Messaging
Why your mother still doesn’t understand what you do.
By Robin Anderson
You may have the easiest, most straightforward product on the planet, and still struggle to tell others about it, rambling down a path of cryptic confusion. As the number one promoter of your company, nailing your story early on will save you the desperate attempt to describe what you do whenever the opportunity arises. Not only will this help you share what you do confidently, in a clear and concise manner, it will give prospects the reason they need to buy your product. And with a defined messaging framework, everyone that works for you will also be able to share that same message without breaking into a sweat.
What is a Messaging Framework?
A messaging framework provides you with consistent communications across all touchpoints with who you are, what you do, why customers should buy from you, and what makes you different from the competition.
It lays the foundation for all your communications needs. Messaging will be used for everything - your website, pitch deck, social media, pr, and more. All of this is dependent upon having previously identified your persona, aka your target audience.
Creating your messaging framework begins with your value proposition.
A value proposition is a statement that answers the 'why' someone should do business with you. It should convince a potential customer why your service or product will be of more value to them than similar offerings from your competition.
Focus on the ‘why.’ People will buy why you build your product, not simply what you build. Focusing on the ‘why’ will attract customers who believe in what you believe. You can learn more about the importance of focusing on the ‘why’ from Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” Ted Talk.2
What are the benefits of your products? What makes those benefits valuable to your customers? What problem does your product solve for those customers? Why are you better than the competition?
Your value proposition will be used as the basis in the creation of your elevator pitch, tagline, website and more.
Tagline
The purpose of a tagline is to describe in a few short words your primary business benefit. Keep it simple. Keep it relevant. Our tagline is Launching Ideas into Reality - as that is what we do. We help startups launch their product into the marketplace.
Elevator pitch
It’s important that you can easily describe what you do in 30 or 60 seconds. This is not the place to include industry jargon or acronyms. Keep it simple. Keep it concise. Include who you are, what you do, and why. You may have to practice - and that is OK. The goal is to extend the conversation so that you can share more information and more details.
Fly to Soar elevator pitch:
We help startups with product management and marketing to expand and grow their business from the early development stage to product delivery with a customer base.
Website
One of the most important jobs your website has is to communicate your value proposition. Who are you? What do you do? Why is this important, or how will this help your potential customer? Visiting your website is an important step along your customer’s journey. Communicating the benefits on the homepage (above the fold), will easily help customers know that they have landed in the right place and increase the likelihood of them staying to learn more. Compliment the messaging with photos and videos. The average person looks at a B2B website for only 80 seconds. Make those seconds count with impactful messaging and visuals.
Product positioning
Product positioning is a statement for your target customer that describes what your product does and how it works. It centers around your key benefits that address customer pain points while including your unique differentiation from your competition. The emphasis is to connect with your customer on an emotional level.
“If you can position your product as the bridge between where they are and where they hope to be, they will crave it like kids crave chocolate.”3
This will become particularly important when you create your pitch deck. Investors only spend 2-3 minutes reviewing your deck. Practice presenting your startup using your pitch deck to an individual who is not familiar with what you do. Target complete delivery in less than 3 minutes. Then see if your audience has a sufficient understanding of what you have to offer.
Use this as a way to refine your communications to ensure you have impact and clarity.
Press Kit
Now that you have your messaging, use this in the creation of a press kit, or media kit. A press kit provides additional information and articles about your company and product to answer questions from investors, media, and more. Create a Company Backgrounder - a document that includes all the key information a journalist needs to gain a greater understanding about your company. Contents include a company description, the problem/solution, core capabilities of your product, competitive differentiator, and expertise - what makes your team unique. Being prepared enables you to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.
With the inundation of information online, capturing the attention of anyone is hard. Make the most of your efforts by creating messaging that is on target and compelling. Make it easy for your customers to want to do business with you. Show them you care.
Get help developing your messaging framework with Fly to Soar. Contact Us here.
Fun Fact
Where did the term elevator pitch originate?
The original “elevator pitch” comes from the studio days of Hollywood, when a screenwriter would (supposedly) catch an unsuspecting executive on an elevator ride, then use it as an opportunity to pitch their latest story.
Robin Anderson is a Managing Partner at Fly to Soar. She has worked as a marketer in the high-tech industry for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 100. Follow Robin and the Fly to Soar Team on Twitter @flytosoar.
Reference:
Start with why -- how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
The Secret of Making People Crave Your Product like Kids Crave Chocolate
https://medium.com/swlh/the-secret-of-making-people-crave-your-product-like-kids-crave-chocolate-2e9f170ae1b9
Additional notes:
Ultimate guide to creating a killer messaging framework to boost revenue
https://www.sugarbirdmarketing.com/how-to-create-a-brand-messaging-framework/