Today more than ever, having a clear, concise and relevant message is a requirement to connect with, and motivate, your target audience.
So often today we see messages that seem to start somewhere and end nowhere – the result of which is failed communication. Massive spending against a campaign cannot compensate for poor positioning of the brand.
The following seven guidelines will ensure effective communication with a target audience – whether it be the trade (marketers and potential marketers) or the end consumer. These guidelines are rooted in an understanding of what people want and need, and how they respond, which will be beneficial in developing the brand’s USP (unique selling proposition).
1. Establish a Product Personality
Effective marketing invests the product with a vivid, appealing personality that helps it stand out from the crowd. It signals genuine values. Building product personality takes consistency. Marketing, advertising, promotion and design all need to speak with the same voice.
2. Position the Product Clearly
Effective marketing makes it instantly clear where the product fits into the prospect’s life. Clear positioning picks the arena in which the brand is most likely to succeed.
3. Feature the Most Compelling Benefit
Effective marketing addresses a real need. It speaks as competitively as the facts allow. It is specific and single minded. The product, not the marketing or advertising elements, emerge as the star.
4. Break the Pattern
Effective marketing excites the senses. It separates itself from surrounding communications just as it separates the product from competing products.
5. Generate Trust
A prospect will not buy from a salesman he does not trust. Effective marketing not only speaks the truth, but everything about it rings true. It is simple, direct and empathetic.
6. Appeal to the Heart and Head – An Emotional Connection
No sale is made entirely in the mind. Sales are at least partially made in the heart. Effective marketing presents practical reasons to buy but also invests the message with emotional values consistent with the product’s personality.
Often Position statements are thought of as the following:
If I (ACTION), I will (BENEFIT), because (SUPPORT). What action do you want your target to take (buy, visit, call, use, etc.); what is the key benefit followed by support (brand attributes, research etc.) for that benefit?
Business Accelerator Team (BATeam) has developed a finely crafted consulting niche that equates to revenue generation. Since 2015, this team of industry experts has been combining their 350 years of collective experience to improve growth and profitability for a range of clients. Our consultancy serves suppliers, retailers and media in retailing and foodservice by operating as an outside-in catalyst assisting with insight, strategy, marketing and key industry connections. Our individualized consulting plans provide business-development expertise across the petroleum, convenience store, grocery and multi-channel retailing, media, digital and CPG.
