Who cares and so what? Two questions you should always ask yourself when coming up with ideas for any marketing campaign. I love these two questions because every time I have ask these questions, I never get a straight reply. It causes people to think….and think harder about what they are doing or trying to explain.

An idea might be truly great and have all the fancy tinsel and bows on it…but the bottom line is who cares and so what?

Let’s take e-mail marketing for example. Our inboxes are being bombarded with marketing spiel more than ever, and on top of this we are starting to receive more and more social notifications from the likes of Twitter and Facebook. And don’t forget spam on top of all this.

So how do B2B marketers fight through the crowd and get their messages to the recipient or target market?

An e-mail campaign is only as good as its data in my opinion. When coming up with ideas ask yourself “Who cares about what I have to say?” This will help you define a niche audience who will be willing to listen to what you have to say and then ask yourself “Do i have access to the people who care?” Remember irrelevant messaging to the wrong people at the wrong time will cause multiple failures elsewhere such as poor click through’s, engagement, conversions and unsubscribers.

Also ask “So what? Is what I have to say THAT important to the recipient?”. If the answer is “Yes” well how do you know it is? Have you just assumed that it is or have you got reliable hard facts and information direct from the audience by participating in focus groups, collecting feedback or conducting regular surveys/research programmes? Worst thing to do for any marketing campaign is assume.

So next time you start an idea, map it out but then end with “Who cares?” and “So What?”. If you can answer both questions quickly and clearly you are on your way to a successful campaign.