It’s not a headline. It’s not a tagline. It’s not a campaign. It’s the strategy for telling the story of your brand in the most advantageous way possible. This usually means creating clear differentiation within your industry, as well as high relevance to your audiences. Before you fill a web site with copy that may[…]

Problem ATM Universal Processors was already a leader in the ATM industry. They did so much in the way of operations, support, consulting, route purchasing and placement, that it wasn’t entirely clear what they did. Or how well they did it all. Also they served both large corporate clients and small mom-and-pops. These audiences have[…]

Messaging Case Study Problem Bradbury Construction, a Dallas-area construction firm, knew they did great work that surpassed competitors. What they didn’t know was how to get that message across. Their initial pricing could run higher, but through superior quality control, they saved customers time and expense overall. The owner was relatively young and new to[…]

Messaging Case Study Problem Longboard Asset Management had strong performance over time and recognized thought leadership in their niche. They were truly exceptional but struggled to articulate their distinct value. As a smaller firm, they are not well known in an industry that sells on reputation. And their excellence shows up in nuanced ways investment[…]

I grew up with two brothers, three years and six years older than me. They were bigger than me, stronger than me, more knowledgeable, better at sports, everything. The only thing I could possibly do better than them was be myself. I think that’s part of the reason that I became a messaging strategist. Every[…]

Unless your brand is helping to create a new industry sector, it’s tough to differentiate. There are typically five other brands offering something similar to what your company is offering. Even if your what is better and smarter, meaning what you do, it’s still often tough to stand out that way. So a lot of[…]

There’s an old joke that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. Why? Because you need perspective beyond yourself to meet legal challenges effectively. The same is often true of messaging. We think we know ourselves, our company, our brand best. That’s certainly true on one level—no one has more familiarity[…]

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m obsessed with differentiation, perhaps because I have two older brothers. They were automatically better at me at everything—school, sports, girls, everything. The only thing I could possibly be better at was being myself, and I have certainly gone all the way with that in my life. When it comes to messaging[…]

When it comes to messaging, small and mid-market companies find it tempting to mimic their large competitors. They assume the big brands have figured it out. And that they, as smaller competitors, can’t do better. Here’s why that’s not a good idea: Use your advantage—As a small or midmarket brand, your biggest advantage when it[…]

I was working on a messaging strategy some months back for a software platform seeking to differentiate itself in the marketplace. As in many industries, there was no clear cut win to be had in terms of functionality. Each of the competitors offered a comparable hodgepodge of capabilities. Further complicating matters was the fact that[…]