Knowledge is Power
Every day consumers are bombarded with a seemingly endless deluge of marketing messages. In fact, some experts predict that from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep we are exposed to thousands of marketing messages. How can you create a marketing message that won’t get lost?
First it’s important to understand what a marketing message is. If you don’t know exactly what your marketing message should be you’re not alone. Many business people are confused about their marketing message. Some think it’s their tag line or slogan. Others think it’s a description of what they sell.
Your marketing message is a fundamental component of your marketing effort. Unless you sell a rare product or service (original art by Picasso, for instance), your business will face competition, so you need to send a message to your customers and prospects to tell them how you can solve their problems and why they should choose you over your competitors. Your marketing message should connect with your customers and prospects to whet their appetite and motivate them to take action. Resist the temptation to build your marketing message based on communicating what you do (John Doe Shoes—Selling Shoes for Men & Women) but rather on what’s in it for the customer (John Doe Shoes—Selling Shoes to Fit Your Style & Your Budget.
One of the first critical steps is to identify your target market. In other words, who is most likely to buy your product or use your services? If you own the local business supply store, every business within a small radius of your store is a potential customer. Once you narrow your list of target prospects, it’s easier to craft a message that speaks more directly to that market. It’s also important to craft messages that appeal to your audience but may not necessarily appeal to you. You might think your message is wonderful, but if it’s not connecting with your prospects, it will ultimately fail.
Now that you’ve identified your target audience, try to learn what problems they experience. For instance, you discover that customers are unhappy and frustrated with their current office supply store because it fails to deliver when it says it will. The problem with delivery may even jeopardize their relationship with their boss. If your marketing message speaks to the situation, they will pay attention.
Next, present a solution to the problem. If the people in charge of ordering office supplies understand that you can guarantee delivery, you can take away their source of frustration and help them get back on track with their bosses. This is important, because it’s human nature for people not to take action until they feel pain.
Strengthen your claim by sharing the results you’ve produced for other clients faced with the same problem. You have to do more than tell them that you have a solution; you have to prove to them that your solution will work. One powerful way to do this is to use testimonies from current customers and provide case histories, if appropriate, of the problem and how your business solved the problem.
Explain what makes you different from your competitors. What is it that sets you apart? Do you offer free estimates? Whatever differentiates you needs to have a perceived value to your prospects. You may think that promoting the fact that you validate parking is a wonderful selling point, but if it’s not something your customers care about, it’s not going to help increase your business. It’s essential that, no matter what you communicate, you live up to your promise every day, with no exceptions. You can’t say one thing and then do another if you want to attract and keep customers.
Once you develop your marketing message it should be used in all your communication. Remember, it begins with knowing who your audience is, collecting knowledge about the wants, needs and challenges of that audience, and telling them how your produce or services can address those want, needs and challenges. That knowledge can help you craft an effective message that will speak to your audience.