Behind the Scenes: The First 3 Questions We Ask Any New Client
WRITTEN BY KATIE TEST DAVIS
Have your priority goals changed recently? I’m betting the answer is a resounding (heck) yes.
We’ve ALL had to adjust to our new reality — and in many cases, that means hitting reset on a campaign to ensure we’re focusing on what’s most important to our target audiences and clients RIGHT NOW, building messaging to meet their needs and moving our priorities forward.
That’s why today, we’re taking you behind-the-scenes by revealing the first three questions we ask at the start of any new project. (Or when recalibrating.)
Let’s dive in!
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What does success look like?
This question may sound simple, but it’s often overlooked and critically important to ensuring that we’re meeting our client’s expectations. Asking this question — and confirming it with the entire project team — ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page and working towards the same goal.
We prompt our clients to envision a future where our project is finished. We ask:
How will we know this project has been successful?
What would those indicators be?
How will we measure success?
What will have changed in the world?
Who is the right target audience?
You already know how we feel about the phrase “the general public” (ICYMI: not great), so let’s not even go there. Choosing a specific target audience — as narrow as you can make it — is a recipe for a great communications campaign.
We ask:
Who can make our project a reality?
Who is impacted by our project?
Who are the decision makers and who are the influencers?
How easy is it for us to access this audience?
What do you want your audience to know, do or think differently?
Ask any of our clients — when you work with us, you’ll hear me ask “know/do/think” questions all the time. They’re super important at every step of a project, especially if we’re making large-scale change with multiple steps involved. We ask:
What action do we want our audience to do?
What are our main takeaways for our target audience?
What do we want our audience to feel? What emotions are we going to invoke?
Are we trying to change a belief or reframe an issue?
Do you love these questions as much as we do? We’ve made them into a quick printable checklist so that you can take these questions into your own internal meetings with you.
And if you're ready to launch a new project — or hitting reset on a campaign — we would love to hear all about it!
