The Power of the 5 Whys Technique: Deciding the Feasibility of a Twitter Giveaway
The 5 Whys technique is an effective way to make informed product management decisions. Can it be used in marketing decisions too?
The 5 Whys technique is a simple but powerful problem-solving tool that helps us dig deep into the root causes of a problem. It involves asking "why" five times to uncover the underlying reasons behind an issue. By repeatedly asking why, we can identify the real factors contributing to a situation and make informed decisions based on a deeper understanding.
A common use of the 5 Whys technique in product management is to identify the root cause of a problem or issue affecting a product or its development process. By repeatedly asking "why," product managers can uncover the underlying reasons behind a problem and address them effectively. This technique helps in making informed decisions, implementing improvements, and preventing similar issues from arising in the future. It aids in streamlining processes, enhancing product quality, and optimizing the overall product management lifecycle.
Given that, I am always curious to see how product management techniques can be applied in other situations. I recently saw someone asking on twitter, whether they should do a giveaway.
My own experiences of twitter giveaways has been hit and miss. Either they bombed or they brought a lot of followers to my account, who later unfollowed because they were only in it for the giveaway. Not to mention, the new followers were also very untargeted and essentially had no impact on the growth of the product I was working on back then.
So I do wonder: If I used the 5 Whys technique would I have even done the twitter giveaways in the first place?
An example. Using 5 Whys to decide whether to do a giveaway on twitter.
Let's say you're a product marketing manager and you're considering running a giveaway on Twitter to promote your product. By using the 5 Whys technique, we can analyze whether it's a good idea or not.
Why do we want to do a giveaway on Twitter? Answer: To increase brand awareness and engage with our target audience.
A follow up question here is whether twitter is the right place for that. Is it? If not, then you can probably stop at this Why.
Why do we need to increase brand awareness and engage with our target audience? Answer: Because we want more people to know about our product and develop a loyal customer base.
Is our target audience really on twitter? If not, stop at this Why.
Why do we want more people to know about our product and develop a loyal customer base? Answer: Because increasing our customer base will lead to higher sales and business growth.
Will increasing our customer base lead to sales? If yes, then continue.
Why is higher sales and business growth important? Answer: It's important because we want our company to be successful and financially sustainable in the long run.
We’re getting somewhere.
Why is company success and financial sustainability important? Answer: It's important because it enables us to continue providing valuable products to our customers and support our employees.
And we’re at Why number 5. If you made it this far, your idea probably has some legs.
Based on the analysis, we can be confident that a giveaway on Twitter could be beneficial to the brand. However, it's essential to ask more critical questions at each Why. Then plan the giveaway carefully, ensure it aligns with the target audience's interests, and measure its effectiveness to evaluate its impact on brand awareness, engagement, and sales growth.
By using the 5 Whys technique above, we have found that the primary motivation behind considering a giveaway on Twitter is to increase brand awareness, engage with the target audience, and ultimately achieve higher sales and business growth. We have also realized that the success and financial sustainability of our company are important for delivering value to our customers and supporting our employees. At any of the Whys, if we’re not convinced there’s a good answer to the question, we can always rephrase the question (with evidence to support it) and think again.
While this works and is interesting. It might be fitting a round peg into a square hole. What are your thoughts? We can discuss this more on twitter here: https://twitter.com/growth_hc/status/1678966054117310465