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[…]
If you think you’re distracted, imagine how your audiences feel? They’re being hit by the same wall of news, noise, pings and rings as you are. Not to mention the stuff you’re conspiring to add to their already loaded inboxes right after the holiday. So what can you do to make your message connect through[…]
A while back I was engaged to create a messaging strategy for a SaaS in the education space. Sales were flat and the brand, which had been one of the first to market, had been overtaken by newer competitors. Ownership wanted to update their messaging strategy to win in the current, more mature environment. Internal[…]
Marketing is complicated. Because people are complicated. And delivering value to them is complicated. But your message can’t be. Because people have so much complexity going on that their heads will blow up if you add to it. It’s a cause and effect whirlpool you don’t want to get caught in. That’s why you need[…]
I can’t tell you how many brands I’ve encountered that spring to life when I’m sitting across from an able sales or marketing person telling me about them. But on their websites and in their other marketing materials they are DOA. Why is that? Why don’t brands more often capture that same spirit of relevance[…]
It’s not easy to arrive at authentic strategic differentiation, which is what a good messaging strategy should provide. Many viable businesses, including startups, professional services companies and mid and large sized organizations struggle to correctly and strategically identify their uniqueness to their audiences. How is one engineering firm different from another operating in the same[…]
Your messaging strategy is what determines and drives your choices when it comes to what you say and why you say it. If you don’t have a clear, consistent and effective rationale for answering these questions, then you don’t really have a messaging strategy. This is a major piece of the marketing puzzle that could[…]