Let’s talk about the silent sales killer you often don’t see coming – your messaging. To make it clear, I’m talking about boring, vanilla messaging.
Small business owners show up actively online, sharing their valuable offers, using high quality brand photos and wonder why they aren’t seeing traction in their sales. They worry if it’s their pricing when it’s simply that their customers are hearing vague, generalized messaging that isn’t specific to them or why they need what’s being sold!
We’ve all seen this kind of sabotage hiding in plain sight before:
- A sales page that could apply to 20 different industries.
- A web page headline that reads like a mission statement.
- An instagram bio that tells people what you do – but not why it matters to them.
The truth is that every moment spent putting out unclear messaging is a missed conversion. The brands you see bringing in the sales are getting crystal clear on who they help, how they help them and the core message their customers need to hear to know they are going to deliver exactly what they crave most!
Core Messaging Doesn’t Equal Brand Voice or Copy
Let’s clear this up! Your brand voice and the copy that supports your website and marketing assets are not the same thing as your core message. Your brand voice is how you speak; your tone, style and personality coming through as a business. Yes, your copy includes messaging, but we’re not talking about the all encompassing verbiage you write on your sales pages, product descriptions, emails and website.
We are talking about the heart of it all! The billboard statement of your business! My speaking coach, Jessica Rasdall, always says, “What would your billboard say?” She has her students identify the one thing they would plaster across Times Square if they had one shot to catch their dream client’s attention. So, ask yourself right now – what would yours say?
You wouldn’t write everything you do or include a dozen bullet points of what’s included in your offers. Instead, you’d lean in and identify the main message you wanted millions of people to see from your brand every day!
3 Steps to Identify and Craft Your Core Messaging
Ready to uncover your message and let it lead your marketing?
#1 Define the One Thing You Do Best
What is the core outcome or transformation you create for your customers? This is how you set the foundation for your core message! For what do I want people to come to me? What do I know my business does best? What results am I confident that I get for my customers? That’s your starting point.
#2 Find the Gaps in Your Messaging
Now that you know the meat of your core message, think about how you speak to it in a way that matters to your specific ideal buyer! You can promise the moon, but why do they care? Why does the transformation or promise I provide matter to them? How does my service or product make them feel? What is the real reason they want or need this offer – the social or emotional one they aren’t saying?
#3 Get the Good Stuff Front & Center
Your core message is the compass that should guide all of your content and copy! Look at your website or sales page for instance, and be sure the words that speak to your core message most aren’t hiding! Test out different ways of speaking to your core message to see what resonates to your audience most.
Make Your Messaging Stop Their Scroll
Even if you hired a copywriter last year or just wrapped up your website copy, go back and make sure your core message isn’t hiding in the land of vague vanilla messaging! Make updates where your verbiage makes you feel something! Your dream clients are out there waiting to see you really get them and their needs!
Hustle & Heart Challenge
This month, block 30 minutes on your calendar to really dig deep into your core messaging by reviewing what you really want to be known for and how your business is speaking directly to the customers who need what you do most!