CUSTOMER AS CONSTITUENT
From congressional posts to presidential races, the impact of “good” and “bad” messaging strategies is highly visible in today’s political environment. During this big election year, we find multiple parallels between effective messaging in politics and in business.
Politicians face the same challenges marketers and business leaders face: identifying and sticking to the single most important message that resonates with and motivates a specific audience to take action. Just like voters, your customers lead busy lives and don’t necessarily have time to be fully-informed about every facet of your product. But we do know this … they “vote” with their wallets when your message hits home.
According to Win the Right Way, a manual used by UC-Berkeley's Center for Campaign Leadership, “the greatest competition that you face won’t come from your opponent. Your greatest challenge will be competing for the attention of the voters.”
Techniques used to formulate political campaign messaging are applicable to your product and service as well. For your message to ring true and capture the attention of your target audience you must:
- Clearly define the key issue/challenge your product or service addresses
- Quickly articulate how your product or service differs from others
- Consistently communicate the value your product or service delivers
- Effectively visualize how your product or service will lead to a better life or way of doing things
As the “campaign manager” of your product or service, take a hard look at your message and see if your messaging follows these four simple guidelines. And remember – there’s a lot of noise out there (especially during an election year), so once you have developed a clear, compelling message, make sure you stay “on message” … every opportunity you get.
