Basic Marketing 101: in order for your marketing efforts to succeed, you have to have a good understanding of two things: what you are selling and who you are selling it to. If you don’t know either (or both!), you’re doomed to fail, or at least be much less successful than you could be. This is why we take the discovery process with our new clients so seriously at Roots Marketing.
When Marketing Starts to Feel Unclear
Many business owners reach a point where they know they need to improve their marketing, but they aren’t sure where to begin. Sometimes the website feels outdated. Sometimes advertising isn’t producing the results they hoped for. Other times the problem is less clear. The business is doing good work, but new customers don’t seem to understand what makes the company different.
It’s tempting to jump straight into tactics: run ads, redesign the website, post more on social media, but before any of that works well, there’s a more basic question to answer.
The Question Most Businesses Are Really Asking
Most businesses already know how to do their work. What they often need help clarifying is something slightly different: What exactly are we offering, and who is it meant for?
Marketing works best when those two things are clear. If they aren’t, even well-run campaigns can struggle because the message isn’t focused or the audience isn’t well defined. That’s why the first step in our work with a new client isn’t launching marketing activity. It’s taking the time to understand the business itself.
Why Understanding the Business Comes First
Good marketing rarely starts with software, ads, or technical tools. It starts with understanding the company. When we begin working with a new client, we spend time learning how the business actually operates. We ask questions about the company’s history, the customers they serve, and the kinds of projects or services that matter most to them.
This part of the process is sometimes called discovery, but in practice it simply means having thoughtful conversations and doing careful research. We want to understand things like:
- What the company really does best
- What makes their work different from competitors
- What kind of customers they serve most often
- What success actually looks like for the business
Without that foundation, marketing tends to rely on guesswork. With it, the work becomes much clearer.
What the Discovery Process Actually Looks Like
During the discovery phase, we guide new clients through a set of questions that help clarify the business from several different angles.
Understanding the Company
First, we learn about the business itself.
We talk about what the company does, how it started, and what makes its services or products different. Often, business owners know these things instinctively, but they’ve never had to explain them in detail. That conversation helps shape the language we eventually use in marketing.
Understanding Goals
Next, we talk about where the company wants to go.
Every business measures success differently. Some want to increase inquiries. Others want to focus on higher-value projects. Some simply want steady, predictable growth. Understanding those goals helps determine what kind of marketing work makes sense.
Understanding the Customer
We also spend time discussing the people the business serves.
Who are the typical customers?
What problems are they trying to solve?
What does the buying process usually look like?
When those patterns become clearer, it becomes much easier to create messaging and campaigns that speak to the right audience.
Understanding the Market
No business operates in isolation. Competitors, industry trends, and regional factors all play a role. Part of the discovery process involves looking at how other companies in the same space present themselves online and where opportunities might exist for differentiation.
Understanding Existing Marketing
Finally, we review what the company is already doing.
Some businesses come to us with existing advertising campaigns or content. Others are starting from scratch. Either way, it helps to understand what has already been tried, what has worked, and where there may be gaps.
What Businesses Usually Gain From This Work
Taking time to understand a business at the beginning often leads to better results later.
Instead of generic marketing activity, the work becomes more focused. That might mean:
- clearer messaging on the website
- advertising that reaches the right audience
- content that answers real customer questions
- stronger visibility in search results
Most importantly, it helps ensure that the marketing reflects the business accurately. Good businesses often struggle with marketing not because their work is weak, but because their story hasn’t been clearly communicated.
Marketing Improves Through Steady Work
Marketing improvements rarely happen overnight. What usually works better is steady progress over time: refining messaging, improving key pages, adjusting campaigns, and learning from real customer behavior.
The discovery process helps create a starting point for that ongoing work. It ensures that the marketing effort begins with a clear understanding of the business, rather than assumptions about it.
A Good Place to Start a Conversation
If you’re thinking about improving your marketing, the first step often isn’t a new tactic. It’s a clearer understanding of your business and the people you serve. If you’d like to talk through what that process might look like for your company, we’d be glad to have that conversation.
