The Total Package: A Marketing Message That Resonates
Sunday, April 1st, 2012
Your company focus and marketing message should be so clear that it’s driven home in every opportunity you get. When clients experience:
- your print media (business cards, posters, flyers, etc.)
- your online media (websites and social media sites)
- your office space
There should be a consistency in the message and that’s where your branding pieces come in to play. But before you start printing things, the message has to be core and clear.
What is your company about?
Can you explain it in a simple to understand mission statement or tagline? Be clear about:
- what your company is
- who it serves and
- how it gets it done
If you do that, you can relay this standard to your team and this clear message becomes a measuring stick in your business. If you don’t live up to it, then you’re off track and you know it. And when you know, then you can do something about it.
To get to the core of your company, tackle it from different angles. Understand what your company looks like and feels like from a client’s perspective. Then, dig a little deeper and find out what your prospects see and feel. But don’t stop there.
Choose to investigate your employee and independent contractor experiences and responses to working with you and other clients. Does all of this feedback line up to how you see your company? What adjustments can you make to get the most out of these experiences?
Now, get it to the right team.
This kind of information in the hands of the right team can turn into something amazing. Anita Campbell suggests that the size of that team should be well managed. In “When It Comes To Innovation, Small Is Beautiful” she says:
“Every brain in your business needs to be engaged in thinking more creatively. But by keeping your core team small, you’ll stay more nimble.”
Startups often expend energy trying too look bigger than they are. Anita points out that big business is trying to benefit from the power of smaller teams and the creativity and quick action that can emerge. It reminds me to “use what you got” and start with what you have.
If you “look out for your company” as John Mariotti puts it in “If You Don’t Look Out for Your Company, Who Will,” then you can make waves at any stage in the game. John believes that regardless of your position:
“Your real job is to look out for the company’s interest, to the best of your ability, in (your) area of responsibility.”
Which brings us back to this core message…
And these 3 little questions:
- What is your company about?
- Who does it serve?
- How do you do what you do?
Once you’re clear, consistently share that message with your team. Pour this message into them — in print, in training, in visuals, in “practicing what you preach” — so that they naturally pour it into your public.
In my opinion, the total package is about a message that resonates on every level of the organization. It shows up in the logo, the tagline, the mission statement, the staff training, your attitude, the products and services, the branding materials and even the colors.
In fact, Ivana Taylor even suggests that:
“Your work surroundings should remind you of the marketing message and image that you intend to project.”
Courtesy: Small Biz Trends
