There is an old saying that we need to keep in mind as we do our marketing planning, “It isn’t what we don’tknow that gets us into trouble, it’s what we know that isn’t so.”  Every week I am amazed at what business owners tell me about their markets, customers and competition.  They tell me with complete confidence how this “fact” and that “fact” influence their business.  They “know” these things to be true.                                                                                                                 

It happened again yesterday.  I had lunch with a very intelligent businessman and he told me about his marketing efforts and his problems.  It took just a few questions to determine that his facts were really opinions and maybe some wishful thinking.

Creative marketing groups use well designed questions which leads to  research which will give you insights to what the consumers are thinking.  The process of developing good questions can be informative and instructive for you.  First, it is critical to determine what you want to know yet be careful not to prove what you know.  Most people know they influence the answer by the way they ask the question. Often they will validate what they believe or what they want the answer to be.  There is a story about the two men who were discussing prayers and when it was appropriate to pray.  The question came up as to whether it was appropriate to smoke while praying. To get the answer, each man wrote to his spiritual advisor.  The first man wrote, “Is it appropriate to smoke while praying?”  His advisor replied that is was not because you need to be focused on your prayers and smoking would be a distraction. The other man wrote his advisor and asked, “Is it appropriate to pray while smoking?”  His advisor replied, “Certainly, it is appropriate to pray at any time even while you are smoking.”

Better questions get better answers and creative marketing solutions. Most people pay more attention to the answers than they do to the questions.  However, if you really want to gain insight you need to pay more attention to the questions.  Asking questions to gain insight is an art and a science.   Pay careful attention to the words you use. I asked a friend who he liked in the BCS Championship game.  He said nobody. What I meant was ‘who do you think will win the BCS Championship game?’  He understood the question to be if he ‘liked’ Florida State or Oregon and he didn’t like either one.

Spend more time crafting questions and the results may be easier to analyze.   Look at the problem from a different prospective. In fact, spend time determining what the problem is.  Sales people know that the ‘questions are the answers,’ lawyers know the answers before they ask the questions, and teachers use ‘what if’ questions to stir the imagination. Reverse the question, instead of asking ‘who you are selling?’ ask ‘who you are not selling?’ And ‘why are you not selling them?’ In interviews ask the consumer ‘what if’ questions.  Ask questions in as many ways possible that will allow you to dig deeper.  Look for questions that will give you more insight.   Ask how they feel about a brand and then ask ‘how the brand feels about them.’  You may be surprised, if so, follow up with more questions. When I was test-driving a car the salesman had me park in front of the showroom where the building’s windows reflected my image sitting behind the wheel.  He asked, “How do you look behind the wheel?”  I bought the car.The phone is the easiest way to interview. Our experience has been that people are more comfortable answering questions over the phone than in person or filling out surveys.  A three-page survey is intimidating and the consumers see it as a very time consuming project even though it may take only 5 minutes.  When we tell the consumer that our phone interview will take 5 minutes most people don’t object and only a few turn down the interview. They will usually extend the conversation beyond the 5 minutes requested.    The phone makes the process more anonymous and people are less inhibited about giving their true feelings.  They know that you don’t know them and won’t recognize them should you every meet them.  Another benefit of a phone interview over a survey is the ability to hear the consumer’s tone of voice, which will convey more meaning than just the words. The phone interview also allows the consumer to express their views more fully and the interviewer has the opportunity to delve deeper into interesting responses.Ask better questions and get better results

Great brands are often differentiated by creative marketing.  Creative marketing begins with good questions and leads to preceptive insights.  Creativity is nothing more than looking at the problem/opportunity from many different angles/points of view and knowing there are many correct answers.

Advertise, it pays.

Ken Gasque is a brand developer—a professional marketer with a design background. Ken works with small companies and Fortune 500 companies who recognize the need to differentiate their products and services in a cluttered market. Ken is a highly visual, outside-the-box-thinker on advertising, branding and marketing. Ken writes a blog and lectures on brand and brand development. To learn more, visit www.Gasque.com