Small Biz Marketing: What's Your Core Message?

In a recent survey of company web sites, only 20% of sites effectively communicated their core message. The others merely talked about who they were and what they did. So, if you can do this right, you can jump ahead of 80% of your competition!

What exactly is your core message? It is what makes you unique—the benefits you give your customers that set you apart from your competitors.

Your small business’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is the foundation of your core message. Use it to position yourself in the marketplace and communicate your value to your customers.

5 Tips for Developing Your Core Message

Focus on your customer. Your customers are only interested in what you can do for them. Identify their needs and then offer a solution.

Understand your business’s USP (unique selling point). This is your core message—how you are different from your competitors, how you can solve your customers’ problems. Identify your USP and be sure your marketing messages communicate it.

Communicate your USP to your target audience. Find out as much as you can about your potential customers, what is “keeping them up at night.” Getting inside your target audience’s mind is not easy. It often requires research and hard work, but it is worth it.

Make sure your core message does not change. Once you have identified it, do not deviate from it and communicate it across all your marketing materials. This helps you to build a strong brand identity.

Communicate your core message consistently. If you do, your marketing results will improve, as shown by these National Sales Executive statistics:

• 2% of sales are made on 1st contact
• 3% of sales are made on 2nd contact
• 5% of sales are made on 3rd contact
• 10% of sales are made on 4th contact
• 80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact

Implement these five steps and you’ll be ahead of your competition—and more likely to see a stronger return on your marketing investment.

© Marketing Hotspots 2008 - Vol. 1, Issue 8