An organization’s most powerful differentiation is the belief and values that drive them. As the heart and soul of your brand, your belief creates internal unity and inspires your vision. Knowing your belief allows you to explain who you are, what you do, and why people should care—to clearly and consistently communicate your message to customers.

Traditional marketing starts with strategy. But without belief to anchor it, strategy can easily devolve into manipulation. At its most powerful, there’s something that comes before strategy; something that differentiates you from your competition. When you build your strategy on the foundation of your beliefs and values, it’s that much better—because it’s true. And whatever is true about your organization is good enough to market.

Content is the closest thing a brand has to a voice. It’s the primary way to communicate with an audience and provide them with value throughout the customer journey. Content acts as a break between the promotional messages brands typically send out to people. (We like to think of it as the 10 casual coffee dates you have with a friend in between asking them for a ride to the airport.)

Distribution is about getting content in front of the right people in the right place at the right time. While it may be difficult to sell someone something when they don’t value the same things you do, it’s easy to create a happy customer when you’ve aligned with the right audience—because they’re naturally receptive to your message. Distribution is the art of finding and communicating with that audience.

Data is critical—it shows us what’s working and what’s not. It allows us to adjust the time of an email campaign to optimize open rates or replace an ad with a background that provides better conversions. It’s valuable in helping us sharpen the message—but it should never dictate the message. The truth—your belief—should always come first.