Those who know us at Clarus often equate us with messaging. It’s one of our specialties and something we really enjoy doing for our clients.
Messaging is a crucial first step in any public relations program. Being able to talk about your company in a compelling and memorable way provides focus to strategy, media interviews, collateral and your online presence.
Even companies in commoditized industries with little differentiation from competitors will benefit from messaging. We often work with companies that have many competitors, sometimes even competitors that are more innovative and with bigger marketing budgets. Yet, our clients are able to rise above the noise and get noticed because their messaging is better.
A good message does the following:
Focuses on your audiences’ needs. Every company has multiple audiences: customers, employees, the community, investors, etc. It’s important to understand what keeps these audiences up at night so you can address this in the messaging.
Talks about benefits, not features. Many companies tend to focus on what they do instead of why they are important to their audiences. Instead of describing your product or service, focus your message on the benefit you bring to customers.
Uses memorable language. In a messaging workshop we often give participants a list of banned words that are overused and have lost their uniqueness. This encourages our clients to think of their business in different terms and fosters memorable language.
Showcases what’s unique. Every company has a differentiating story. If your product or service isn’t unique, how you deliver it may be. Or, perhaps the story about why your company was founded is special. Find out what these unique areas are and talk about them.