A Message Worth Hearing

Last week’s post focused on the importance of a company’s vision, values, and mission, and the importance of engaging employees to rally behind the organization’s cause. How can a company take the next steps to engage stakeholders externally to invest in their organization? 

It begins with strategic communication. A company needs to identify its key message and best placements to distribute that message consistently among all stakeholders. 

Vice President of FedEx, T. Michael Glenn, says, “Communication is the center of everything. You can’t execute strategy if you can’t communicate about it.” 

What is strategic communication? Catmedia defines strategic communication as “communication that is aligned with a company’s overall strategy in order to enhance its strategic positioning.” To communicate and engage, decide what information needs to be shared externally, and develop a consistent message to distribute throughout a variety of well-considered outlets. 

So let us break down the steps a company should take to determine their messaging and targeted placement.

In The Marketing Playbook, Myk Pono states, “The right message needs to repeatedly reach the right customer in the right market to validate the startup’s existence.”

Consider the following questions:

• What problem does the company aim to solve?
• What is the company’s vision?
• What is the company's value proposition?
• What is the company's brand positioning?
• Who is the target audience?
• What is the market opportunity for the company? 

After answering these questions, utilize the feedback to package the message in an inspiring and easy-to-follow story. The goal is to explain how the company has the solution to its customer's problem. 

Myk’s Messaging Map provides a framework to guide the process of determining key messaging. For an example of each, I will use the company I work for, Feeding the Gulf Coast, to develop messaging.

1. Develop a Tagline/Headline: a 5-word description that defines the company. Ex. Serving the Central Gulf Coast.
   (Quickly identifies our service area, but is still vague on what we do.)
2. Develop a 25-word description statement with a one-sentence formula: Company {does i.e., value to customer} to {help target customers} with {problem company strives to solve}.
   Ex. Feeding the Gulf Coast operates hunger-relief programs, providing food and resources to help the over 350,000 individuals in need along the Central Gulf Coast.
   (You now know that we are a hunger-relief company that works to end hunger throughout our service area.)
3. Develop a 50-word description statement to include the company’s values.
   Ex. Feeding the Gulf Coast is a non-profit hunger-relief organization that works through the hands and feet of over 400 community partners to end hunger along the Central Gulf Coast. Every year through these partners, we distribute over 20 million meals to those struggling to find their next meal.
   (You now know more about how we work and our vision.)

Next, determine the company’s audience and what they care about most. A few years ago, our company set up a common messaging task force comprised of individuals from various departments. One key goal was to determine who our key stakeholders were and what information mattered the most to them. We identified four groups of key publics and what messaging approach was ideal for each group:

1. Funders: Foundations/Grantors/Corporate Donors/Individuals Information presented to this group needs to show community impact and how their funds contribute to ongoing efforts.
2. Distribution Partners: Agencies/Child Nutrition Sites/Community Groups Information presented to this group needs to show mutual benefits for partnership, highlighting how the food bank can be a resource for their business. 
3. General Advocates: Food & Fund Drive Donors/Volunteers/Do-Gooders Information presented to this group needs to be easy to understand, non-jargon terms, and sharable through social media outlets with a call-to-action message.
4. Internal Stakeholders: Employees/Board of Directors/Advisory Members Information presented to this group needs to be educational, consistent, and transparent. 

We utilize this information to make sure the message is tailored to the intended audience. A grant request will sound very different from a quarterly newsletter, but the message is the same. Once a company determines its messaging and target audience, they need to determine the best placements for distributing their message. 

According to eMarketer, the digital trend is on the rise, predicting that U.S. digital ad spend will increase by over 19% in 2019, while traditional advertising spend will decrease by 19%. With so many new methods of advertising, it is essential to consider your audience and know where are they located. 

In one of my earlier posts, I discussed an integrated marketing campaign that Feeding the Gulf Coast does each year to promote our Summer Meals Program. Since 2016, we have utilized a variety of distribution methods to promote the program to parents. Over the past three years, we have increasingly spent more of our money on digital style ads because we have found that for our purpose, they have more ROI. 

At the end of this past summer, we implemented a geofencing campaign to reach general clients in need. The first step we took was to identify our target audience; the company took it from there to identify popular locations that fit the target demographic and set up geofences around those locations. Once an individual entered that area and used their smartphone, they would receive one of our targeted ads. Why choose this method? According to the Pew Research Center, a large amount of U.S. citizens utilize smartphones as their primary means of online access. Roughly one-in-five American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users – meaning they own a smartphone but do not have traditional home broadband service. We were targeting a lower-income group for our services. It is essential to understand your customers and meet them where they are when they are most interested in purchasing from your company. 

The digital landscape is making location-based marketing incredibly smart and functional. There are a variety of methods to target customers, and because digital allows for very detailed canvassing, advertisers can spend less to create a broader appeal. 

This week, I have walked you through the importance of strategic messaging, identifying your target audience, and determining the placement of your message. I would like to end on one final important pair of concepts: simplicity and consistency. 

People are bombarded with messages all day everywhere they turn. Your message needs to be simple enough to grasp and remember quickly. It should also be consistent throughout every placement method you use.  

“The best approach in our over-communicated society is the oversimplified message.” Al Ries