Words to Thrive By
Your business has a story. It’s what differentiates you from the competition. Finding the most powerful version of your story can be a challenge—so is controlling how it’s told. Your sales reps may say one thing, your marketing team another. And the external world may believe a version of your story that’s entirely wrong. Whether you’re a start-up or an established company with global reach, having the right story and telling it in a consistent way across all mediums is vital to building success.
That’s where a Key Message Guide comes in.
A Key Messaging Guide distills your company’s story into inspiring language. Whether for marketing, sales, or even customer service, you tell your story in a powerful way and own your differentiators. You can influence how your customers think and act—about your company, your products, and the industry as a whole.
So what’s the first step to creating a Key Messaging Guide?
Take A Deep Dive
Your own employees and sales reps have direct contact with your customers. That’s why it’s important to listen to what they say to your clients—and to make sure everyone’s saying the right thing the same way.
By performing a detailed discovery process, you’ll discover where your company and brand currently stand. If you’re a new company, the discovery process will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Through the discovery process, you:
Learn from the past
Review all assets, including campaigns, videos, brochures,emails, conference collateral, and more. What’s working, and what’s not.
Identify your knowledge leaders
Interview them for their perspective on your company and products.
Study your customer interactions
Analyse your sales pitch, sales challenges and goals, and resulting customer questions.
Listen to your front line
Talk to your sales reps about customers in real situations.
Consult your customers
What are they saying, what are their questions, what are they asking for, and what are their pushbacks?
Go wider
Research your competition and their messaging.
Once you understand the lay of the land, you’ll be able to develop what you want to say— and how best to say it.
Spark Interest
With the discovery process complete, your key stakeholders can come to a consensus on your company’s or product’s most important messages. If you want to change the industry narrative, the Key Message Guide can serve as the foundation for a completely new conversation.
You’ll want your key messages to:
Be simple
Hone 3-5 key messages that are short, specific, and engaging
Answer client problems
Highlight how your company or product solves your clients problems
Appeal to customer emotions
Grabbing your audience attention and giving them a reason to care
Be focused
Create specific versions of your messaging for different target audiences
Now that you have a concise, inspiring Key Messaging Guide, it’s time to put it to work.
Inspire Action
Your Key Messaging Guide helps ensure everyone says the same thing, all the time, across all forms of media. A consistent message helps your customers clearly understand how you can solve their challenges.
With your Key Messaging Guide, you can easily create:
Sales pitches
Presentations
Marketing brochures
Website copy
Social media posts
Concise Consistency Creates Connections
A thoughtful, powerful Key Messaging Guide can help you differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace and become an expert in your field. It’s a vital tool for changing opinions, shifting the conversation, and connecting to customers—all of which drives success.
Differentiate yourself with a Key Messaging Guide.
Get more information on how your business can create powerful messaging. Submit this form to schedule a consultation, or contact Don Poe directly at 303-449-6086.
