From where I sit as the copywriter, it seems marketers have a bad reputation because they throw out solutions without knowing problems. We run into this repeatedly: We’re tasked with a copywriting project, but when we ask questions to learn more about the prospects so we can do a better job on the copywriting, we get “we don’t know” as an answer to simple questions like:

• Can you tell us more about person on the receiving end of this email marketing campaign?
• Why will they care about this email?
• Will they even open this email?
• Why do people go to your Web site?
• How do they get there, via search or word of mouth or…?
• What will motivate people to fill out your online form?

We often find if we can talk to a sales person, we’ll get much more useful information than if we talk to the marketing department…but sometimes the marketing department won’t allow it because they have a different idea of what the message should be. They want the message that’s driven from inside the company, not outside. Then guess what? The sales team doesn’t use the brochure or PowerPoint or other sales collateral because it doesn’t convey the right message. And the prospect ignores it when it is used.

Maybe doing the marketing homework means looking outside the company for the answers? Because in the end, you’ll get better results if you’re talking the customer’s talk, not your own.