Who do you think you are?

Thu, 23 Aug 2018

Do you really know what your company stands for? Do you let your clients and customers know exactly what you do? Do you have simple, clear and concise messaging? If you haven't quite worked out your point of difference, then we can help.

Variety is the spice of life

It’s happened a few times lately. A client has asked us to create a new logo, website and collateral, briefed in what they want and left us to get on with things. So in this game, no-one should be surprised that this happens, after all, we exist to provide the words and pictures to help brands and services tell their stories. But it isn’t quite so simple. Don’t get me wrong, we can come up with the creative goods, but they need to be based on some fairly fundamental elements for us to do our job properly.

No, I’m not client bashing in anyway – it’s more than my job’s worth! Part of our role here is to work with clients on their proposition (also known as positioning statement), brand values and storytelling. Often this is a movable feast and stories need to be retold to bring in new products, services, processes etc. as a business evolves. What strikes me is that in many instances, clients have been so busy working ‘in’ their businesses and not ‘on’ them, that they have lost sight of what they are all about.

This is completely understandable, given time pressures and servicing a busy business. Which is why it’s often a good idea to put your head above the parapet and take a look at your offer from the point of view of one of your customers. We can help you with this and we can do it in a completely objective way, after all we’re clients and customers as much as we are experts in marketing.

Tell us what you want (what you really, really want)

Last week Glen and I undertook an audit of a client’s website and had a look at how they present themselves. They had asked for some pages to be rewritten. Quite a few important questions arose from our side including:

• What is your company actually called? The firm has 3 representations of its name in different logos and fonts. If it’s confusing to us, you can be sure it is to their customers too.

• What do you actually do? There is a huge gap in what they claim to be vs what they actually deliver. Don’t get me wrong, they are brilliant at what they do, but are quite specific. Surely it's better to focus on this than try and be all things to all people?

• Why is there no mention of what you do extremely well which includes things that your competitors cannot offer? This creates a clear point of difference, and can in many cases convert a sales prospect into a customer. 

The client wasn’t being ignorant but had just never looked at what they provide as a potential customer. You’ll be pleased to know by working together they now have a clear view on their direction, and we can supply the right copy and imagery based on getting these fundamentals right.

It’s always hard to be anything other than subjective about your own business, but you may be missing a trick or indeed additional customers and revenue if you don’t look at what you do with a fresh set of eyes.

If you need help retelling your story, then give us a shout. 

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