The Next Time You’re Stuck, Ask Yourself This.
The best Marketing* requires empathy. From a grand go-to-market strategy to the most discreet tactical execution, a deep understanding of someone’s (or an organization’s) goals, needs, and desires is the only (albeit complicated) path toward sustained success.
The best Marketers* are curious. They ask questions, listen, and use those insights to ask more.
*Marketing is my jam, but I’d argue that (empathy + curiosity)*(expertise + discipline)= best in [insert field] is a fundamentally sound foundation.
These same attributes that move the needle toward greatness, can also help us get unstuck.
Getting Back to Basics
Recently I was working on a project where tactics were running amok. Complicated spreadsheets and GANTT charts and roadmaps were the masters of prioritization, but we lost our purpose. Fight or flight kicked in, and, as a result, our work wasn’t connecting. We were getting confused and needed a reset.
Whenever I find myself thinking, “holy shit, we need to build something scary” or “holy shit, what were we building, again?” I always activate my Marketer’s curiosity and default to one key question:
The Secret Question: “What to whom?”
In other words, what are you trying to sell (or another call to action ) and to whom? Time and time again, this straightforward question has gotten me out of every variety of professional pickles. Here’s why:
What
Reflecting on what the hell you’re trying to sell makes a tangled project instantly seem more realistic. Less mysterious and more tangible. It helps reorient your brain toward finding a path of leastish resistance.
If you can’t explain what you’re trying to sell, it’s too complicated. If it’s too complicated for you, you won’t find ways to make the market care. Period.
Who
Infinitely more important is thinking about who you’re trying to connect with. When stakes are high, and campaigns are in the heat of execution, the “who” defaults to a job title or an account list.
Without a doubt, those things are important to understand, but they’ll perpetuate the WTF rut.
Seriously take a few moments to think about that person. Like for real, think about them. Ask yourself something like, “Is their desk chair comfy?” Or “What did/will they have for lunch.”
Make it human. Make it real.
It’s undoubtedly cheesy, but it helps.
Bonus Coverage: Why
Of course, the natural next step is to ask, “Why?” — the most powerful question in our arsenal of queries and the future subject of a bunch of posts.
For most practical purposes, “What to Whom” is an excellent first filter before you take that deeper dive.
When to use it
Honestly, this in my toolbox for a reason: it’s so damn flexible.
Promoting something? What are you selling, and to whom?
Developing a new product? What are we making, and for whom?
Preparing a presentation? What are you saying, and to whom?
Designing something… anything? What are you trying to solve, and for whom?
The next time you’re stuck. The next time you’re drifting rudderless in a sea of to-dos, tasks, and deliverables, ask the question, “What to whom”.
Let me know how it goes.
-Frank
