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For small businesses who are struggling to increase sales productivity, XYZ Company helps them develop a repeatable sales process that supports the development of long-term profitable relationships with their clients. Unlike other sales coaching companies, we combine sales process improvement with technology to help our clients spend more time with customers discussing their strategic objectives.
Now you have the foundation from which to build all of your communications, both internal and external - from marketing collateral to Web sites to press releases. If communications do not support the desired positioning in the market or do not include or address the positioning statement and key messages, they are off strategy and not acceptable.
Developing Your Key Marketing Messages
Once you get that all important positioning statement created, you can develop key, supporting messages targeted at specific audiences. Your messages should focus on educating and informing, explaining the benefits of your services, and creating an image. They must be focused, crystal-clear and speak to the needs of your prospective clients. It should make them want to find out more, drive them to your web site, and get them to take your call or, ideally, call you.
Unfortunately, unlike the positioning statement, developing your key messages are more of an art than a science. There is no precise formula that can be used to clearly develop these messages. You should take the key points from the positioning statement and provide supporting evidence for those points. From there, those secondary differentiators and other messages you collected during the positioning process can be explored and expanded.
Keep in mind the following points:
Be honest and credible in your messages. Tell people who you really are and what you really do.
Be clear and concise with the offer. Make it easy for the reader of your message to know what you are promoting.
Test your message. Try your message out and measure the results you are getting to ensure the message is clear.
Know your audience. Send your message to the right audience to ensure the best use of your marketing resources.
The following is an example of a message for a service with the associated benefits for your clients:
XYZ Company helps you develop and automate a sales process that takes a more focused and intelligent approach to selling. Sales people spend more quality time developing valuable long-term relationships with your customers, helping your customers achieve their business vision.
When you have developed a set of messages that speak to the needs of your target market, use them consistently and repetitively in all of your marketing efforts.
Getting Outside Help
Developing successful messages is the result of understanding your audience and what parts of your product or service are important to them. While creating them takes some time, going through the process forces you to focus your efforts and is a critical element of your marketing foundation. To do an effective job creating these critical messages, it is often helpful to get an unbiased point of view to help you through their development.
Like many of you, I have spent time developing and refining my positioning statement and key messages for Vista Consulting and have not been happy with the results. Why is it I can write my client’s messages so much more effectively than my own? The answer is because I am too close to my business, not seeing things the way others see them. With the help of my new colleague, Bob, who has a fresh perspective on Vista Consulting, we have developed a new, more focused positioning statement. Now my positioning statement reads:
For small businesses and independent professionals struggling to find time to develop your marketing strategy, Vista Consulting can help you get more out of your marketing efforts. Unlike trying to go it alone, our mentoring service guides you through the process of developing a solid marketing foundation, identifying your target audience, creating key messages, and recommending a focused set of programs.
By creating a clear, defensible, differentiated positioning statement and supporting key messages, you ensure that consistent and credible information is delivered to your market.
-- By Debra Murphy, Vista Consulting
Ms. Murphy is a marketing consultant with a background in computer science, management, and marketing. With more than 20 years experience in marketing, her specialty is strategic consulting and management of focused marketing programs, ensuring businesses reach their ideal target market. Debra is a contributing author of "Create The Business Breakthrough You Want: Secrets and Strategies from the World's Greatest Mentors" featuring business giants Brian Tracy, Robert G. Allen, Bob Proctor and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for The Soul) and endorsed by Dr. Stephen Covey and Ken Blanchard. Debra is based in Massachusetts and can be reached at 508.303.0766 or via email at dmurphy@vista-consulting.com. For more information or to subscribe to her monthly newsletter for businesses that want more clients, visit her Web site at www.vista-consulting.com.
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