The “Why, What, and How” approach outlined on this site, notably in the decision chapter, is a powerful tool for discussing marketing activities. This is particularly true for promotion and communication activities, where it is essential to articulate needs, objectives, and means.
With multiple communication objects – the brand, the products, and even the people and their experiences as customers or as employees – the “Why, What, and How” approach is a wonderful key to understanding and organizing marketing activities.
The “Why” is the domain of purpose and needs. It serves as the platform for internal communication and management discussions, even before considering budgets and means, which are addressed with the “What” and “How.”
The “What” focuses on the objects of promotion, including products and services (including solutions), company brands, company values, and even customer experiences. Companies must create and reinforce images for their products and services, as well as for themselves and their employees and customers.
The “How” determines the means of promotion or communication activities, and costs are determined by these activities. In short, this is where the work gets done.
The “What” and the “How” of communication together determine the “image” that the company wants customers to perceive. “Branding” could be defined as the art of creating “Images”, developing the narrative of “images” through the means of communication.
The object of communication is probably more complex than it was in the 60’s when products were the focal point. Today, companies need to cultivate their presence as brands and convey values that customers can recognize, appreciate, and embrace.
Consequently, companies increasingly share their core values, positioning themselves as fair players in a global world where environmental concerns have become crucial. They also communicate about their employees’ well-being and the excellent working environment they provide. Additionally, they highlight the values that employees embody to serve customers and contribute to their communities.
Overall, sharing and demonstrating high standards and values have become essential means to communicate and reinforce brand value.
With social media, companies are exposed to criticisms and must develop appropriate means to grow and thrive with greater transparency and honesty. The “What” of promotion and communication offers many more options than in the past.
The “How” for promotion was, at one point, mostly summarized by advertising and public relations (PR). This has been completely revolutionized with new capabilities such as internet communications, social networks, and merchandising. Multiple avenues are now available to communicate about products and services, creating new spaces for communication and promotion.
Merchandising is an approach that leverages retail shops on the internet. More can be found in this article from Investopedia.com: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/merchandising.asp
The “why” we discuss in the “Why”, “What” and “How” pyramid decision tree, is the purpose and needs. Concretely, why do we communicate? For what objective? For what benefit?
Here are some important business questions to be answered:
Those questions and more, targeted at setting business priorities and goals, help determine the compass for promotional activities.
Asking marketers why we spend money on promotional activities will inevitably draw various answers. There is already a positive impact from asking the question and holding marketers and other owners accountable for the effectiveness of their promotion programs.
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The first priority is to understand the company’s needs and priorities, then align resources or investments—depending on your preferred terminology—to address them.
The value ladder, proposed as a tool to determine and assess customer-perceived value, can also be highly effective in this context. It helps clarify the purpose and objectives of promotion and can be used similarly to a project scoping session with post-its, using a frame in/out approach. This allows individuals to articulate benefits (“why”), as well as the means (“what” and “how”). The value ladder is an excellent method for clarifying priorities and defining “success factors.”
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