- Your messaging is how a consumer comes to interact
with your product or service to decide if it's right
for them, and this messaging is present
at every stage of the funnel, from the first visit
to your website, or interaction on an advertisement,
to the decision to purchase.
It's present in all of your educational materials,
and in every interaction with a consumer.
Now you may be so lucky to never have to
spend a dollar on advertising,
but you must have powerful messaging.
Otherwise, even the best products or services
will never connect with their intended audience.
If the product is misinterpreted,
expectations incorrectly set, or the value not convincing,
it'll be incredibly difficult to change
that perception once it's been formed.
The further the prospect's perceived value is
from the actual value that you want to convey,
the more likely the deal is to be lost.
To create a customer, you must communicate
your product or service's value effectively,
and you do this through strategic messaging.
Now, one of the main attributes
of strategic messaging is consistency.
The best message is always simple and consistent.
So start by evaluating your current messaging
to see how consistently your organization
talks about your product or service, and compare that
with how your current customers talk about it.
If you have a team, ask everyone to participate
in this simple exercise, and if not,
well then, just ask people familiar with your brand,
or even a few customers if you can.
I want you to have them send you an email
with one sentence answering the following questions.
What is it that we do?
What is the problem we are solving?
How are we different from our competitors?
Why should customers buy from us,
or why did you buy from us?
And as you go about evaluating how you're messaging
your product or service, consider these five best practices.
One, tell a good, convincing story.
Storytelling captures people's attention,
and motivates them to take action,
and to be convincing, well, make sure
your product or brand comes across as
trustworthy, confident, empathetic, and composed.
Two, appeal to emotion.
People buy on emotion, and then justify with fact,
so remember to focus on outcomes that are inspirational,
aspirational, or would represent a significant milestone
for a person or their company.
Three, be consistent.
Consistent messages are more memorable.
Repeat a simple message over and over again,
and don't change it all that often.
Four, be clear.
Avoid fancy words, and use more conventional language.
Five, be obvious.
Don't assume that your audience understands terms
that you use in your communication.
Use obvious words, or define the ones that aren't obvious.
Be sure that your message contains
a flavor of your value proposition, and use the same tone
and theme across all of your marketing platforms.
Understand your audience,
tell a great story, and be authentic.