So what? The one question to ask in marketing.

That single question is simple.

So what?

If your marketing cannot answer that clearly, your audience will not care.

One question to ask in marketing before anything goes live

The fastest way to improve marketing is not a new channel, platform, or tactic. It is pressure-testing the message. Before a page, advert, email, or campaign goes live, stop and ask what it actually gives the reader. Not what you want to say, but what they get. Most marketing fails because it talks at people. It lists features, history, or claims. It assumes interest. Buyers do not work like that. Installers, merchants, architects, and contractors are practical. They scan. They decide fast. They move on quickly if the message does not land.

If they cannot answer “so what?” in a few seconds, the message has failed.

Why this question matters more now than it used to

Buyers see thousands of messages every day. Most of them blur into one. This is not because people are careless. It is because the messages all sound the same. In construction and building products, this shows up everywhere. You see phrases like high quality, trusted supplier, industry leading, or decades of experience. None of those is wrong. They are just empty without context.

So what?

What does that mean for the person reading it at ten past six in the morning before a site visit? How does it help them price a job, win work, or avoid problems later?

Marketing that does not answer that question blends into the background.

Where businesses in construction often go wrong

After years of working with manufacturers, fabricators, and suppliers, the same patterns repeat. The message usually focuses on the business, not the buyer. It talks about products, systems, or scale. It forgets the decision the reader is trying to make.

Here is the common disconnect.

A supplier says they offer a premium system.
The buyer is thinking about lead times, call-backs, compliance, and margin.

Both are valid. Only one gets attention.

When marketing fails, it is rarely because the offer is weak. It is because the relevance is unclear.

What a clear “so what?” actually looks like

Answering the question does not mean dumbing anything down. It means translating value into plain language.

Take a typical example from fenestration.

A message might say:
“We manufacture aluminium systems to exacting standards.”

Ask the question again.

So what?

A stronger version connects to the buyer’s reality. It explains why those standards matter. Faster installs. Fewer issues on site. Less time spent fixing problems. A product that sells itself when shown to homeowners.

The product has not changed. The message has.

That shift alone can change how a campaign performs.

Why relevance beats volume every time

Many businesses assume marketing fails because it does not reach enough people. In reality, it usually reaches the wrong ones or says the wrong thing.

Relevance works better than reach.

This is why targeted marketing consistently outperforms broad messaging in construction sectors. When you know who you are speaking to, the “so what?” becomes easier to answer.

You stop guessing. You stop using filler language. You start addressing real problems faced by specific roles.

This is also why Purplex focuses heavily on strategy before channels. Traffic alone does not fix unclear messaging. Clear messaging makes every channel work harder.

The role of insight and data in answering the question

You cannot answer “so what?” properly if you do not understand your audience.

That understanding comes from experience, but it is supported by insight. Knowing the difference between an installer, a merchant buyer, and a specifier changes how you speak to them.

Their pressures are different. Their risks are different. Their buying triggers are different.

When marketing is backed by proper audience insight, the message becomes sharper. It stops being generic. It starts to feel familiar to the reader.

That familiarity builds trust. Trust drives action.

How does this question improve every channel you use?

This thinking applies everywhere, not just on your website.

If you ask the question early, it improves:

• SEO copy that actually answers search intent
• Paid ads that earn clicks instead of being ignored
• Emails that get read rather than deleted
• Sales materials that support conversations instead of confusing them

The question keeps your marketing grounded. It stops you from publishing content for the sake of it. It forces clarity.

That clarity matters even more as search engines reward usefulness and intent over volume.

Why Google now rewards this way of thinking

Recent algorithm changes are not about tricking search engines. They are about filtering out content that exists without purpose.

Pages that ramble, repeat, or say very little are easier to ignore. Pages that help users make decisions perform better.

Asking “so what?” naturally leads to clearer intent, better structure, and stronger relevance. Those are the signals modern search engines look for because they reflect how real people behave.

When users stay longer, scroll, and act, rankings follow.

This is not about being clever

Some businesses think marketing needs to sound impressive. In construction, that often backfires.

Clear beats clever.

The best-performing marketing usually sounds obvious once you read it. That is because it reflects how buyers already think.

If your message feels easy to understand, you are doing it right.

If it needs explaining, rewriting, or defending, it probably misses the mark.

Next steps to keep growth moving

Before you approve your next campaign, page, or advert, pause for a moment.

Picture a builder opening a delivery. If the contents do not help them finish the job, the delivery is useless.

Marketing works the same way.

Ask the one question to ask in marketing.

So what?

If the answer is clear, relevant, and useful to your customer, move forward. If it is vague, fix the message before you spend the budget.

That single habit will save time, money, and frustration.

One question to ask in marketing, and what to do next

If you keep coming back to the same sticking point (your message sounds fine, but leads stay flat), it usually comes down to one question to ask in marketing: so what?

We help construction, fenestration, and building product brands turn that question into clear copy, stronger pages, and campaigns that match how buyers think.

For more information, use our contact page, email grow@purplexmarketing.com or call 01934 808132.

If you need support across the full funnel, we cover Marketing Consultancy, Web Design, E-commerce, PR & Communications, SEO, PPC, Filming & Video Production, Social Media, Design & Branding, plus LeadTracker to help you follow up faster and track what turns into sales.

You might like to read

If this article hit home, these reads go deeper into messaging, channels, and what works for construction and building product brands.

• Principles of marketing – A simple guide to the fundamentals, written for construction and fenestration businesses.
• Proven marketing strategies for your construction company – Practical strategy choices and where SEO, PPC, and content fit in.
• Construction marketing SEO – How to build search visibility that matches how people actually look for suppliers and services.
• What to look for in a construction marketing agency – A straight guide on what you should expect, and what to challenge.