Messages: The other white meat

We work with many start-up companies, all of them eager to get their story out in the public, eager for “ink.” But before we start telling their stories, we insist on first developing their core messages. This suggestion is usually met with an eye roll or a blank stare. It’s like they go through the exercise just to humor us. But there is a very strategic reason behind these messages – if you don’t establish exactly WHO you’re talking to, and WHAT you’re saying to them about your company and product/service, how do you expect to turn anyone into a customer? Oh…right. The core messages are designed to clearly outline the key attributes and benefits of your company/product/service to each of your demographics. They are meant to act as the base for all of your marketing, sales, PR and other outbound communications.

It's what's for dinner

Then the fun really starts. And in all of the years I’ve been doing this I somehow always forget to prep clients for something very important – the core messages we develop (we call it a “messaging platform”) are So. Not. Exciting. The look of disappoint when we hand this work of art over is just heartbreaking. They were expecting pizzazz. The kind of verbiage that would turn any doubter into a buyer. And they get…well…bland. Who wants to read bland messages they ask?
After the last such disappointing encounter, just after slapping myself in the forehead yet again for not adequately prepping the client, I found myself explaining what exactly core messages are meant to be in the following food analogy: Chicken. It went something like this:
let’s say you have a fabulous recipe for chicken stir-fry (website), another recipe for bar-be-que chicken (press release), another for fried chicken (marketing collateral), and another for chicken a-la-king (sales presentation). In order to make all of these different recipes, you need to start with the same, basic ingredient every time – the chicken. Every company has their own chicken.
To take this analogy a step further, if you were to make the bar-be-que chicken, would you start with leftover stir-fry? No, that would be gross. Stir-fried chicken does not make good bar-be-que. The seasonings would clash and your guests wouldn’t really enjoy the flavor. You need to go back to that plain piece of chicken to make good bar-be-que.
In this same respect, you wouldn’t serve your guests (customers) raw chicken. That would be boring, not to mention totally inappropriate. Your chicken is meant to sit inside your kitchen, to serve as the basis for all of your great dishes. Therefore, your messaging platform is not meant to be shared as a marketing piece. It’s strictly for internal use.

So before you set your team free to share your story and sell to the masses, stop and ask yourself, what is my company’s chicken?

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