Rule 1: Be pitch perfect
A third of marketing leaders cite conversion rates as a top KPI. And 80% of your conversion rate is determined by your messaging. Messaging is one of the fundamentals of marketing, and yet so many organisations fail to get it right.
7 in 10
customers receive irrelevant messages from brands.
5 in 10
are frustrated at their inboxes being bombarded by companies.
4 in 10
customers feel unvalued.
3 in 10
are annoyed by brands communicating with them on channels they don’t want to use.
If you don’t know who you are and why you exist, you can’t articulate what you offer. If you don’t know how you’re different to your competitors, you encourage customers to compare offerings based on price. And if you don’t know your ‘thing’ – your USP, your IP, your ‘secret sauce’ – you won’t build a brand that stands out.
How are marketers getting it so wrong?
Well, firstly, it helps to actually do the work – 35% of companies have failed to take the time and care to establish their value propositions.
That means they’ve jumped in to executing campaigns based on what they think. The harsh truth: it’s not about you. It’s about your audience. Always. To blindly execute a campaign without any thought about what your audience needs and why you’re best placed to help, you risk wasting significant time, money and effort. In one industry study, it found 60% of marketing budgets are wasted due to a lack of “clarity on the quality, relevance or placement of their ad campaigns”.
Furthermore, companies are ignoring the importance of their competitors. Rather than view competitors as a threat, see them as an opportunity to gain valuable insights on how to position yourself in the market. When 57% of companies claim that gaining a competitive edge is in their top 3 priorities, the best place to start is by identifying how you differ to your competitors. For example, this could be a methodology, accreditations or certifications, product/service attributes, your data, customer experience, the way you use technologies, your environmental commitments, the way you hire employees…the list is endless!
How to get your messaging right
First and foremost, it’s about focus. You need to find a simple, strong thing to say about who you are and what you are about. Ask yourself:
- What’s the point of your company?
- Why do you exist?
- What do you stand for?
- Why do customers choose you over competitors?
Again, these questions form the fundamental building blocks of your company and are therefore essential to everything you say and do. To create your brand’s unique value proposition, a well-defined brand mission, vision and values help form the elevator pitch.
Together, these elements provide a clear framework for your brand, show where you are headed, and how you want to be perceived by your customers. Of course, you also need to capture attention, spark interest, and make an instant impression. Here, your visual identity becomes as important as the messages you communicate to your customers.
