There’s an old adage that if you have to explain your message, you’ve already lost. That is particularly true today when consumers are constantly assaulted with marketing messages. The messages that break through the clutter and noise are short, attention-grabbing and easy to understand.
It’s natural to want to explain all the great reasons why someone should buy your product, buy from you, or hire your service. But your primary message should be simple enough to clearly identify what you do.
I first saw this lesson in action more than twenty years ago when I sat in on a negotiation session between a Fortune 500 company’s purchasing department and representatives from one of the three leading overnight delivery companies. The primary rep was being bombarded with questions about service level agreements, processes, and operating systems when he stopped the conversation.
He essentially said, “Look, what we do is simple. We pick up your package, take it to the destination as quickly as possible, and deliver it.” His simple statement refocused the conversation on why we were all meeting in the first place. It cut through the clutter, distractions and noise. There was a need, and the delivery company could meet that need. In fact, they were one of the top two companies in the world that could meet the need at the time.
Think about your marketing and all the messages you share. Do you have a simple statement that makes it easy to communicate what you do? If you sell a common product or service, can you simply share why your company is better for your customers?
Getting to a simple message can be surprisingly easy. Just complete this statement: “What we do is simple. We…”
Start with simple. You can always elaborate once your audience knows what you do.
