subject: Is Your Business Message Working? [print this page] Is Your Business Message Working? Is Your Business Message Working?
There are myriad ways to getyour marketingmessage out there. You can try traditional advertising, direct mail, traditional PR, develop a dynamite website, email marketing, social media, blogging; Pay per Click, the list goes on.
If you're inbusiness, chances are good you've tried some or all of these avenues. If not, you should start. If you have and they haven't worked, don't be too quick to shoot the messenger, because that's exactly what these different approaches are, messengers.
The important thing to realizeis that all of the above are basically content delivery methods. They are vehicles that we can use to send out ourmessage to prospective customers. But before you startyour delivery, make sure you know exactly who you're deliveringyour message to and, even before that, make sure that you've developed a strong, timely, targeted, effectivemessage. You may have developed the perfect marketing campaign for you andyour business, but you'll never be successful if themessageyou're deliveringis the wrong one.
Thisis a tricky one, you need to make sureyour message is the right one and then look at how you're delivering it, when and to whom. Everybusiness has amessage unique to it and its customers. Two similar businesses could have two very different messages; one could focus on quality, another on cost.To develop a strong effectivemessage, think the wayyour customers and clients think. What do they need? How doesyour product or service meet their needs? Craft a short succinctmessagethatis about them, not about you. It's tempting to buildyour message around how wonderful you,your product oryour serviceis, but avoid that trap.Focus on howyour business solvesyour customer's problems, meets their needs, saves them time, makes them money, etc. Craftyour message aroundyour client's needs andyour message will work.
That's step one, you've developed an effectivemessage. Next defineyour target market. Whois you perfect customer?Your next stepis to discover what media they watch read or listen to. What sites or social media do they use? Once you've definedyour message and target market, you have the information you need to decide onyour most effectivemessage delivery systems. You're now positioned to create an effective marketing machine that will work.
