We have spoken about marketing campaigns, customer retention, transitioning from offline to online, and many fascinating and helpful concepts that can help you develop your business. There is one simple yet intricate part of a business that is common throughout every company in the world: a core marketing message. Understanding why you have a business and what it is about is the crux of marketing.
The core message of your company is the single biggest differentiator between you and your competitors. Companies that get it right can take on competitors that have a perceived advantage. The key to getting it right is not about a tagline or slogan but a statement that defines your company and provides an answer to the why and what of your company. Having a core marketing message will make it easier for you to communicate your message to your audience cohesively. This blog will help you answer the question: “What should your company’s core marketing message be, and what does it stand for?”
Imagine you are a developing business. You are rising steadily to the top. Now, a wealthy businessman would like to invest in your business. You are all on board to agree with him, except he asks you, “What does your company stand for?”. If you have no answer to it, you lose the opportunity of your lifetime just because you did not identify your core marketing message.
This is why it is important for your business to identify your core marketing message. It is because, be it a rich investor or a loyal customer, they need to know what your company stands for and how they can be a part of it.
Usually, you start your business with a mission statement that defines what you look forward to doing with your company. It can easily be confused for your core marketing message. Your core marketing message takes your mission statement and induces life into it.
Customers do not prefer to read a long and official statement on what YOU want to do with YOUR company. They want to know what your company stands for and how they can stand along with it. In marketing, this is called a unique value proposition (UVP).
Conveying your message, uniqueness and what your company stands for is what sets you aside from your competitors.
Once you have identified your core marketing message, it is ready to roll into your marketing campaigns. Your core marketing message is not a usual sentence that should be everywhere. It is a concept that will show up all over the content that you develop and deliver for your audience.
Your core marketing message must resonate with your audience so much that the instant they hear your product or company, they get reminded of what your company stands for. This is the mark you need to reach. Let us see how to create a core marketing message.
As said, your core marketing message can exponentially increase your customer base if crafted properly. Your message needs to reach your audience’s heart and convert them into your customers. We shall see how to create a core marketing message that can captivate your audience.
The plan behind a core marketing message is to convey your company’s message to your audience. Unless you know your target audience, creating a core marketing message is of no use. The target audience is the group of customers with similar characteristics in shopping. It can have use of the product you provide. The industry you are a part of determines your overall audience. However, it is important to understand your audience deeper.
You can identify and understand your target audience in several ways. Some of them are:
i. Analyze your industry and your probable competitors
ii. Conduct buyer persona researches based on your product
iii. Use a reverse process and identify who cannot be your audience and narrow it down
iv. Invite people to focus groups and interviews
v. Utilize the help of technology; Google Analytics, Piwik Pro Analysis, etc
You may get a broad idea of what your demographics are once you have done the abovementioned steps. This will help you lay the foundation for your business and personalize your marketing campaigns accordingly.
Once you have identified your market and audience, you need to do everything to convert them into your customers. A crucial step to do this is understanding their pain points. Pain points in marketing refer to the issues your target market is facing that need to be resolved. They expect your company to provide a solution for their problem. But providing a solution isn’t the only thing your company should do. Your company must be equipped to solve any futuristic issues that may arise from your target audience. This can be strengthened by a proper and neat core marketing message.
Understanding the pain points can help you construct a planned and proper marketing message that will address their issues. There will be no guesswork needed on how to create a proper message if you understand the issues to be handled by your product.
Your brand’s uniqueness is what is going to set you apart from your competitors. Hence, showcasing your originality is key to the growth of your company. Following the usual marketing method will put you on the bandwagon of companies doing the same and not yield results.
How you project your core marketing message and combining it with the uniqueness that sets you apart from your competition speaks more than just words. Have a well-thought plan and combine it with your marketing message. This is a surefire method to garner and attract your target audience while standing out from your competition which are two vital points for the development of your company.
The basics of a core marketing message are explained to you. But you need to bring the best out of your message. Hence, we have a few crucial elements that make your message even better. Let us see what they are:
We already had a glimpse of UVP previously, but it is one of the key components of a core marketing message. Your unique value proposition should be benefits-focused. Your customers need to know what they can gain from your product rather than explaining your product. Focus on your target audience and build your UVP from there. This will help in easy communication with your audience and know what they want with your company.
Once your company has reached a certain level, the question “What does your company do?” is bound to arrive. As explained already, if you do not have a steady and instant answer for this, you lose a customer or an investor. It is important to realize that your elevator pitch should be something that does not speak about your UVP. It should be something simple and understandable to a layman. Be creative and be simple. And you will have your elevator pitch ready in no time.
How can you know if your core message lives up to the standard or not? The answer is to analyze your competition and notice what they stand for. Find out what sets them apart to be on the top. Dig deep into how your UVP differs from theirs. Search for what they offer to your target audience that you do not. By doing all this, you will get a broad idea of how and what aspects to focus on to develop the perfect core marketing message.
We have explained the niceties that go in and around creating a core marketing message. We also explained how to formulate your message efficiently and effectively. However, this is not the formula for success but rather the tip of the iceberg. You need all the help you need to be at the absolute best. Technology is an amazingly effective partner in helping you do it.
