and why they’re there in the first place.

11. Do you have the right look for the occasion?

We’ve all learned that dressing for success can impact your career prospects; the same is true for your brand. In this context, think about web and graphic design as your attire. What does it say about you? Does it align with how you want to be seen? Will it make the right impression on your audience?

12. What are your goals?

Again, this shouldn’t be just about profit. Accomplishing your goals will, ostensibly, lead to success. Your goals should be a bit more qualitative in nature. You can nail down quantitative goals later, but before deciding you care about specific numbers, you need to know what those numbers mean relative to your end game.

13. What would it take to reach those goals?

It’s still not time to pull out a calculator. Think instead about what would go into getting you where you want to go. Identify necessary steps, collateral, resources, and points of coordination. Evaluate timing in terms of what you need, what you have, and how much ‘daylight’ exists between the two.

14. How will you know you’ve hit your goals?

This is where you get down to ‘brass tacks.’ We may have asked you to think about your goals qualitatively, and evaluating your accomplishments may demand a qualitative measuring stick. To hold yourself accountable, though, you’ll need to identify metrics to filter your perceptions relative to your goals. It’s the best way to check your own bias at the door.

15. Are you prepared for this to be a conversation?

It’s important to think about the interaction between your brand and your audience as a conversation, i.e., a two-way street. You might think you’re saying all the right things in all the right ways, but if you’re not listening to what the other person has to say, you may miss the point entirely. If you don’t have the bandwidth to engage in this manner — to listen, grow, and respond — you still have work to do before you put your communication ideas into action.

16. Can you afford to do this?

If you drop the ball on any of the considerations discussed so far, not only will your strategy not be as effective as you’d hoped, but you could damage your brand recognition, authority, and general appeal for longer than you realize. When we talk about affordability, we’re not just talking about cash, either. We’re talking about all resources, including talent, time, and energy. No matter how you calculate it, an effective marketing strategy will come with a hefty price tag.

17. Can you afford not to do this?

Perhaps you’re suffering from a bit of sticker shock after contemplating the last question. That’s totally understandable. Sometimes, though, you may end up paying more in the long run by delaying action and even miss the boat entirely. In the end, it’s all a balancing act.

18. What does your best pal or business mentor think?

You should be seeking the perspective of people you know and trust. That outside perspective might just shine a light on gaps or flaws in your thinking that you missed and save you time, money, and stress.

19. Are you ready?

For most of us, the answer is: sort of. Developing an effective marketing strategy means answering questions like these, but it also means flexibility and creativity once you implement that strategy. Stay curious and engaged.

Keep Asking Questions

Does this list include every question you need to ask? Of course not. That’s not the point of exercises like this. The reason for approaching your marketing strategy this way is to push yourself to look at the situation from different angles and think in ways you normally would not. It’s also likely to spawn more questions than answers, which is how you develop an effective marketing strategy.

We think you’ll also like:

1. 6 Tips for Building a Better Marketing Team
2. Online Marketing Orientation for Entrepreneurs Series
3. Marketing Tactics Begin with Sales Strategy

[Editors’ Note: To learn more about this and related topics, you may want to attend the following on-demand webinars (which you can view at your leisure, and each includes a comprehensive customer PowerPoint about the topic):

1. Which Marketing Channels Should You Use and Why?
2. You’re Ready to Start Marketing. Now What?
3. The Start-Up/Small Business Advisor Series

This is an updated version of an article originally published on September 20, 2022.]

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