| Is your company's messaging and positioning caught | | | | company's products or services in the context of |
| in the same ho hum features and benefits trap that | | | | how your customers gain is a requirement in order to |
| many companies face? If so, it's time to consider | | | | win in your market place. A good example of going |
| shifting your strategic marketing plan and going up | | | | up market with your messaging positioning is as |
| market with your company's messaging and | | | | follows: we have a metal fabrication client that we |
| positioning. Doing so can have a transforming effect | | | | did some work with before, who's old messaging on |
| on your companies ability to compete and | | | | their website used to say, "X company provides |
| successfully win in its target markets with its target | | | | sheet metal, stamping, cutting, forming, shaping, and |
| customers. Going up market with your messaging and | | | | fabrication services to companies in the aerospace |
| positioning is not a difficult task. What it does require, | | | | and automotive industries." After we reworked the |
| however, is rethinking of your messaging from being | | | | company's message to, "We provide integrated |
| framed as "features and benefits" to your customers | | | | supply chain management services to our customers |
| and basic product and company descriptions, through | | | | to help them improve their engineering, reduce their |
| to answering the fundamental question of what's in it | | | | product lifecycles, and cut their inventory costs, while |
| for me, from the standpoint of the customer. When | | | | increasing their ability to respond to changing market |
| your company shifts its messaging positioning from | | | | demands." As you can see, those two messages are |
| "here's what we do", to "here's what you get", | | | | completely different from each other, even though |
| fundamentally, your message has a much better | | | | they come from the same company. One message is |
| chance of resonating with potential sales prospects | | | | framed in terms of what the company does, and the |
| and customers. | | | | other message is framed in terms of what their |
| As markets become more and more competitive, | | | | customers get when they buy from them. Which |
| reframing your messaging in order to put your | | | | company would you rather buy from? |