Get The Message™
Most people are good at what they do. They just aren't that good at talking about what they do.
The problem with that is that a lot of 'would be' clients, people that could very well benefit from what you do, just don't know what you do or all that you do, and therefore they don't call you to help them solve their problems. It sucks because you could very well be the ideal solution to their problem.
Here's a way to solve for this. In your marketing approach follow these steps:
STEP 1: State The Problem. (Which I just did.) STEP 2: Discuss Alternatives. STEP 3: Recommend a Solution.
Let me see if I can 'eat my own cooking' here.
Alternatives: *Option 1 might be to hire an advertising agency.
Pros: They do market surveys to help you better understand your target audience. They help you distill your unique value proposition. They create clever marketing campaigns to help promote your brand.
Cons: These market studies cost time and money but may not tell you anything you did not already know. They don't know your industry nor your target market as well as you do. They charge you on an hourly rate. The bill is often 'off the charts.'
*Option 2. Do it in-house. You have a marketing department.
Pros: Control. You select the people tasked with this assignment. You control the spend. The second advantage is Knowledge. Aside from the sales team, you know the products and services and industry better that anyone else.
Cons: It's hard to be objective when you have a 'horse in the race.' The talent may or may not be there to give you the results you need. Marketing and sales teams don't always have a mutual love or respect for each other. There may be a shortage of open, honest, communication. Politics might play a painful role.
*Option 3. Hire an experienced consultant to facilitate a project focused exclusively on crafting the most compelling messages possible for your specific target audience. Not only on your company, but your products as well.
Pros: Objectivity. The consultant does not have a 'horse in the race.' Their objective is to help distill the best message possible and help the client win new business. Period. Knowledge. They have a proven process for accomplishing the task at hand. Experience. They have done this for many years with numerous companies. Unity: The entire team unites and gains confidence in having a single, strong, core story, that everyone in the company can tell in their own personal way. Validation. Their clients provide raving testimonials to validate the consultants' credibility.
Cons: There is a significant contribution in terms of time, energy and money. What successful project doesn't?
Our Recommendation: Select *Option 3 It is incumbent upon all of us to clearly articulate our value proposition so that the people that CAN benefit from our Solutions... DO.
If you or someone you know needs help crafting and telling their 'core story' or 'stories' about your company and products, tell them you know of a company that does just that. The name of the company is Trivium Performance. Tell them to visit www.triviumperformance.com to find out more, then tell them to call 843.301.1768 and ask for a guy named Scott Hays.
