What is Your Message? Why Do We Care?

How do you describe your business to the world? What words sum up your brand identity and what you have to offer? Are you clearly explaining your business value?

It takes a little time and thought to get your marketing message right, which is why so many small businesses fall back on their “About Us” page or product descriptions to describe what they do and for whom. But, that just speaks to the business itself and not the people you are trying to connect with - your customers.

Getting your marketing, positioning, and brand statements right is an essential step to building your overall business identity.  You need to understand your message – your marketing platform – before you start to actually MARKET your business!

1. Understand Your Target Market and Niche

If you want to connect, you have to know with whom you’re connecting. You need to determine your niche. Ask yourself what you are selling and to whom. Are the benefits of dealing with your business clear and are they aligned with the needs of your target customers? Answering these questions will help you focus your messaging and play to your strengths in that niche. 

2. Research Pain Points, Challenges, Needs and Desires

Every business, product, or service responds to a customer’s pain point: a need, a problem, a desire, or a challenge. How you address these “pain points” is critical to your messaging. For some businesses, like a plumber, for example, these needs seem obvious. Restaurants or retail shops may not be addressing a pain point, but they can design their message to speak to the benefits of shopping or eating at their establishment (fine dining on dime budget, Hollywood style at resale prices).

3. Tell People About your Product - Concisely

Products are a key part of what you do, but they are not everything. Your product or service should only be a small part of your overall message.  Yes, it’s what you bring to your target audience, but you are offering more – customer service, agility, convenience, reliability, experience, etc. So consider all these issues in light of what they mean to your customer. What’s the “so what” factor? What benefit is it to them?

4. Add Proof Points

A proof point backs up what you have to say about your business. Think of it as a “don’t just take our word for it” statement. Proof points include customer quotes, success stories that you write, case studies, and references. They’re important because they show how your business has solved the problems of others. A few words or paragraphs can convey the customer’s challenge, the solution you delivered, and the results they gained.

5. Figure out how you are Different

What makes you unique in your niche and to your target market? You’ve outlined your product and you know your customer, but how are you different from the competition? At SK Consulting, we are not an agency.  Our customers are not clients.  We work WITH them.  We teach as we develop and implement a plan, a project, a message.  Our difference? We want businesses to have control of their own marketing.  We don’t want them to rely on us.  We want them to want us!

6. Decide on a Messaging Platform

What you are aiming for is flexibility. You want to be able to slice and dice your messaging to suit your audience, your collateral, a promotion, or a sales pitch.

A common approach is to create 25-, 50-, and 100-word versions of your message (:15 sec, :30 sec, :60 sec elevator pitches). The shorter version can be used in advertising copy or sound bites in broadcast or online materials. The longer versions give you more flexibility to add specific services, benefits, and value statements, backed up by proof points, about why customers should do business with you.

7. Use Your Messaging Consistently

Once you have your message developed, make sure everyone is singing from the same song sheet, from your sales people to your front desk and across your social media platforms, website and marketing pieces. The more your customers hear it, the more likely it will be to resonate and stick.

If you need help developing your message or are unsure how to market it, contact SK Consulting.  From Concept to Creation to Implementation, we’re there with you every step of the way!