October 14

The Strongest Question in Your Marketing Strategy Isn’t “How?” It’s “Why?”

A recent article in the Economist discussing McKinsey & Co.’s PR struggle with their role in the unfurling of the opioid crisis suggests that a key facet of the firm’s marketing strategy difficulties is in fact the lynchpin in the product they sell: the firm’s model requires its consultants to sell themselves as “a solution shop” with all the answers rather than a collaborative partner.

As the Economist article puts it, when you have to have all the answers all the time, “collective self-delusion” gets in the way of actually great idea generation. “The smuggest guys in the room” have to have all the answers, which means sometimes they miss the obvious questions. And asking the right questions is how you find real, impactful solutions.

At Converse Digital, we couldn’t agree more. Over the last decade, we’ve continuously found that starting with the most basic questions is the best way to arrive at truly innovative and impactful marketing strategies.

Why You Aren’t Getting Good Marketing Strategy Insights From Within Your Team

Asking questions is hard—for starters it can be a real hit to the ego for the uninitiated. After all, asking a question implies you don’t have all the answers, and who wants to look like a dummy who doesn’t know “the basics” of the business or category? It’s a lot easier to jump to a quick-fix tactic, especially when the “solution” is a fancy new software, a slick new ad spot, or the latest digital marketing fad or platform.

But tactical quick solutions rarely “fix” the problem—which also means they aren’t all that quick. No, the real answers to the big questions come from digging deep into the weeds, and taking the time to question everything from the ground up. The truly transformational ideas come after those first, top-of-mind, ideas. In fact, the transformational ideas usually sound odd and unworkable when they’re first introduced. But in today’s “gotta have it yesterday” world, we don’t have the time to sit and think about things in a focused, concerted way. But if we did… hmmm, then true marketing magic can happen.

Three Ways a Couple of “Dummies” Can Create Business Value

When it becomes obvious that the “tried and true” is getting you nowhere, it’s usually a good time to consider the perspective of an outside voice. A smart, innovative, trusted one if you can find it. Then give the voice permission not to know everything there is to know about your business, category, or competition. Let the voice ask even the most basic questions and challenge your answer with “why?” And when you tell them why, challenge again with “why?”

Because when you do that, a handful of wonderful things can happen.

  1. It removes institutional bias. Sometimes, you’ve been in the forest so long, you forget all about the trees. There’s no shame in having biases—we all have them, and the longer you’re in your industry or company, the more likely you’ve become blind to them. The shame is in letting them get in the way of innovation. Hiring an outside voice to remind you of the truths right in front of your nose is a great way to check your assumptions and rewrite your version of “reality.”
  2. It ends the “quick-fix” cycle. The band-aid solution is a myth, and we all know it. Quick-fixes rarely pan out the way we’d like them to because either they work just good enough that we keep them around longer than they were intended to live, or they don’t work at all and we’re back to square one. Either way, you end up with something broken again, and in need of fixing.
  3. Believe it or not, it saves time (and money). If you fail to plan you plan to fail. Unfortunately for most of us, our quick-react internet age has conditioned us to make split decisions with little or no critical thinking because we just don’t have time to wait for the right solution. And it’s costing us money, opportunity and time. Instead of launching holistic long-term solutions, we just keep launching tactic, after tactic, after tactic and hoping for a different outcome. Sound familiar?

Is it Time to Ask For A Second Opinion?

If your brand is stuck running up against the wall of possibilities, it might be time for an outside voice—preferably one who comes with an open mind and a lot of “why?” to help you find your “how”.

Converse Digital has kind of made a name for ourselves by asking the questions nobody else is—by challenging the core of digital marketing value (Click-Think) in favor of strategy-focused conversion discussion.

We’re comfortable doing this, because each of us understands that it’s not our job to be smarter than you. In fact, it’s our guarantee that we’ll be the dumbest people in the room. It’s that belief and approach that allows our facilitators to help you push through the walls of your current thinking and challenge you to get curious, to inspire a thought or three and show you how you might weave those into a solution for the problem that’s frustrated you for so long. We call it a ThinkAbout.

Got a question or issue you’d like us to help you ThinkAbout? Let us know in the form below and we’ll schedule a time to chat and see if ours might just be that smart, innovative, outside voice that you can trust.

 

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About the author

Tom is 30 year veteran of the sales & marketing industry with a penchant for stiff drinks, good debates and showing others how to combine the power of digital platforms and technology with the science of persuasion to turn conversations into customers.

He is the founder of Converse Digital, a former contributing writer for Advertising Age, and author of The Invisible Sale regarded by readers as a "must-read for any marketing and sales team."

The Invisible Sale has been described as: showing the reader how to rip down the communication barrier between sales and marketing teams in an easy-to-digest look at how both teams can work together to attract, measure, and close prospects in today's online landscape.

In the book, Tom breaks down his entire business development process, honed over a decade of practice, to create the ultimate field guide for anyone tasked with creating an effective business development program for themselves, their agency, or company.

And for those seeking to learn more about the art and science of persuasion, modern digitally oriented prospecting, effective lead nurturing without becoming a nuisance and closing more business deals, Tom has authored hundreds of articles available via his Painless Prospecting Newsletter Archives.

He is also a highly sought after sales & marketing keynote speaker who has graced stages in 52 cities, 27 states, and 7 countries spread across 4 continents.

He primarily speaking on topics of sales, business development, social selling, social media and the power of consumer experiences shared via social media as the ultimate form of advertising.

Tom's probably best known for his incredibly successful, groundbreaking social media campaign to rebrand Mardi Gras from "girls gone wild" to "family friendly fun" using nothing other than social media. That work led him to create his signature tourism marketing keynote -- The Soundtrack of our Life: Leveraging Visitor Experiences To Drive Visitation.

Too learn more about Tom's most requested talks, or check his availability, visit his professional speaker page.

You can also follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.


Tags

content marketing, content marketing strategy, digital strategy, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Strategy Development


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