Messaging  101  

January  22,  2014  

“You  can  have  everything  in  life  you  want,  if  you  will  just  help  other  people  get  what  they  want.”                      -­‐  Zig  Ziglar  

What  do  you  do?  

How  are    you  unique?  

Why  should  I  care?  

What  is  Messaging?  

Lets  companies  effecDvely  talk  about  their  products  and  the  key  benefits  to  the  right  target  audiences.  

Messaging    (aka  Core  Messaging)  

Why  is  Messaging  Important?  

•  Answers  the  “So  What?”  ques4on  •  Highlights  your  unique  quali4es  •  Differen4ates  you  from  rivals  •  Posi4ons  you  within  the  marketplace  

 

Sets  the  Table  for  MarkeDng  

PercepDon  is  Reality  

Photo  credit:  hEp://bit.ly/1fRu9fK  

Why  is  Messaging  So  Challenging?    

A  Lack  of  PerspecDve  

Sadly….It’s  All  About  You  

"I  don't  know  how  to  put  this,  but  I'm  kind  of  a  big  deal.”  -­‐  Ron  Burgundy  

Unclear  What  You  Actually  Do  

Spotlight  on  Features,  Not  Benefits  

vs.  Features   Benefits  

How  to    

Messaging  

Make  the  Customer  King  

Put  Yourself  in  the  Other  Person’s  Shoes  

Photo  credit:  hEp://bit.ly/1jofiaF  

Collect  Ideas  from  Everyone  

100  blog  post  ideas  in  less  than  5  hours  –  via  

Marcus  Sheridan  (aka  The  Sales  

Lion)  

Be Open to New

   

Get  Unbiased  PerspecDve  

The  Messaging  Process  

Discovery  

What  do    you  do?  

What  do  you  do?  

What  problems  are  you  solving?  

What  do  you  do?  

What  problem  are  you  solving?  

Who  needs  it?  

What  do  you  do?  

What  problem  are  you  solving?  

Who  needs  it?  

What’s  in  it  for  me?  

CompeDDve  Ecosystem  

  Financial  management    Financial  soWware    School  fund  accoun4ng  needs  

 

  Integrated  solu4on    Control  of  budgets  &    spending  

  Sophis4cated  workflow  

  Integrated  accoun4ng  and  payment  pla\orm  

  Fraud  preven4on    Clean  audits  

  Integrate  important  financial,  budge4ng  and  procurement  data  

  Centralize  tasks  and  processes    Real-­‐4me  insight  

  Amazing  produc4vity    BeEer  technology    

  Solu4ons  that  help  schools  to  maximize  their  resources  

  Seamless  integra4on  

Talk  to  Customers  or  PotenDal  Customers    

Target  Audiences  

Be  Different,  Unique…or  Both  

Photo  credit:  hEp://bit.ly/1eNhhBZ  

Draw  a  Line  in  the  Sand  

What  are  the  goals  for  the  blog?  How  will  you  measure  its  success?  

Messaging  

Key  Benefits  

Value  ProposiDons  

Leading  Features  

Boilerplate  

Elevator  Pitch  

PosiDoning  Statement  

The  Three  C’s    

One More Thing………

Never.  Stop.  Tweaking.  

Thanks!  www.markevans.ca    

@markevans    

mark@markevans.ca  

hdp://bit.ly/startupscanada    

Resources  How to come up with value propositions when what you sell isn’t unique http://bit.ly/1hVbvU8 SWOT Analysis – How to do it properly! http://bit.ly/1dOD8qQ The value of value propositions http://www.markevans.ca/2013/10/29/value-value-propositions/ For startups, perceptions is reality http://www.markevans.ca/2014/01/14/perception/ Why Simple Websites are Scientifically Better http://conversionxl.com/why-simple-websites-are-scientifically-better/