Is your business having an identity crisis?
Can you describe your business in under a minute?
Go on try and explain what your service does and how you help solve your customer’s problems.
You might not realise it but if your sales and marketing team struggle to explain your service in a consistent, quick and easy, compelling way, then imagine how confused your customers are.
The path to aligning the right message for the right audience is a vital differentiator when it comes to your business. But before you embark on a major strategic communication overhaul or rebrand try and define these 3 key areas:
- Who you are
2. What you do
3. Why you’re different
It may sound so basic yet, many businesses find it hard to articulate their answers.
Let’s take a look at these three key areas that form the basis of your marketing communications and break it down into what you need to do to make your message more impactful.
1. Who you are.
If your ‘description’ is crammed full with paragraphs of never-ending text explaining your life achievements, goals, relationships and a full resume that not once relates to your customers then it’s safe to say your customers will tune out.
The aim is not to make you the hero of your story — but to show how your purpose relates to your customers journey. Think about what led you here, your values and what makes you qualified to help your customers. Identify what your business represents and the space where you conduct your business in.
2. What you do.
Regardless of your industry, you should always consider the “One major pain point or challenge” that you are solving for your customers and promote the answer and solution in all your content and marketing communication.
Think about What industry you are in and What you offer your customers?
There’s an investor colloquialism that describes what motivates people to buy: “You’re either selling vitamins or painkillers.” This distinction is important because it will impact how you explain your offer to the market. Most people are much more likely to take an aspirin for a headache than a vitamin to improve their health. And it’s the same with your customers. They are much more likely to want to buy something that solves a painful problem now rather than something that promises a future improvement.
Whether you are selling a way to improve their business sales, run their social media, order a fast-food delivery — Think of something that disrupts their routines — find your customer’s headache and sell them that aspirin.
3. Why you’re different.
What do you do, or what do you offer, that positions you differently from the other businesses in your space? You don’t have to be better than them, for example, most online bookstores would struggle to compete with Amazon’s 3-hour delivery promise, but they could differentiate themselves by selling only local authors’ books, or maybe they specialise in sustainable pulping.
If you think you are having an identity crisis, don’t panic. Recognising the problem is the first step — the second is ensuring you’re communicating the right message.
Answering these three questions will make it easier to create, edit and update your marketing communications strategies. Always aim to describe yourself how your target audience would describe you. Use their terminology and language, and strategic storytelling that resonates with your audience. Deliver your message in a short, concise pitch that covers the three key questions.
Make sure your team can answer these three areas too. A good way to get them on board is to get them involved in the process of creating your business identity. Since they are more likely to understand your client’s problems, invite them to brainstorm keywords — if you can address a fundamental issue that is common among your target audience, you will have a higher form of customer engagement.
It might take time to find the right approach, but once you do, creating a cohesive business identity and brand story stops your customers’ confusion.
