Action Plans that Drive Business Part 4: Message and Brand

By Kelly Coulter 

 

Define your audience’s perception

Ever wonder what people say about you when you leave the room? You leave an impression on the people around you with every interaction. That impression becomes their perception of you in very real ways.

In business, your brand defines the things people say about your company when you aren’t around. Your message leaves the impression. The messages your company uses in ads, articles, posts, and otherwise define the perception.

So far in this series we have examined your goals, your audience, and your search optimization. These help you understand where to market, what to say, and what to expect.

Today I want you define what people ‘get’ about your company. When you market, what information and impression do people walk away having? We do this by making some lists, and refining them into a checklist. That checklist will become a litmus test for everything the company publishes. When you post on Facebook, or publish an ad, you will first run through the checklist. If the post or ad tells the story you have outlined in your checklist, you are ready to go. If not, you need to make refinements.

Follow the process below to create your company’s checklist.

 

Your Truths

I talk to my clients a lot about their ‘brand truths.’ Some might call this your unique value proposition. It’s the things that are fundamentally true and unique to your company.

• What differentiates you from your competitors?
• What are the things you can say about your company that no one else can say?
• Why do you do what you do?
• How do you continue to offer your product/service reliably in a way that is unique to your company?

Take 5 minutes to write your brand truths out on a blank page or whiteboard. Jot down every idea and thought you have without taking time to organize them at first. After your initial 5 minute session you can organize your truths into a coherent list.

 

Your Services/Product List

In order to define your message you need to be super-clear on what you do. We all have a list of products or services, but lets extend this idea.

Get a new sheet of paper and make two columns. In your first column list everything you want to offer. What are the things your company does really well? And what are the things that you do well AND that make you money??

In the second column list everything you DON’T want to offer. These might be things you are currently offering, and that’s OK. You can list them here, even if you don’t plan to stop offering them anytime soon.

It’s important to get clear on your offering, and to start thinking about what your offering might look like in the future. These lists will help you define the types of things you want to convey to customers.

 

Customer Pain Points

What does your priority audiences struggle with? You may have already listed pain points when you defined your audiences. Now, take this a step further. Make a list of questions your customers ask most often. Add pain points to it, and make a list of questions your customers may have, but aren’t asking.

 

Creating your checklist

The exercises help you gain insight. Now is the time to refine. Your checklist should consist of 3-5 thoughts you want to convey to customers and potential customers.

Each item your checklist should answer the question “How is my company best qualified to solve our customers’ problems?

This doesn’t mean that you are limited to this list when creating ads, articles, posts, etc. Rather, it means the customer understands these things about you after reading your message.

 

Your Assignment

In your action plan building assignment this week I will ask you to perform a little research regarding search and your product. It will help you gain an understanding of the way potential customers are using search engines to find you (or your competitors.)

Here’s how:

1. Pull out the action plan document you started in week #1. If you missed the first articles in this series, here are the links:

Part #1: https://midlandsbiz.whosonthemove.com/action-plans-that-drive-business-part-1-creating-goals/

Part #2: https://midlandsbiz.whosonthemove.com/action-plans-that-drive-business-part-2-your-priority-audiences/

Part #3: https://midlandsbiz.whosonthemove.com/action-plans-that-drive-business-part-3-search-optimization/

2. Make a new page in your action plan document titled “Brand and Message”. Document your brand truths, service/product list, and customer pain points. Then make your message checklist.

Next week we will discuss creating an editorial calendar that engages customers and supports search engine optimization. In the meantime, send me your questions at [email protected]. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

 

About Kelly Coulter

Hi, I’m Kelly Coulter (Kelly Coulter and Associates; KellyCoulter.com.) We help companies like yours grow and engage customers with killer websites, share-able social media, and data-driven search optimization. We are located in Columbia, and we do work for companies across the country. 

Want to talk? Email me at [email protected] or sign up for a consultation time that works for you here: https://calendly.com/kellylcoulter/free-20-minute-consultation