Simple Steps to Create a Dynamic Marketing Message
How do you cut through the sheer marketing clutter and make your mark on your prospects’ minds? Create one distinct, memorable message that you use at every opportunity.
Core Marketing Message
Every business needs to distill their message down to an effective core marketing message that each employee can deliver comfortably at a cocktail party, and becomes the foundational message in company literature, videos; essentially, all advertising or promotion. It is also called your elevator pitch, and it focuses on solving your customers’ pain or problem.
Info You Need to Prepare to Develop Your Elevator Pitch
You can spend days or even weeks in this process, but we’re going to make it really easy for you. To get right down to the point, first answer these questions – IN WRITING:
- Profile your ideal target customer/customer. Include demographics and lifestyle choices.
- What PROBLEM, PAIN, or challenge does this target customer face?
- What SOLUTION does your product or service deliver for this problem or pain?
- What PROOF do you have, such as a customer success story?
- What makes you different from your competition? (It MUST be a difference that matters to your customer.
How to Develop Your Elevator Pitch
REMEMBER THIS: DO NOT start talking about your product or service and what you do. Read that sentence again. INSTEAD, start talking about your customers and how you help solve their problem and ease their pain.
Imagine that you’re asked, “What do you do?” Here’s how to respond:
- Start with who you work with; “I work with small business owners and entrepreneurs…”
- Continue by telling about their pain or problem; “…who need help taking their business to the next level…”
- PAUSE. WAIT FOR A QUESTION OR RESPONSE.
- Tell them about a customer you’ve worked with and the results you achieved; “…For example, I’ve worked with a 5 year old family business that needed a business plan to raise money for expansion…”
- This could lead to more conversation about problems & solutions.
- Tell them your solution and what makes you different; “…we get very good results, and have been told by venture capital investors that our plans are among the best they’ve ever seen.”
Now you have opened the conversation to focus on problems, and even if they can’t benefit, they may know someone who can!
This approach is a natural to develop the company’s core marketing message for all advertising and promotion. We’ll cover that in a later post.
What’s YOUR elevator pitch?
(Thanks to Action Plan Marketing for the concept and inspiration.)
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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.
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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman: With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her customers as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com