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Welcome to the The Marketing Source e-newsletter! Our goal is to provide you with real-world marketing tips.If you have any ideas for articles, please send them along.
The Art and Science of Great Messaging
You can spend tons of money on your advertising. Too bad it won't do you a bit of good if your central messages are all wrong. Lots of companies miss the mark when it comes to messaging and miss the opportunity to build valuable brand equity.
Poorly thought out messages have real impact, unfortunately the negative kind, in the form of lost business and wasted marketing dollars.
Messages are the key ideas embedded in your advertising campaign and tag line. They are what you want your customer to know about your company; what you do for them. Your key messages should be communicated consistently across all forms of media, in your advertising, public relations, web site, materials - even in your internal communications and speaking engagements.
Here are our suggestions on how to develop consistent, powerful messages that really speak to your customers and clients.
Start with good data
The science part of good messages is data. You need a solid understanding of your customers. Who are they - suburban 30-50 year old soccer moms? Urban apartment dwellers, age 25-40, with money to burn, Midwestern, factory and farm workers with big families with little disposable cash? Once you know who they are you need to question what they want and need. How can we motivate them to use your products or services? Where else are they spending money and why do they start or stop buying from you?
We come across companies every week who can't answer these questions. There is a simple fix: ask your customers. Do an informal telephone survey with key customers, put together a focus group or invest in a sophisticated quantitative study. Spend some time doing Internet research to read-up on industry trends and other companies in your industry or similar industries. The goal is not to compile fat research reports, but to get an in depth understanding of what you have to offer that meets your customers' needs. (Hint: watch for next month's newsletter on how to make research work for you.)
What can you do for me?
The art part of messaging is saying what you want to say in a way that means something to your customers. The number one messaging mistake is telling your customers what your company does instead of what your company does for the customer. The next time you spot an advertisement for a trial attorney, pay attention. They almost always get messaging right. "I get you money fast!" or "I'll make them pay!" Whether you like them or hate them, trial attorneys tell their customers exactly what they are going to get - a pay off. Imagine if instead that trial attorney's slogan was "We have 20 attorneys with lots of experience, beautiful office space and we have a partnership with another firm!" Not as good, or effective, don't you agree?
What problems do you solve for your customers? Keep your messages centered on what your customers think is important, not what you think is important.
Your competition
When you consider which messages you want to use, think about your competitors. You don't want a message that goes head to head with a competitor that is more established or that can outspend you. Find your niche in your unique bundle of benefits. If you consistently wow your customers with service, you have a huge opportunity to make that the central message of your branding.
Narrow it down
We all like to talk about ourselves and there are probably hundreds of things you would like to tell your customers. It's OK, we know you are proud and you should be. Unfortunately, you can't. There just isn't time and people can't attend to that much noise. Be ruthless, communicate only three and five key messages to focus on and stick to them in every ad, press release, internal memo that you send out.
A blink of an eye
In this technology-driven world where we are bombarded with thousands of messages every day, you have only a few seconds to get someone's attention. Your messages must communicate your brand and what action your customers should take quickly and cleanly. Once you figure out what you want to say, spend some time and some money (on a great copy writer or creative team) refining those messages so they are short and sweet.
Huh?
It's easy to fall into "industry-speak," picking up abbreviations, terms and jargon common to your industry. But jargon hurts your messages by making customers work harder to understand what you are saying. Keep your messages crystal clear and easy to understand. A good test, could a 6th grader understand your key messages?
Price isn't your message
Unless you are Wal-Mart, it's tough to successfully compete on low prices. Price may be part of your message, but it's rarely sustainable as a key message. There is always someone who can provide your product or service at a lower price than you can.
Too much technology is a terrible thing
Companies love to talk about their new lightning fast AXB2000 processors with full modem compatibility or their ISO certified manufacturing line with multi- functional laser sensors. Unfortunately, customers generally hear "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Most customers don't care about what technology you have, they care about what it can do for them.
Repetition rules
The old advertising adage says "Frequency sells." Research studies show people have to be exposed to a message five to seven times before it has an impact. There is simply no substitute for communicating your key messages consistently over and over.
As you open your snail-mail, surf the Internet, sift through your email, and watch television, check out the messages that are coming your way. You'll be able to tell the good, the bad and the just plain awful. The bad ones are usually clumsy, cluttered, and make you want to turn them off. Use that as inspiration, and then use part science and part art to create a winning formula to cook up success.
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