Ritson’s 3 simple strategy questions

You gotta love Mark Ritson.

Not just for the way he pronounces ‘marketers’ with a thick Australian accent. Or for his ability to curse his way through a presentation and still be liked by his audience.

But mainly for his talent to convey complex things in a simple and comprehensible manner.

Like he recently did for marketing strategy.

According to Ritson you only need to answer 3 simple questions:

1. Who are we targeting?
2. What do we want them to think about us? 
3. What are our objectives? 

Of course, there’s a lot of complexity behind these 3 questions. But that’s not really the point.

The point is that if you’re unable to answer these 3 questions, everything that follows is either doomed to fail miserably or mediocre at best – all of your tactics and all of your marketing communications efforts. 

So, the next time a managing director, VP or partner shows up at your desk and demands you to do ‘some marketing for their new service’, you return them a few questions.

“Who do you want to target? What do you want these people to think? And what do you want to get out of it yourself?”

If they’re unable to answer these questions…

1. You can help your colleagues establish what their ideal client looks like.
   
   You’ll write down basic things like geography, industry, and company size.
   
   But also business goals, pain points the client experiences, and solutions they’re currently using to overcome these pain points.
   
   And other interesting things, like buying process, decision makers, budget, cost of switching and cost of doing nothing.
   
2. You’ll also ask your colleagues how they’d want their ideal client to remember them.
   
   How is their service offering distinct (i.e. easily identified) and relatively (thanks again Mark Ritson) different from their competitors’.
   
3. And you can help your colleagues be specific about what they wish to gain.
   
   Broad and vague goals are of no use. You need narrow and specific objectives. Which can be turned into measurable KPIs. So over time you can determine if your marketing efforts led to the desired results.
   
   How else will you know when to change tactics and adjust your execution to reach your goals?

Now, of course, the answers to these questions should also be clear when you’re not just marketing specific services, but marketing the entire firm.

Hope this helps!

Thank you for reading MBD Boost #007, sent to marketers and business developers on April 9, 2024.