First things first
I start with identifying your customers and why you’re a big deal to them. I make sure we get this straight first before I do anything else. You'll already know who they are - but ten to a penny you won't ever have sat down and captured a detailed description of them. Without this, your marketing will be a random exercise. Your money might be wasted.
Now, your starting point is probably that you want something creating – a website or some sales literature, say. But until I know what that something is meant to do, and who it’s meant to talk to, I won’t start work.
Marketing is about changing behaviour
The sole point of all marketing activity is to get someone to do something - namely, spend some money with you. Don't believe any guff about profile or image. Marketing is about profit. I need to know who we want to influence before I start, and what they're like.
So the first thing I do is establish your market positioning. Once this is done, there’s a logical flow that ensures your communication materials – fliers, brochures, websites, signage – all do the job they need to do. They have to say the right things to the right people in the right way.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?