Whenever we begin a project with a new client, we start with five simple questions. Five questions that will begin to give us a holistic understanding of our client, their business, challenges and opportunities.

1. Who are you?
What is your history? How did you get here? What are your aspirations? What does your business look like? What does success look like to you?

2. Why are you here?
What’s your purpose? Why do you exist? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What’s the reason for this project and why is it important now? What would happen if you didn’t embark on this project? How do you want to be remembered?

3. How are you unique?
What do you offer that no one else does? Why would someone choose you over your competition? Finish the following sentence:

“Our ……………… is the only ……………. that ……………………”

4. How can you make a difference?
How can you make a positive impact on your customer, your staff, your suppliers, your industry, your environment?

5. Who cares?
A stakeholder is anyone who cares enough to help or harm you. So who are they? How well do you know your customers, your employees, your suppliers, your partners, your competition, your barriers, your enablers?

These five seemingly easy questions require deep thinking and often spawn more questions than answers. Answers that you’ll need to work hard to find. But answer them and you’re well on your way to defining your brand and position it for success in the market.