At Fifth Letter, we don’t believe in silver bullets or marketing shortcuts. We believe in context. In patterns. In people. That’s why every engagement starts with understanding not just the what or how of a project, but the why.

Think of our approach as the Four A’s: Align. Activate. Achieve. Adjust. Each step builds on the one before, with no leapfrogging ahead and no skipping to execution. But trust me, this is the kind of friction you want at the beginning of a marketing relationship. That’s because lasting success comes from shared understanding and a considered approach, not surface-level fixes.

Over the next few posts, we’ll unpack each of these four phases. But let’s start here at the beginning with Align.

The Strategic Starting Line

“Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice” is a phrase I often use in early client conversations. Before you develop a plan, build a brand, or design a website, you have to know what you’re solving for and who is going to care once you do.

That’s where alignment comes in.

This phase is all about uncovering the why behind your project or marketing strategy. It’s the difference between saying, “We need new packaging” and knowing why your current packaging no longer fits the bill. It’s the clarity that comes from conversations, not assumptions.

And it starts with listening.

Why Clients Hesitate

Some clients hear “stakeholder interviews” or “discovery workshops” and imagine lengthy meetings and vague outcomes. Others see research as a nice-to-have, something optional if there’s budget left over. But skipping this step is like building a house without a blueprint. It might stand up for a while, but it won’t weather the storm.

Stakeholder alignment isn’t just about buy-in. It’s about insight. It’s where we hear hard truths. The contradictions. The gaps between perception and reality. And it’s where strategy starts to get interesting.

Some organizations are really good at ongoing dialogue with stakeholders (your customers, donors, suppliers, etc.) and we applaud you for that. However, even with that information, our role as outsiders means we ask questions our clients cannot, providing the opportunity for genuine feedback without the need to please.

What Alignment Unlocks

When done well, discovery work doesn’t just clarify the problem; it uncovers possibilities. The kinds that hide in plain sight until you ask that right question. It’s where patterns emerge and strategic options come into focus.

As someone with “Strategic” as a top CliftonStrength, this is where I do my best work. I listen for what is and is not being said. I connect the dots. I synthesize input into clarity, turning what we learn into what we do next.

Here’s a quick story.

One of my first client workshops was for a local nonprofit opening a restaurant to provide career training for employees plus another revenue stream by serving hungry patrons and raising awareness for the parent organization. We met with the leader who had the vision plus the rest of the team who had to execute the rollout. There was the need for everyone to be aligned around what success looked like collectively as well as communicate that effectively to their individual teams.

And we were being asked to tell their story in a crowded, restaurant-filled marketplace.

That workshop sparked more questions, and before I knew it, we’d uncovered more insight than the client expected. We held an informal SWOT session to understand where the restaurant belonged in the marketplace and what the uniques were. We found themes and strategic threads and used that information to shape the restaurant’s look-and-feel and communication strategy. (And yes, we called it their cookbook.)

We’ve continued to refine that approach over dozens of projects since, but the foundation remains the same: great strategy begins with great insights, and great insights begin with great questions.

Why It’s Worth the Investment

If you’re wondering whether the Align phase is “worth it,” consider this: the organizations we work with aren’t guessing at their positioning anymore. They know who they are and what they need to say. They’re not relying on what they hope customers think or wish potential employees knew about them. They’re responding to what those employees, partners, and customers actually say and do.

In a competitive market, that makes all the difference.

So before you make that next marketing move, stop and ask: do we really know why we’re doing this? If the answer is fuzzy, start with an alignment conversation. Everything else will flow from there.