Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
With all of these resources at our fingertips, it is easy to see how simple it would be to get carried away with all of the ways in which to promote a new company, idea or product. Yet with so many quick and instant ways to engage the public about new ideas, thoughts and trends, it is critical for small businesses to remember that quality of content is still more important than quantity of outreach.
It takes a conscious effort to begin any public relations program with a bird’s eye view of communications objectives. And similar to how a house is built, anything built on top of a weak foundation will crack and possibly crumble. Despite the many tools and vehicles available, it’s critical to stand back and focus on what will truly matter to your target audience and what will ultimately impact the bottom line. The answers might be surprising.
Never underestimate the value of defining your target audience as a first course of action. Unless you are a large consumer-oriented company, chances are your target audience doesn’t consist of “everyone.”
You probably have a very good idea of who your prospects and customers already are, but by breaking them out on a granular level (C-level, marketing/sales, and others) and across relevant vertical markets, you can better customize the communications program to ensure that you are reaching them in a more direct and meaningful way.
Whether you are launching a business, unveiling a new product or promoting an event, the most critical ingredient for success is what you say, not necessarily where or how you say it.
Building relevant and strong key messages is essential in executing a successful public relations and marketing campaign. Before considering specific media channels, or what to post on Facebook or Twitter, begin by determining your key messages. A poorly drafted message will make further efforts much more difficult.
Developing key messages goes beyond the language you might use in a mission statement or within your corporate values. Think about your customers or target audience.
What are their unmet needs that you can address in a way that differentiates you from competitors? How can they be sure that you understand their business? How do they benefit from working with you? How do you qualify your expertise in a way that is compelling to the customer? Is your message based upon an outside-in approach? Meaning, are you considering your customer’s needs first and foremost?
Once you have articulated these, consider if they will be strengthened by a subset of messages that further validate your position. The goal is to make sure that your customers and prospects know that you understand their business issues. Ultimately, you will realize that key messages should speak to your business’s overall values as well as its capabilities.
One of the biggest mistakes made in creating key messages is excluding input from the different people who hold varying responsibilities within your organization. For example, who better to speak to about customer needs and challenges than your salespeople? They are the ones who are speaking to prospects, cold calling and hearing firsthand what customers and prospects are saying about you.
Some of the best feedback is found when an organization learns why a prospect didn’t close the deal or why an existing customer walked away. You might learn that what was thought to be your biggest strength was not in the eyes of those with whom you wish to do business. Speak to new business development and sales teams to gather information that will help in your message development.
Once you have crafted messages that you believe in, consider pooling some close business associates or prospects, and share these with them. Their feedback will be invaluable.
Whether you decide to do a more formal focus group or hold a casual discussion over bagels and coffee, by hearing first impressions you can refine and modify these messages.
It’s much easier to make changes to your messages before you incorporate them into a formal communications plan; once they are out in the public domain, you will want to stay committed to them if possible.
However, the world is not always perfect and if you find that your key messages are not resonating with customers, key influencers or reporters, don’t wait too long to review and make necessary changes. Don’t be afraid to course correct even if means starting over from scratch. Emphasizing and focusing on messages that are not resonating with your audience will be a significant drain of your valuable time and resources.
Establishing a solid and meaningful family of key messages will ultimately drive your communications program. These messages will help you articulate and decide what to include within sales collateral, media outreach and even tweets. They should also be applied across the many disciplines within your organization, giving your business a singular voice.
Thoughtful execution of these messages, via the communications vehicles deemed the most relevant for your business, should provide tangible and measurable results.
