Mark Wayshak Discusses 5 Important Questions for Marketers

In a recent article for Fast Company magazine, writer Marc Wayshak discusses five questions that all marketers need to consider when developing a ‘prospect narrative’ for their company’s next marketing campaign.

Sometimes the biggest ideas come from unexpected places. Twitter was born out of a dispatch routing software for taxi cabs that Jack Dorsey developed as a teenager. Since then, Twitter has become an integral part of our lives, and the mindset that led to its creation is just as critical to those looking to market their organizations. Although businesses will often market themselves without the prospect in mind, the more successful marketers will align all their marketing efforts with a prospect narrative and ultimately increase the effectiveness of their marketing.

The five questions to consider when developing a prospect narrative for your company are as follows:

1. What is your customer doing during his day?

Most organizations create their marketing materials without considering what the potential customer will be doing when he receives a marketing message. In order for your campaign to make an effect to your customer, you must consider how the person you are trying to reach is spending his time.

2. What is keeping her up at night?

Your audiences care the most about the issues that they are currently dealing with in their life. You need to find out which challenges your potential user takes home with her each night. If you want your marketing to encourage a particular behavior, then dedicate some time to matching your message to the challenges your audience cares most about.

3. What will catch his attention?

Most organizations are so focused on broadcasting how great they are that they don’t think about what will most effectively catch people’s attention. In order for your message to stand out, you need to develop a message that is so appealing or jarring to your audience that he has no choice but to react to it.

4. What action will she most likely take?

Think about what action someone would most realistically take after absorbing your message. Would she most likely go to a website, send a text, pick up the phone, or find you on Twitter? Once you know which medium the person is most likely to use, then you can develop a call-to-action that aligns with it.

5. How will you keep him engaged?

Rarely do companies develop marketing campaigns that create long-term engagement. Therefore you should consider this: What are realistic ways to engage him in the long run? This will be the difference between developing a one-time customer and a long-term fan.

Once you formulate answers to these five questions, you will be able to create the prospect narrative. After which, your marketing team should begin to channel Dorsey by fitting campaigns precisely into that narrative.