Video: Are You Sending the Right Marketing Message?

The Importance of the Right Marketing Message

Whether you are actively working on it or not, your company is constantly sending marketing messages to your current and potential clients. So don’t you want to send the right one? Let me share a quick story. Several years back there were some restaurants in our local area that didn’t really get a good handle on sending the right message. Their food was amazing! Customer service, second to none! But they missed the mark when it came to their marketing message. Their website wasn’t always up to date. Deals were hard to find. Worst of all their hours were not always accurate. So you might show up and they were closed. They didn’t update their business info. I bet you can guess where this is going…

Even though they had amazing food and prompt service, it wasn’t enough. Their inconsistent marketing message was too much to counterbalance and they eventually started closing locations.

What’s Your Current Message?

Before you can successfully dive into creating a new marketing message, you need to take a look at your existing message. You may be thinking to yourself, “I haven’t established a message yet.” That’s not true. As I said previously, whether you intend to or not, your company is sending messages.

Where do you start? Take a look at your existing marketing materials, email campaigns, your website, social media, and all of your other marketing. Really dive into them and determine what message is being sent. Store all that info for later use and move on to step two. Determine what you want to say.

Now, this is your time to shine. What makes you different as a business? Do you have goals? What are your company values? Determine what elements you want to include and then combine them into one clear message. That’s the message you’ll want to convey to your audience. After that, put your new message into action! Are you an eco-friendly company? Then package your products in an eco-friendly way.

Where to Focus Your Message?

If you want your message to be a success, where customers will latch onto and get behind your message, you need to carry it throughout ALL of your marketing. You can’t just use your message when it’s inexpensive, or convenient. This sounds like it will be easy, but it’s not. It means you’ll have to go the extra mile, and maybe even have to spend a few extra bucks to get your message to match your brand. Where should you focus? Here are the most popular areas where customers will interact with your message and brand.

Review Your Communication

Think emails, phone calls, print media, and online reviews. These are all big areas where you are communicating in some way with current or future clients and they will quickly make or break your marketing message. Not only that but communication contains aspects that are critical to the rest of your message. Let’s take a look at several areas individually and how they relate to the rest of your marketing.

Email

Are you sending too many emails? Or perhaps you’re not sending enough. The frequency of your emails, as well as your other marketing strategies, is an important element to master if you want to ensure you’re sending the right message. Too few emails may tell customers you don’t care about them. While too many emails will quickly get annoying. Whether you’re working on followups, or perhaps just day to day communication, decide on an email frequency. But don’t stop there! Continue to adjust and refine your frequency strategy based on your clients. After all, what works for one person probably won’t work for another. If you want more info on email marketing we’ve provided 6 email marketing practices to help with your campaign.

Phone Calls

Is your business professional on the phone? Do you have a phone number just for business? How do you answer it? Do you have an answering service or at least a voicemail box to field calls when you’re unavailable? Ask yourself all these questions and focus on professionalism. Professionalism is key! People pick up on the tone and what’s being said during your interactions. If you want to be successful, master professionalism. Then carry that professionalism through the rest of your marketing strategy.

Print Media

Let’s talk about quality. When you hand someone a business card, are you proud of it? Does the quality of the card match your business? If you are a business that focuses on high-quality products or services but you hand someone a cheap card, you are going to send mixed messages. Instead, you should hand them a high-quality business card. Maybe something completely unique or at the very least made of quality material. Make sure you carry that same quality through all the products you produce. Even something simple like promotional products should match your brand’s quality.

Online Reviews

Handling online reviews is often a tricky task even for the most well-versed business owners. We’ve covered how to build a Google review link and start gathering reviews in the past. But what do you do once you start receiving reviews? Especially if they contain criticism. The key is to acknowledge them and respond. Don’t ignore them or try to brush them aside. Doing so will be detrimental to your marketing message. Acknowledge and respond to all issues and criticism throughout your marketing. Doing so will show your customers you are human and ready and willing to make things right when issues arise.

What’s Your Website Saying?

Other than direct communication, your website is the biggest area where clients, and potential clients, will interact with your business. This means your website has to match your brand!

First, take a look at the way your website looks and feels overall. Are you that eco-friendly company? Then you should have a color palette that matches.

Second, make sure your website is up to date. Your location, hours, phone number, email, etc. should all be 100% accurate. This will tell your clients you care and allow them to contact you easily.

Third, take a look at your blog. Have you released a blog recently? Or was your last post a year ago? Regular upkeep and posting on your blog sends a message that you’re on top of things as a business.

Last but not least, security. Your website has to be secure. Would you believe we’ve seen tech companies with unsecured websites? Having a secure website will show your clients you care about their safety and will go the extra mile to ensure their information stays secure.

Review Your Social Media Accounts

Take a look at all of your social media accounts. Do all your accounts graphically match the branding of your business? It can be a lot to manage but it is imperative that your social media branding matches your business branding. If you have a high-quality website you need to have a high-quality Facebook page. Doing so will spread a message of consistency to your customers.

Once your branding is set, turn your attention to your content and the comments. You control both the content you’re releasing as well as the comments on your page. What you release and the comments you allow speak volumes about the type of company you are. Often times it’s best to avoid subjects like politics or your personal beliefs. Those can alienate people and occasionally turn into issues you won’t want to deal with. Monitor your content and your comments regularly and only allow what fits your message.

Bonus Tip: Take a look at the frequency of your messages on social media. Just like emails or posting on your blog, the frequency of your posts on social media is critical. If you have an account make sure you are using it. Because dormant accounts or accounts with outdated messages can hurt your business. If you don’t have the time, no worries. Either shut it down and circle back around when you do or make a plan to fit it in your schedule now.

Your Appearance Matters!

The last tip I want to share with you when thinking about your marketing message is, think about your appearance. Now you might be thinking to yourself. “Chris. What about someone like Mark Zuckerberg? He always wore a t-shirt and jeans and he didn’t care about his appearance.” Did he though? Zuckerberg is actually the perfect example of wearing the right outfit for the right occasion. Yes, in his day to day business operations or even sometimes on stage during reveals he wore his trademark look. But when he had to testify before Congress he knew it was time for a suit.

This couldn’t apply more to your business’ marketing message. Like it or not, clients and consumers alike will judge you and your employees for what you wear. If you’re a high-end business, your attire needs to send that message. You may even want to go as far as to have uniforms for each employee or a dress code you enforce. That will set you on the path to sending the right message.

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