4 Ways to Revamp Your Marketing to Mesmerize the Crowd The business world is filled to the brim with ambitious entrepreneurs, million-dollar ideas and interesting stories, so the challenge is cutting through the noise to gain notice.
By Renee Yeager Edited by Dan Bova
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Whether a company is well established or in its infancy, the owner is likely eager to gain exposure and customers. While many marketing channels hold the promise of bringing eyeballs to a product or service, it's crucial to figure out how to tailor a message to capture the attention of those who matter the most to a company's success.
The market is filled to the brim with ambitious entrepreneurs, million-dollar ideas and interesting stories, so the challenge is cutting through the noise to gain notice.
Powerful messaging is more than shouting from the rooftops that a product is great. Consider the following ways to update a company's messaging so that the organization truly stands out from the pack.
Related: 5 Tips to Stand Out When Selling on an Online Marketplace
1. Focus on the value not the features.
The temptation when touting a product is to zero in on all the features. Messaging about features alone, however, can result in the company's blending in with all the others.
Instead, work on crafting messages that will promote the true end value that a customer will receive. Rather than repeating the fact that the company's technology includes an easy way to consolidate all communications in one place, show potential buyers how it can help them save valuable time to spend in a manner of their choosing.
Great messaging includes the personal and emotional benefits of a product or service, not merely the functional elements. Buyers frequently make purchasing decisions based on emotional motivation, including how a product will improve their personal experience or make them feel. So don't be shy about focusing on feelings.
2. Don't forget your "why."
Most entrepreneurs go into business for a reason bigger than themselves. Maybe the owner has experienced a problem and started the company after finding a way to fix it. Or possibly there's a cause he or she believed in so much that the business was launched to effect a social change.
Don't forget the reason for getting into the business that's something larger than just an owner. Be bold in incorporating this vision into messaging. Be sure any cause-oriented approach of the company is highly pronounced in the stories told. Other people want to be a part of big-picture efforts that have a philanthropic or compassionate slant. Like-minded buyers will be drawn to the company over competitors if the ideology is authentically rooted in a bigger purpose.
Related: Do Your Marketing Messages Target the Right Personas?
3. Consider developing personas to cater to.
Thinking about buyer personas is an important exercise. But it's especially crucial when deciding how to approach messaging. Start by thinking about who buys from the company and make that person even more real.
The goal is to drill down to a clear, fully developed picture of that ideal customer. Go beyond the basics of job title and location and think about what that individual does every day. How does he or she spend her time? What does he or she read? What are the buyer's habits or vices?
Devise two to four buyer personas, based on ideal customers and best sales opportunities. Then act as if these people were friends. When developing messaging, write to Dawn, the senior developer, who has three kids and who likes to run half marathons on weekends, instead of "a female who is a senior-level executive in the tech field." The ways the company and its offerings are described change dramatically based on the individual details discovered about buyers. Run with that and be personal in the messages delivered.
4. Culture can be the key.
After looking objectively at the business, a conclusion might be that it doesn't stand out much from its top competitors. That's a hard truth to face, but don't give up. There's increasingly more competition everywhere. The Internet has made it easy for people to find new and interesting ways to bring products and services to the market in nontraditional ways. This changes the game for the promotion and operation of a business.
If the company's value proposition doesn't elevate it above the competition, scrutinize the business from the inside out. Most likely the company does a few things differently and these cultural elements should be highlighted. Attributes like strong core values, employee-training programs and giving back to the community can position the company as one that customers want to do business with.
Make the philosophy of the company, its structure and processes a cornerstone of the message. If it's not possible to compete on other levels, set up the culture part of the company's unique selling proposition to differentiate it.
For a company to stand out as a brand won't be easy. But do some soul-searching and arrive at the company's mission to find a path to articulate a unique message to its ideal buyers. Remember, it's possible to say anything. But back up the message to keep it real.
Related: How Purpose and Social Responsibility Can Set a Startup Apart
