Christine Kane, the famous songwriter turned professional business coach, emphasises that core marketing messages aren’t a brand’s mission statement or company culture: “They are the basis of your marketing, of everything you communicate.” These are messages that speak to the very purpose of your marketing. To find your core marketing message, questions need to be asked pertaining to the WHY behind your marketing. Is there a purpose to what you do? Are you able to solve people’s problems? This article looks at the essential parts of a marketing message, and how to identify your core marketing message:
Components of an excellent marketing message
Geoffrey James, the contributing editor of Inc.com, believes that there are components to every good core marketing message. Some of these are:
Get to the point
Weak core marketing messages are long, information-stuffed sentences that try and use the fanciest words possible. Strong ones keep it short and sweet, immediately expressing what is important.
A: “With Diabetes on the rise, we take pride in offering a sugar-free doughnut alternative.”
B: “We give diabetics the chance to enjoy doughnuts.”
Be original
Weak messages sound like they’re straight from an afternoon television infomercial. Strong core marketing messages say something new in a different way.
A: “Our award-winning memory foam mattresses support your spine completely, leaving you feeling great in the morning.”
B: “Rest your weary bones on an award-winning mattress.”
Use familiar language
Weak marketing messages try to be too formal, hoping that Joe Soap will think the brand fancy and do business with them. The strong core messages speak to the individual, in a language you’d use in conversation.
A: “We hope to reverse low literacy levels throughout the African continent.”
B: “Helping people read more in Africa.”