A Basic Framework for Marketing and Communications Strategy

Remember when you were in elementary school and you learned that a good story should include “Who, What, Where, When and Why” (the 5 W’s)? The basic approach to communicating your product or service is quite the same. This shouldn’t come as a big surprise since at the heart of any good communication is a story.

Think about the last thing you read or listened to. There was a story the author or creator was trying to get you to hear, envision or feel–some conclusion the designer wanted you to end up at. Some are happy stories, some are sad stories, some are serious, some are optimistic and filled with hope, some want you to feel afraid, scared, happy, or any number of emotions. Some stories are telling you to act, to buy, to visit, to listen, to learn, to join, to enroll, to apply, while some are telling you not to do any number of those things. 

The 5 W’s thought pattern should be applied to your strategic marketing campaign starting with the planning/product development phase. This framework can be used by small business owners, entrepreneurs, product managers, marketing specialists, communication teams and others.

Below is a simple framework that can be applied during any planning process for your product or service. The questions you could ask yourself within each category about your business or product/service are essentially endless–included are just a few examples:

Who 

• Who is it for?
• Who is your ideal customer/client?

What 

• What are you selling them?
• What can it do?
• What are the features?
• What is the process?
• What is special or different about your product or service?

Where 

• Where is your business/product/service?
• Where are your consumers?
• Where can consumers use the product/service?
• Where can consumers find my product/service?

When 

• When will the product/service become available?
• When does your target audience need it (yesterday, now, when they are 30, 40, 60)?
• When is the best time to buy?

Why 

• Why do they need it? 
• Why is it on the market? 
• Why is this product being produced or why is this service being offered?

One more thing I would add is the how, which is very important in communicating with your target audience, but often overlooked in the classic “Who, What, Where, When, Why” listing.

How 

• How is this going to help the person buying it?
• How can they make a purchase?
• How soon can they get it?
• How will it positively impact their lives?
• How long is the sale price available?

As you think through your product/service lifecycle, focus on this framework and work to answer each question you can come up with. This framework provides a starting place as you begin to think about marketing and communicating your product or service.

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