Our objective is to help you increase your sales by “sharpening your message.” And importantly, we seek to increase your sales without increasing your sales expense! Here’s our process:
Understanding Your Customer
It’s been said that “if you want to sell what John Smith buys, then see the world through John Smith’s eyes.” During this phase we talk with your customers…either directly, one on one, or through a third party marketing research study (focus groups and/or surveys). Irrespective of the technique, the objective is the same: we want to understand why, in their own words, your customer buys your product/service. We want to understand any underlying emotional issues and what motivates them to take action.
In addition to your customers/users…we also interview your competitor’s customers and people you consider to be your “prospects.”
Marketing GPS
First we view the competitive landscape to determine who owns what space. This assessment is based on a matrix, using the key factors within your category and the delivery of key customer benefits. We literally plot your “position” against your competition. We not only plot where you think you are, but also, where you’d like to be.
A common issue with many clients is that they have for too long tried to be “all things to all people.” The benefit of this phase is that it forces you to commit, to choose, to take a stand…to take a position…and stick with it. It’s a discipline that has proved to be very rewarding.
Describing Your Brand Personality
Like good clothes, your marketing messages have to “fit.” That is, they need to be consistent with or match the personality of your brand/product. What’s a brand personality? For example, if we were to see your brand “walking” down the street: How would it be dressed? How would it act? Who would it be with? In this phase we literally describe “who” your brand is. And, because this is part of your marketing communications strategy, it provides valuable guidance for the creative people who work on your messages. It is also a very helpful aid to you when it comes time to evaluate alternative creative executions. “Is the creative work consistent with your brand personality?” Or, said another way: “Does it fit?”
Reducing It All Down To Your “Value Proposition”
This step provides the final, strategic foundation for all your messages. We use a diagnostic approach in this phase, so that there can be no doubt about “who” you want to reach and “what” you want to say to them. The strategy covers:
- Target Audience: We describe your target audience, not in just bare bones
demographic terms, but rather, a real description of real people, real customers
who have real problems/issues.
- Primary Benefit: It’s often a struggle to “reduce” your many benefits down to
one, but that is our goal. What is the primary thing your audience wants to hear?
- Reasons Why: These are the “features” of your product/service that enable you
to deliver the key benefit.
- The Focus of Sale: Finally, we boil it all down to the essence of your message…written in just one or two sentences…your “value proposition” to your customers.
The end result is a clearly stated, focused creative strategy for your product/service. During this process we have separated the wheat from the chaff. We have included what must be communicated, and have eliminated all those “extras” that get in the way. We’ve created a simple, yet comprehensive document that provides excellent direction to any and all creative people who work with you. It will be their job to figure out “how” to best deliver the message…but now there is no doubt about “what” the message must communicate.
How & Where
Before the first ad is written or the web site designed, we prepare a “marketing menu” to provide the client with a wide variety of communications opportunities, covering both electronic and printed materials. This “menu” also shows an estimated production budget for each item, so the client can pick and choose the options that fit within their budget.
We have a strong working relationship with a number of talented, creative professionals. Often a client asks us to serve as the coordinator for their creative work, assembling the creative team and also supervising the work, to ensure that the output is on strategy and within budget! Some clients already have a relationship with a creative person or agency. In this case the team is already in place, however, we can still serve as a “creative liaison” for the client.
How do creative people feel about working with us? And, working from such a clearly stated, focused creative strategy?
Having a clearly defined target to aim at makes all the difference in the world. It prevents wasted time and eliminates the “I’ll-know-it-when-I-see-it” mentality. It allows me to concentrate on the best way to present the message, rather than spending time guessing about what to say.
Roger Howard
Creative That Sells
rhoward@CreativeThatSells.com
As a creative professional, I view a creative strategy as invaluable…it greatly helps set the direction toward a design solution.
Brian Hajas
Hajas Design
www.hajasdesign.com
Often the most difficult part of a project is getting clear direction. Jim provides a valuable service, delivering a solid plan to accomplish the client’s objectives. This frees me up to do what I do best: design. The end result is a great looking piece that is on target.
Todd Baxter
Todd Baxter Design
www.toddbaxterdesign.com
Our Sharpen Your Message process works for any product, any service. You see, there really is a “method to the madness” of marketing. Contact us and let us put it to work for you!