How to Build a Business Strategy Based on the Truth: About People, the Market, and Yourself

Every business is part of a bigger system, and to find your place in it, you need to understand the context. There are no universal strategies—success comes from observing, asking honest questions, and getting clear answers.

Who is your audience? What’s true for them? What matters to them? Who are your competitors? Where are they strong, where can you break them, and where do you have the advantage? Finally, what’s your own strength as a brand? The answers to these questions will determine whether your strategy stays on paper or actually delivers results.

1. The Truth About Local Culture: What Matters to People Here and Now

Let’s start with the basics: your audience exists within a specific context, and you can’t ignore it. This isn’t about abstract trends—it’s about real life.

Take Vancouver, for example. You’ve probably noticed how sustainability isn’t just a buzzword here; it’s practically a religion. People will pay extra for local, low-waste, eco-friendly products. In fact, Forbes found that 64% of millennials in 2023 were willing to spend more on sustainable goods.

Now, contrast that with Langley, a smaller community where things are a little different. Here, it’s all about family values, supporting local businesses, and feeling like you’re part of something close-knit. A coffee shop that sponsors local schools or organizes family-friendly events will earn loyal customers faster than one that simply makes great coffee.

So ask yourself: what do people in your area care about? What’s their truth? If you don’t understand this, your strategy will be just theory.

2. The Truth About Your Audience: What Do They Actually Need?

It’s easy to assume that your product is for everyone. Spoiler: it’s not. To build a real strategy, you need to know exactly who your audience is, what problems they have, and what they value.

Take food delivery as an example. You might think customers want speed, convenience, or low prices. But HelloFresh went deeper: their customers didn’t just want “dinner delivered.” They wanted to feel like they were part of the process, to have a little creativity in their day. That insight led to their meal kit concept—and it made them a category leader.

If you’re trying to figure out what your audience needs, ask yourself three simple questions:

1. What’s their lifestyle? What are their habits, routines, and values?
2. What problems are they trying to solve?
3. How does your product fit into their life?

Don’t just rely on data—watch, listen, and engage with real people, interviews, social media, reviews—all of it can give you the clues you need to understand if your product truly fits.

3. The Truth About the Market: Who’s Out There, and What Can You Do About It?

Now, look at the market. Who are your competitors? Where are they killing it, and where are they messing up? The goal here isn’t to reinvent the wheel—it’s to find weak spots and attack them.

Here’s an example: most food delivery services double down on speed. But Daily Harvest chose a different angle: premium-quality, healthy ingredients. Their product isn’t just about saving time—it’s about feeling good and taking care of yourself. That’s how they carved out their niche.

Even the strongest competitors have blind spots. Some fail on quality, others misread their audience, and some are too caught up in their own ambitions to notice the details. Your job is to find those gaps and fill them with something better.

To get a clear picture of the market:

1. Check out competitors’ ads—Meta Ads Library is a great tool for this.
2. Read customer reviews. What do people love? What do they hate?
3. Analyze their social media. What are they talking about, and how are customers reacting?

The truth is always out there—why are they winning, and what can you do differently to take their customers?

4. The Truth About Your Brand: Who Are You?

Now for the hard part: being honest about yourself. What does your brand bring to the table? Why should people choose you over the next guy?

The strongest brands are always tied to the personality of their founders. Think about what makes you unique. Are you fast and flexible, always adapting to changes? Or are you steady and reliable, the kind of business people can trust over the long haul?

A great example is Patagonia. Founder Yvon Chouinard built the brand on his personal values—he’s an environmentalist to the core, and that belief is baked into everything Patagonia does. Customers buy their gear not just for the quality but because they want to support the brand’s mission.

Now take a look at yourself: what’s your truth? What personal values can become part of your business strategy?

How to Build a Strategy: Hypotheses and Inspiration

Once you’ve gathered all your data about people, the market, and your brand, it’s time to start testing hypotheses. This is your first step: form a theory, test it, and see if it works.

Not sure where to start? Get inspired. Cannes Lions archives, Effie Awards case studies—these are full of examples of brands finding their truth and turning it into a killer strategy.

Take Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” campaign. They realized that people wanted to feel like sports weren’t just for pros or athletes—it was something for everyone. That insight led to the message that greatness is for anyone, and it redefined their brand, turning ordinary runners into their biggest fans.

Look at the Global Market

Another important step: look outside your market. What are competitors doing in the US? What’s trending in Asia? What works abroad that you can adapt locally?

Here’s a great example: in South Korea, food delivery services like Baemin deliver meals in reusable, traditional-style dishes. Then they come back and pick up the dishes later. It’s a small thing, but it creates a cozy, “home-cooked” feeling that’s a huge hit with customers.

Or look at Who Gives a Crap, an Australian toilet paper brand. They flipped the category by making toilet paper not just a necessity but a fun, giftable product—with part of the proceeds going to charity. Their quirky branding and clear mission turned something boring into something people wanted to talk about.

The key is to adapt, not copy. Whatever idea you borrow has to work within your audience’s context.

The Bottom Line: Strategy Is About Truth

To create a strategy that works, you have to let go of illusions. Who is your audience? What matters to them? What are they missing? And what can you offer that no one else can?

The truth is the foundation of any strong strategy. The rest is just execution. Experiment, study the market, and try new things. Mistakes will happen, but if you’re honest with yourself and your audience, you’ll always be one step closer to success.