We need information and insight to generate relevant content, products or services, distribution strategies and ultimately a strong relationship with our customers. Ultimately, we need to be able to attract, retain and develop loyalty that leads to advocacy by knowing our customers better than we know ourselves. To do this we need excellent marketing intelligence that covers a wide aspect of our customers needs and activities in relation to our product or service offer, which is why leveraging the 5W1H Method is essential.
A very simple and usable method to ensure robust and detailed information is gathered about our target customers is the 5W and 1H. Graham Hooley (Hooley et al, 2012) and many other strategic marketing texts reference and recommend this method to gather intelligence on our customers for effective marketing strategies.
5W1H has been used for many years in journalism and is now moving into the realms of project management, as it is a quick and easily memorised framework to collect all relevant information on a story or a project.
It can also effectively be used within marketing to create a holistic, detailed picture of your target customer, analysing their needs and buying behaviour by asking the following questions:
How do they use your product?
(important to understand product development and links into the customer need)
Who is involved in the buying and consuming?
(particularly important when considering B2B decision-making-units or the final consumer in B2C segments, which may be a family member; understanding who initiates the purchase, who influences, who is the end user; impacts positioning, communication planning and messaging)
What are their choice criteria?
(when converting a purchase to YOUR product or service, compared to competition)
When do they buy the product?
(important for communications scheduling and product or service availability)
Why do they buy the product?
(key for relevant content and communications to unlock the deeper motivations for a purchase within your product or service category)
Where do they buy the product?
(valuable for distribution strategy and partnerships)
Source: Hooley G, Piercy N & Nicoulaud B (2012), Marketing Strategy & Competitive Positioning, 5th Edition, FT Prentice Hall
The single crucial point in using this framework is to drill down as deeply as possible for each question, particularly the first four. Answering each question with a topline response will fail to unlock insights that will set you apart from your competitors.
Next time you’re doing a strategy day with your colleagues and partners, consider using the 5W1H framework, but particularly ensure you cover all bases and ask the question ‘Why’ to drill down. Particularly when analysing the motivation driven questions into Why they buy the product or service and What their choice criteria are. Each layer of questioning should unlock a deeper insight away from the generic reasons. This could be the building block for a successful strategy that resonates with your target customers needs and motivations, plus differentiate you from the competition.
This article was written by Fiona Eriksen-Coats (MCIM DipM Business Science Hons). If you are interested in learning about customer insights, our range of CIM qualifications may be for you. For more information about our range of CIM marketing courses, get in touch with our team.