How to create a focused marketing message

Borrowed - Adam Kirk Smith

Marketing is all about messaging; i.e. getting the message right and reaching the right audience with the right product or service at the right time.  But in a seriously overcrowded market place it is sometimes difficult to break through the noise.   In the words of a friend of mine, ‘there are competing priorities’ or in this case, ‘competing messages’ pulling the consumer’s mind in every possible direction.

As a startup business owner, consistency is key when coining your business’s marketing message.  Nothing is more confusing to the consumer than getting mixed, incomplete or inconsistent messages from the business.  Not only should the message be consistent but the same message must be used across all media platforms; both online and offline.  Consistency also requires that the message is simple, focused and understood by the targeted audience.

Here are three ways that startups can create a focused marketing message:

1.     Understanding consumer needs - While it is important to try to understand the customer, it is more important to understand their needs.  Ideally, your business should be providing a solution to a consumer problem.  Consumers are interested in identifying products and services that make life easier, are affordable and convenient.  If your business can tick all three boxes, then you are on your way to understanding your customers.

2.     Know your customer – Customers like to receive messages that speak directly to them.  To speak directly to the customer, you must know who they are, what they like, where they hang out and some of their favourite activities.  Knowing your customer also means appealing to them in a ‘language’ that they can understand.  Storytelling is a great way to capture the customer’s attention.  Sharing an experience instead of ‘selling’ the specific product or service is also a great way to grab the customer’s attention.  Further, consumers are highly motivated by ‘what’s in it for me’; it is in your best interest as a business owner to show them.

3.     Know your business – Do you have a key marketing message for your business? If not, it’s a great place to start in getting to know your business.  You know the product or service you are providing, but what does it do for customer? How does it make your customer feel or act? Does it make the customers’ life easier?  These are all questions you can answer in getting to know your business.  In coining your marketing message; keep it simple but consistent, focus on the customer and ensure that the product or service delivers what is promised.

Make your Startup believable with these 3 simple steps

Startup businesses in particular are usually faced with speculation and doubt in the early stages of business by those who wonder if their business is real.  Although, you may be the only employee in your company right now, it is still important to take all the right steps as if you were a large organization.  Not only will these actions allow other business people to take you seriously, it will also allow you to access funding, land big contracts and increase visibility for your business.

The following are three simple steps that all startup businesses must take to make their business believable:

1.     Registration & Formalization – In any jurisdiction there are laws relating to how businesses must operate.  Whether you choose to operate as a Sole Proprietor or Limited Liability Company, it is important to register with the government-mandated institution in that country.  Formalizing your business also means paying the relevant taxes, fees and licenses.  This will allow your business the same access and opportunities of your larger counterparts.  In my local jurisdiction, no unregistered business can access government contracts… and remember, the government of any country is usually the largest employer.

Image borrowed from DealDey

2.     Get an official street address & (virtual) office space – These two actions are critical to making your business believable.  The use of virtual office spaces has increased significantly as it gives entrepreneurs, in particular startups, an official space to use for meetings, receiving telephone calls as well as official business mails.  Virtual office spaces also offer additional services with dedicated telephone lines for your business as well as a professional to answer the phone and take messages.

3.     Get professionally done collateral material – Your business card, company brochure and catalogue, and all the other printed/online material that represents your business must be professionally designed.  These items must define your business precisely, with a clear and attractive message.  At the startup stage, businesses have a unique opportunity to define their business, outline the solutions that they provide and who they provide it to … this information must inform how company materials are designed.  Importantly, the presence of this type of material in a new business legitimizes the business in the minds of potential partners and investors and tells them that you are serious about business.

Another area that may be considered in the later stage of startup is the incorporation of a business website.  Your business’s website gives customers, potential business partners, investors and other stakeholders 24 hour access to your business.

These steps will also make marketing your startup easier.  Because there is no uncertainty about the type of business, the product or service it provides, its location and capabilities; you are now able to craft a marketing programme that attracts your targeted customer group.