The key to successful marketing is to brand your business and this is something that requires planning. Think of every brand you love. Each one has a strong personality that comes through in all the things they do. How does it look when they do something ‘off brand?’ For example, you’re reading their Facebook news feed and there’s an update that seems completely unlike them. It’s jarring for customers to see this and that’s why branding has to be consistent to work properly.

The way to be consistent is to develop a good marketing message. This is a statement that underlies everything you do. As long as it’s in place, you can make sure that everything you do is consistent, and that’s important for gaining your customers’ trust. It also helps to tell the world what you’re all about.

It All Starts with Pain

There are lots of ways to create a winning marketing message. The most effective is to focus on your target market’s pain or problem.

Your marketing message identifies that pain and then offers a solution – your product. When writing your marketing message, also try to include the benefits or results they’ll get, and how your solution is different from all the other ones out there.

Here’s the key to crafting a great marketing message – it has nothing to do with your customer. It’s all about them. Whenever you mention your product, mention it in terms of how it helps them. When you describe its features, relate each feature to a benefit they’ll feel. Everything about your message should be cantered on the customer.

Keeping It Consistent

For each of your online marketing strategies, start by looking at your marketing message. Write it down and refer to it. Ask yourself – does this action or promotion relate to my message? The more you keep it in line with the message the better.

Consistency is key, so you shouldn’t change your message over time. Again, think of all the brands you love. Have they made any major changes to their fundamental message over the years? Probably they haven’t. Or if they have, it was just once a long time ago when they were struggling.

You should only change your marketing message when it isn’t working. You’ll know it’s not working because all of your efforts will fail, not just a thing or two. What this means is that it’s not getting those benefits across to your target market. It’s not speaking their language and telling them what your offer can do for them.

To get ideas, look at some of the brands you love. Take your top 5 or so and look closely at how they market themselves. You’ll see common themes. Ask yourself these four questions:

– What pain or problem do they identify?

– What’s their solution to that problem?

– What results do I get from using the product?

– How’s it different?

Study the masters and use it as a template for your own message.

Tony