There are five basic elements of information required in order to get the full story. They are called the five Ws: who, what, why, when, and where. They represent the different aspects needed to complete the picture. It’s like trying to solve a crime -- all the pieces of the crime are put together such as the victim, the criminal act, the motive, the time, and the location. Only then will the answer be revealed to you.
The Five Ws in Marketing
The five Ws can serve as a powerful tool for gaining deep insight into the contextual nature surrounding the need for and use of your product. Usually, the order of the information gathered doesn’t make a lot of difference to the outcome in many professions. However, to develop an effective marketing strategy it is important that the five Ws are answered in a specific order.
- Why?
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- When?
By answering these questions in this pattern the marketer can help avoid a great deal of confusion, trial, and error which will help preserve your company's precious time and resources.
Why: Defining your reasons for marketing.
The first questions that many marketers ask are usually ‘what’ their marketing advertising should say and ‘where’ it should appear. What they should begin asking themselves is ‘why’ they are expending their limited resources on marketing.
They should decide why they are spending this money on marketing instead of investing it in another area of the company. By asking these questions, and when properly considered, the answers will allow those leading the company to clearly define their business and marketing plans. It also lets people confront and deal with any unforeseen assumptions that sometimes arise before getting too deeply into the strategy.
It may transpire that some businesses have unrealistic expectations from their marketing plans, whilst others may take the direction of looking towards advertising as a means of solving a non-advertising problem. Answering the ‘why’ question first can help to ensure that all of your subsequent actions are focused on accomplishing your goals and reaching your targets.
Who: Defining your target audience.
The next question to be addressed is the ‘who’ element. Who will help us accomplish our goals? Who is it that we need to be focusing on the message that we’re issuing? Who are the people we are trying to convince and win over in order to succeed in our objectives? The answers to these questions should be clearly derived from the business objectives answered by the first question in order to define your target audience. The more clearly defined a company's target audience is then the more effectively it can address the remaining three Ws and formulate their marketing strategy.
What: Defining your objectives and goals.
The next question marketers need to ask is the ‘what’, as in, what is it you need to offer and/or do for your now identified target audience to achieve your company’s objectives and goals? This will of course encompass a variety of different business decisions including product and pricing right through to packaging and policy and all that happens in between. It is also the point where the issue of branding and determination of the personality dimensions appropriate to both the brand in question and the task at hand will be addressed. In an environment where the market conditions and the customers needs continually change it is important that the ‘what’ element of your strategy is a continually evolving process.
Where & When: Defining the most effective strategy.
The last two parts of the process are the ‘when’ and ‘where’ questions. They are final two Ws that should be utilised to formulate your marketing planning strategy. These questions revolve around where are the best places and when are the best times to communicate your ‘what’ in service of your ‘why’ to your ‘who’.
The marketer will have to make some tactile decisions during this stage; however, if a successful and effective approach has been utilised towards the previous three Ws then the task should made much simpler and the successful results self-evident.
Marketing Principles
Marketing principles can appear in some ways simple, and at other times very complex. By following the five Ws, planning your marketing strategy will be much easier than you thought it would be. Remember who, what, when, where, and why are the perfect tools to get things done. However, as a marketer in today’s business world, if you want to maximise your company’s marketing potential you need to remember the correct order, why, who, what, where, and when.
By utilising them in this order you are guaranteed to develop a much more successful marketing plan.
Sources:
Tony Fowler - After having a varied career to date with qualifications ranging from Electrical Engineering to Marketing. Throughout my life I have ...
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