Welcome to the 2022 summer hacks series! These are really short ‘food for thought’ bite-sized episodes so you can dive in when you have a moment.
I decided to focus on planning tips over the summer. Why? Because when people think about comms planning, they often focus on what they are going to say. You have a great product or service and you want to tell people about it. Focusing on the message seems the logical first step.
But before you start typing, let alone promoting your offer, there are some vital actions you need to take. I’m going to give you an overview of the 7 steps to effective comms planning over the summer hack series. I use this process with all my clients, no matter whether it’s a new product or we’re marketing a built environment project.
This third in the series is all about messages – what will you say and how?
Let’s dive in!
Links mentioned in this episode
My FREE Seven Steps Webinar – https://mailchi.mp/henbe.co.uk/free-webinar-7-steps-190722
Liked Listening today? What to do next:
Get my FREE roadmap to get more strategic with communication activity in your business.
Listen to more episodes, take some training, or download a resource: Find out more here.
Hire my expertise
Whether that’s support with a one-off comms project or an entire strategy for your business, drop me a line if you want to explore this further. You can also work with me 1:1 as a trainer and mentor – emma@henbe.co.uk
Work with me closely
If you’d like to work with me to develop and implement your communication strategy through 1:1 work, podcasts, workbooks, sharing ideas, and lots of accountability and up-skilling, then email me at emma@henbe.co.uk to register your interest for you or your entire team.
Leave me a voicemail on my Speakpipe page I would love to hear your feedback on this episode and thoughts on any topics I could include in future ones too.
Full Transcript (unedited)
Welcome to the 2022 summer hacks series! These are really short ‘food for thought’ bite-sized episodes so you can dive in when you have a moment.
I decided to focus on planning tips over the summer. Why? Because when people think about comms planning, they often focus on what they are going to say. You have a great product or service and you want to tell people about it. Focusing on the message seems the logical first step.
But before you start typing, let alone promoting your offer, there are some vital actions you need to take. I’m going to give you an overview of the 7 steps to effective comms planning over the summer hack series. I use this process with all my clients, no matter whether it’s a new product or we’re marketing a built environment project.
This third in the series is all about messages – what will you say and how?
Let’s dive in!
What are you saying to potential customers about your product or service?
But do you know what they want to hear?
You know the features and benefits of what you are selling. Hopefully, you’ve done your market research on who you are selling to and those messages have been tailored to your audience.
What else are the people you want to reach looking for?
This links a bit to the first episode on purpose, as being clear on your why will help inform your messages. It will underpin how you tell people what you do and why, as well as how your widget works.
This is how you stand out and why people will choose you over others who may sell the same widget. Yes, there’s price point and functionality but then it comes down to like for like, we want to feel that we know a brand or company and trust them to deliver on their promise.
You might be in a competitive market. Let’s say you manufacture lawnmowers. There are lots of lawnmowers on the market so you need to think about what the person buying lawnmowers is going to want to know. An important thing to bear in mind is that your customer is unlikely to be the person who will use the lawnmower if you work in B2B for example. You’re selling to an intermediary, whether that’s a wholesaler or a retailer – so it’s their wants you’re tapping into.
If they are deciding which models to stock, something they could be interested in is whether you are going to give them a better margin. They might want to know about your sales process. Is it really easy to take delivery? How long is the lead time? What happens about spare parts, or if one of their customers has a complaint? How are you going to make it simple and attractive for them to buy from you? Where do you make your widget? What are your environmental credentials? How many customers have you helped? Why do customers like working with you?
Maybe you’re finding you’re getting no traction and this could be why so it’s worth reviewing your messages to see if you’ve maybe missed a trick somewhere.
Your unique business story is the special ingredient that sets you apart from the competition. When it’s told in a way that’s compelling, it really, really does sell. It’s the thing that you do that resonates with your customers or audience, and it can be used consistently across all your materials. So whether that’s your website or your newsletter, or all of your content, a great story cuts through the jargon and speaks directly to your audience, whether that’s customers, investors, or potential new recruits.
So what we want to focus on is the overarching reason you do what you do, – see the link back to purpose there? – as this is at the very heart of your story. Solving people’s problems is at the heart of your story. So we’re putting that people-led or audience-led problem at the heart of your story.
If you like this series or want to know more about any of these steps, I am running a free webinar in the autumn on this topic where you can learn more and find out about my masterclass which is a deep dive to help you plan, write and execute your communication strategy.
If you want 1:1 advice and insight on how to be more strategic with your plans, get in touch to see how I can help you. I added a link in the show notes today to my cheatsheet for you which covers the 7 steps – give it a go. I would love to know how you got on.