The three questions I ask before writing a marketing strategy (and why most businesses skip straight to tactics)
Last month, a founder reached out asking if I could help them "get their marketing moving."
When I asked what they were currently doing, they had plenty going on: regular email newsletters, blog posts about their products, social content, website updates. All good stuff. Professional. Consistent.
"So, what's not working?" I asked.
"We're just not seeing the sales we expected. We're creating all this content, but it doesn't seem to be landing. We're busy, but we're not growing."
Here's the thing: they'd jumped straight to tactics (publish weekly, build the email list, post regularly) without ever answering the fundamental strategic questions first.
And they're not alone. Most businesses do this. It's not their fault - there's so much noise about what you should be doing in marketing. Everyone says content is king. Build your email list. Show up consistently. Your competitor just launched a podcast. It feels urgent to just get started, to do something.
But here's what I've learned after 16 years in marketing, from leading global Xbox campaigns to helping start-ups launch their first strategy: if you don't get the foundations right, all that activity is just noise.
The three questions that actually matter.
Before I write a single piece of strategy, before we talk about channels or campaigns or content calendars, I ask three questions. These questions force you to think strategically before you act tactically.
1. If you were to write your own ideal customer review, what would it say?
I love asking clients to think about this because here's what happens: it's never about the product or service. It's always about the transformation.
When I worked with Buns of Joy, an artisan bakery launching into the competitive gifting market, the founder initially talked about "cinnamon buns for every occasion" and "high-quality, handmade products." That's what they delivered. But when I asked about the ideal review, it was completely different.
"They'd say: 'I needed a gift that actually felt personal and thoughtful, not just another generic hamper. Buns of Joy made me look like the best friend ever.'"
That's the transformation. Not delicious buns. Not even artisan quality. It's making someone feel confident that they've chosen the perfect gift - that they've shown they care.
This changes everything. Because now we know what we're actually selling. We know what messages will resonate. We know which benefits to lead with.
If you're a software company, your ideal review probably isn't "great features" - it's "saved me 10 hours a week" or "finally got our team aligned."
If you're a consultant, it's not "really knowledgeable" - it's "gave us the clarity we needed to make confident decisions."
Write your ideal customer review right now. What transformation are you actually delivering?
2. Who actually needs this transformation - and when do they need it most?
Once you know the transformation you deliver, you can identify who desperately needs it.
This isn't about demographics (women aged 25-45 in London). It's about circumstances, motivations, and pain points.
For Buns of Joy, competing in the crowded FMCG gifting space, the audience wasn't just "people who buy gifts" - it was people looking for thoughtful, quality gifts for people they actually care about (not corporate bulk orders). They're the friend who puts effort into choosing meaningful presents, values supporting small businesses, and wants something that feels special and personal. They need this transformation when they're standing in the gift aisle feeling uninspired, or scrolling generic gift websites feeling like nothing quite captures what they want to say.
See the difference? Now we know when to reach them, what they're feeling, what they're worried about, and what messages will actually land.
When you understand the circumstances that make someone need your transformation, you can show up in the right places with the right message at exactly the right time.
3. How will you know when you've delivered that transformation?
This is about defining success in a way that actually matters.
Not vanity metrics. Not "we got 1,000 followers" or "our engagement rate went up." Those might be indicators, but they're not the transformation.
If your ideal customer review is about feeling confident in their gift choice, how do you measure that? For Buns of Joy, we looked at repeat purchase rate (people coming back because it worked), testimonials mentioning how recipients reacted, and organic word-of-mouth referrals. Those metrics told us we were delivering the transformation we promised.
If your transformation is saving time, you should be able to measure it. If it's revenue growth, track it. If it's confidence in decision-making, look for indicators like reduced decision-making time or increased implementation rates.
Real success metrics keep you honest. They tell you if your marketing is actually working, or if you're just creating content into the void.
Why businesses skip these questions.
I get it. These questions feel slower than just getting started.
Your competitor is publishing constantly. Your mate just launched a newsletter. Everyone's telling you that you need to show up everywhere or you'll get left behind.
But here's what happens when you skip strategy:
You create content that doesn't resonate because you don't really understand what your audience cares about. You waste time on the wrong channels because you're guessing where your customers are instead of knowing. You build campaigns that look professional but don't drive sales because you're talking about features, not transformations.
And worst of all, you stay busy without actually moving forward. Lots of activity. Not much impact.
What happens when you answer these first?
When you start with strategy, everything else gets easier.
You know what to say because you understand the transformation you're delivering. You know where to show up because you understand when your audience needs you. You know what success looks like because you've defined it upfront.
The businesses I work with who take time to get these foundations right see results that stick. Not just a spike in engagement that fades. Sustainable growth, strong repeat customer bases, and marketing that actually feels natural instead of forced.
For Buns of Joy, answering these questions first meant we could position them clearly in a crowded FMCG market and build genuine customer loyalty. They hit their sales targets in years 1 and 2, grew their social following to 2k engaged followers without paid spend, and built a strong repeat customer base - people who came back again and again because the brand delivered on that transformation.
Where to start
If you're reading this and realising you've been skipping straight to tactics, don't panic. You can do this work at any stage.
Take 30 minutes and write out answers to these three questions:
What would your ideal customer review say? What transformation are you actually delivering?
Who needs this transformation right now, and what circumstances make them need it?
How will you measure whether you've delivered that transformation?
If you get stuck, that's normal. These are hard questions. But they're the right questions. And answering them is the difference between marketing that's just busy and marketing that actually drives growth.
If you'd like help working through these questions and building a strategy that actually fits your business, that's exactly what I do. Whether you need a full strategy foundation, fractional marketing leadership, or just a focused session to get clarity, I'd love to chat.
You can book a call here, or drop me an email.
Because the best marketing strategies don't start with tactics.
They start with understanding what your customers actually need.
