Can you answer these 12 questions?

12 Questions to Answer Before Writing Your Marketing Strategy

Can you transform your business with a $37 Instagram course? Probably not, but it’s hard to resist! I know I’m not immune to the pull of it myself. I do like a great “Everything you’ll need to succeed” pack for the magical price of thirty-seven dollars. Sell it to me well, and I’m adding it to cart and getting my lifetime access pronto.

Our lives have become about quick fixes, hacks, and easy wins. These resources can be of great value and have a huge bank of information to help you perfect a handful of tactics for Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok—as long as you’ve already got the foundations sorted.

Before you jump into a course, dive deep into learning how to use social media, or even create a website, you should start with an overarching strategy. This will help you lay a foundation of what you are selling, who you sell it to, and why they need it. If you don’t get clear on this—and then define your core messages (the ones you’ll repeat over and over again)—it’s going to be hard to make significant progress with your marketing.

Why You Need a Marketing Strategy

One thing I’ve learnt is that the phrase “marketing strategy” can cover a very broad spectrum of documents. If you’re a small business owner and you’ve come from a corporate role, your idea of a marketing strategy may be pretty different from the nimble strategies for small businesses.

Unlike a large business that can spend days researching, testing, and going deep with focus groups and workshops, the life of a small business owner means the time and money investment needs to be less and more focused on actions stemming from it.

You’ll know you’ve got a marketing strategy and action plan that fits your business if you can refer to it every week. It should remind you why you’re marketing, what you’re saying, and who should be paying attention to it. It should also be simple to follow.

This is exactly what we cover in my MAP IT Marketing Intensive, a two-day workshop where we work together to create a clear, actionable marketing strategy tailored to your business. By the end of it, you’ll have the foundation, focus, and clarity to make your marketing work for you.

12 Questions to Prepare for Your Marketing Strategy

Whether you’re planning to go DIY or enlist help, gathering your thoughts and answering these key questions will make the process more effective:

1. How would you explain your business today? Describe your business instinctively—where it’s come from, where it is now, and how you’d describe it to your team, customers, or the public.
2. Where do you want the business to be? Identify what’s not working or needs to change. Do you want to grow new lines or maintain the status quo?
3. What do you sell? Are you happy with your offers? Are they profitable, and do you enjoy the work? Narrowing your core offers makes marketing more effective.
4. Where do you fit in the marketplace? Are you premium, affordable, or somewhere in between? Ensure your pricing and branding align with the quality of your product or service.
5. What are your numbers? Understand your profit margins, average customer value, and other key metrics. Marketing amplifies what’s already there, so make sure your numbers reflect a healthy business.
6. Are you paying yourself? Paying yourself is a sign of a healthy business. A marketing strategy can help you adjust pricing, costs, or mindset to make this possible.
7. Who are your favourite types of customers? Identifying your best customers helps you target more like them. Flip the traits of your nightmare clients into positive ones to guide your focus.
8. What marketing are you already doing? List your current marketing activities to assess what’s working and what’s missing. This ensures a cohesive strategy that connects all your efforts.
9. What systems do you have in place? Review your tools and platforms. Are they integrated, or do they need streamlining? Fixing these can make marketing more effective.
10. What’s your time and money capacity? Determine how much time and money you’re currently spending on marketing. Adjust this as needed to align with your growth goals.
11. What are your identified strengths and weaknesses? Highlight your strengths in your marketing and address your weaknesses to reduce risk and improve performance.
12. What do you know you don’t understand or need help with? Identify knowledge gaps so you can seek support, training, or resources to fill them effectively.

Taking the Next Step

Answering these questions will give you the clarity and insight you need to build a solid marketing strategy. Whether you’re creating your own plan or getting help from a strategist, laying this groundwork ensures your efforts will be focused, practical, and impactful.

P.S. Ready to turn these answers into a marketing strategy that works? Join me for my MAP IT Marketing Intensive. In two days, we’ll build a strategy and action plan tailored to your business that you can implement immediately. Learn more and register here.