WHAT IS YOUR CORE MESSAGE?

So much time and money is wasted on creating marketing materials, both in print and online, that don’t convey your core message. If each marketing piece is constantly changing, then your message is not focused on your vision and your target market is not sure about your ability to deliver a product or service.

Working alone in the core message development process may not be the most efficient way to come up with a sustainable message. The following steps will help you focus on the creation of a permanent core message for your business. Allow a four hour time frame to complete this exercise.

1. Don’t do it alone. With your vision statement in hand, assemble a work group (friends, mentor, peer group, customers, etc.)and share who your target market is and the benefits you offer.
2. Why does it matter? Let the group do some brainstorming about your target market, the benefits you offer and why what you do matters to them.
3. Look at your existing marketing efforts. As a group, examine your website, printed material and other online efforts. The question that has to be answered is “does your marketing material define the message you want to share?”
4. Let the creative juices flow. Many times a business will discover that they don’t have a consistent core message. I suggest that every member of your message development team write their own versions of what your core message should be. The next step is to write them on individual poster size sheets and plaster your walls with them.
   1. Let each member share why they proposed their message
   2. As a group, prioritize the messages with number one being the closest to an ideal core message.
   3. The final step is to take the selected message and as a group make changes that all agree to. This process may be the longest part of the session.
5. Core message: before you rush out and change all your marketing material, post your new core message in your office and personally analyze it for several days. Take it to a few of your best customers and ask their opinion. In most cases, you will find that the new message meets all your expectations and few, if any, word changes will be necessary as a result of the last step.

Congratulations, you now have developed a consistent core message that you can apply to all your marketing material!

Create a vision that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning!