The aim is to get your brand, products, and services in front of as many potential customers as possible, right? The more people you reach, the more chances you have to make a great first impression and turn a one-time buyer into a loyal fan.

But in our digital world, where we are exposed to an almost infinite number of ads and offers, it’s getting harder and harder to cut through the noise and get noticed. One of the best ways to get noticed is by using a few key messages repeatedly in your content, so that customers start to associate your brand, product or service with those messages.

This is also why it’s important to sell the sizzle and not the sausage, especially in B2B.

So today is a reminder of how important it is to remember who’s buying or benefitting and why they should even bother listening, for every campaign you are working on. I cover my insights and tips on how and throw some examples for you too.

Let’s dive in!

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Full transcript (unedited)

Is the aim right to get your brand, products, and services in front of as many potential customers as possible? The more people you reach, the more chances you have to make a great first impression and turn a one-time buyer into a loyal fan.

 

But in our digital world, where we are exposed to an almost infinite number of ads and offers, it’s getting harder and harder to cut through the noise and get noticed. One of the best ways to get noticed is by using a few key messages repeatedly in your content, so that customers start to associate your brand, product or service with those messages.

 

This is also why it’s important to sell the sizzle and not the sausage, especially in B2B.

 

So today is a reminder of how important it is to remember who’s buying or benefitting and why they should even bother listening, for every campaign you are working on. I cover my insights and tips on how and throw some examples for you too.

 

Let’s dive in!

Marketing, PR and marketing communication can be a complex and broad world of experts, where you can spend years learning new techniques, theories and strategies. But no matter how much knowledge you gain, you can’t escape the fact that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to a handful of simple messages.

Most of us only hear a couple of the messages that our favorite brands send out into the world, but if you listen closely, you’ll realize that they all center around the same thing. It’s a difficult thing to admit, but most companies only have a few key messages, and they’re all they need.

 

Here are a few pointers;

 

Firstly a key message is not a catchphrase or similar but a key message is the thing you want customers to takeaway or do once they have read it, it should speak to their pain points, make sense and be relatable, and make them think.

 

Secondly there is the difference between the value of something and a feature.

i.e. Zero carbon energy is a feature, lower electric bills is the value that feature brings. This is so often overlooked.

 

Thirdly you cannot think about creating a key message without understanding who is buying or benefitting from the product or service in the first place.

 

People don’t go to the gym because they want to go the gym. People go to the gym because they want to live longer and look good.

 

This last one is really crucial and I often see people create key messages about a programme or project and there’s not real insight into who it should appeal to and why. It’s all sell, sell, sell.

 

This is especially true for B2B where the marketing focuses on what has been achieved by the company not what value it has brought to its customers.

 

I get it, because you need to be selling, but it’s also important to understand why people are buying. If you’re selling a service or product, you need to understand what that service is going to do for someone. If you’re selling a product, you need to understand why that product is better than your competitors and what transformation owning or using that product will bring. And so on.

 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to understand the customer and what drives them to buy. If you don’t know who you’re targeting, how can you speak to them in the right way? It’s about creating something that resonates with the person you’re aiming to reach. And that doesn’t happen by accident unfortunately, or by sitting in a room scribbling notes from a company’s website.

 

So make sure you spend some time getting to know your customers and figuring out what’s important to them and why they should even bother listening to your message in the first place. If you can’t get that right, it’s going to be really hard to get your marketing to a higher level.

 

Another reason to do this is that, sometimes, the person buying your product or service is not the same person who will use it. This can really trip people up when you are comms planning. So many businesses see their audience as the person who uses the product but this isn’t always the case.

 

For example, if you sell or build products for other people to sell on as their own, cars, wholesale unbranded lawnmowers, houses etc.

 

You are in a supply chain or selling business to business.

Ask yourself, are you dealing with the end user?

Who is signing your contract with you?

 

If you require someone else to buy from you and they are selling it on to the end user, then your communication needs to be aimed at that person who is buying from you. Is it appealing to them? Why should they order from you?

 

This is where things become complex as whilst they need to understand how compelling the product is for consumers in order to stock it they also need to know why they should buy it from you.

 

Some features may be; Is yours lighter, easy to store, made in the UK or USA so no shipping costs or is it ethically sourced, available to bulk buy.

 

Maybe it’s the cheapest option, or it appeals to a niche market. Maybe you have a great returns policy or an offer on delivery. Whatever it is, they need to know why they need to buy from you.

These are all good reasons, but what’s the transformation in these circumstances?

And what problem are you solving?

Is this a hassle-free way for them to benefit from the electric car market without having to invest in creating their own? or a way of adding net zero housing to their product portfolio without the risk or investment or expertise to build a product from scratch?

 

Maybe they want to create net zero houses recognising this is what the market needs, and your service offers a risk-free way of doing so with no upfront staff or R&D costs.

 

Whatever it is, it’s vital that you can communicate how this product is better for the end buyer than your competitors. But it’s also about creating something that resonates with both sides as if noone is buying, no one is making any money.

 

You can sell all you like to the end user, but the reality is they can’t buy your product unless they can buy it from your intermediary in this example.

 

Finally Here are a couple of B2B examples you might like;

 

Zapier do this really well

Connect your apps and automate workflows

Then there are a couple of explanatory messages underneath and further down in their marketing that address the how and why and who its for

Mailchimp also have clear messaging around what they offer, to who and how and its value based message.

 

So today I would like you to really Think about your offer: who is buying and who is benefiting?

 

I often run key message workshops but if you don’t have time for that in-depth look you can take this quick 60 minute training as a helpful reminder or to learn the ‘how’ at running speed