Messaging Rules for Early Stage Businesses

by Elizabeth Skalla, M.S.
October 12, 2014

One of the most difficult things for a company to do is continuously execute consistent messaging. We often believe that there is so much about our product (benefits and features) and we want everyone to know all of them! But that’s dangerous and can actually hurt your business.

New customers don’t know anything about your product. They are seeing it, hearing about it, and digesting it for the first time. At this point, they are really just trying to figure out 2 things – “What is this?” and “Why should I buy this?” As a marketer, it is our job to make these easy for customers to figure out. To do that, you really need to have 1 descriptive messaging property (either your slogan, tagline or key message) that answers what you are. It might sound boring, and the descriptive message might even be boringly written, but you need it. Repeat it over and over to your target audience. Don’t change it up, don’t confuse your audience and don’t give them with too much information or they won’t know what you are at all. Make it short and to the point.

The second question, “Why would I buy this?” Should be answered by your main benefit. You might have a ton of benefits and features, but every product needs one main benefit that your entire target audience cares about. This is the benefit that, ideally, is also your positioning which is built on the unique value proposition of your product. Showcase this main benefit in another messaging property. Make it simple to understand and make sure it answer the question “Why would I buy this?”

Once you have messaging properties that answer these two questions, the next most important thing to remember is to stay focused. Don’t create to many messaging properties, don’t throw to much out at your target audience, and be consistent. Once you have brand equity, you can start to have more fun with messaging – but in a business or product’s early stages you really need to follow these 101 messaging rules.

 

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