Building a core marketing message before executing tactics

We need to build a core marketing message.

In 2004, Brian Halligan sat next to a fellow student, Dharmesh Shah, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). According to Halligan, that’s where the magic began.

The two were passionate about technology and could see a change in how customers were buying. In 2005, they entered their idea into a business plan competition and were named semi-finalists.

They took their model, “inbound marketing,” and created their company, HubSpot, and launched in 2006. The rest, as is often said, is history.

For nearly 20 years, we have been using the inbound marketing strategy. But could things be changing again? I think it is.

We are entering a time where consumers have had almost 20 years to get wise to all inbound and online marketing methods. The once fertile use of social media has declined due to tweaking of the algorithms. There is also eroding trust with social media platforms.

Customers have blinders on when it comes to online advertising. Ad spend is down. All of this automation leaves consumers craving for old fashion community and connection.

What this means, ultimately, is we need to tap into basic marketing principles? We need to build a core marketing message.

Tactics, long live tactics.

Do you remember the first incident of Growth Hacking? It happened in 1996.

Hotmail opened up their product, desktop emails, to the wider public.

They added a PostScript to the emails, and they were off and running.

“A few weeks after launch, they discovered a key insight: 80 percent of signups actually came from friend referrals. Tim Draper, one of their seed investors, then came up with an idea of putting a message at the bottom of every email sent using Hotmail – ‘PS: I love you. Get your free e-mail at Hotmail’” Warrior Forum

From then on, companies have been trying to hack their way to success and growth. Many worked out very well. Others fell flat.

The growth hacking approach has to fit into the basic marketing narrative of the company for it to work.

The “viral loop” works well and is still used today.

This led to the idea of Product Led Growth, often used by most Software as a Service companies. Testimonials are powerful!

These are tactics and they can work really well, but they are an execution of strategy. When tactics are executed without strategy, or the right strategy, they can fall flat.

As business owners, we have to go back to the basics of marketing, create a strategy, and then use whatever tools we have in our toolbox to distribute our message.

First goals. Then strategy. Then the tactics.

“Goals First. Strategy Next. Then Tactics.”
The Difference Between Marketing Strategy and Tactics

The article above at Brenits Creative does a wonderful job of illustrating how goals, strategy, then tactics work together for marketing.

Too often companies skip to the tactics without considering goals or strategy.

“Starting with marketing tactics without addressing marketing strategy first is like building a house without blueprints. It’s based on a strategy of hope which is guaranteed to fail.” Brentis Creative.

Most days, when WordPress agencies build a website, they start with some kind of base theme. They use what they like and it helps them develop a website more quickly.

The same is true in marketing.

You really have to look at things from a 30K foot perspective.

“To gain a competitive edge in marketing, you need a thorough understanding of your target customer’s demographics and buying habits. To decide what your business goals are, you must be up-to-date on industry trends and your competitive position. Once you’ve formulated your goals, you need to develop a strategy to achieve those goals.”

So, start with your goals and, ultimately, the message you are trying to convey.

Definitions of marketing

Let’s look at a few definitions of marketing from three established organizations.

American Marketing Association
Source

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (Approved 2017)”

Investopedia
Source

“Marketing refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. Marketing includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other businesses. Some marketing is done by affiliates on behalf of a company.”

HubSpot
Source

“Marketing refers to any actions a company takes to attract an audience to the company’s product or services through high-quality messaging. Marketing aims to deliver standalone value for prospects and consumers through content, with the long-term goal of demonstrating product value, strengthening brand loyalty, and ultimately increasing sales.”

Two things stand out to me here: activity (or actions) and communication.

Creating a core marketing message.

In the website world, I often hear people talk about having a brand guide, and companies should have one. But, in the copywriting world, they talk about it too. It is called a brand message guide. It has more to do with the cohesive and consistent message that a company has over all its properties and beyond.

I have also seen other terms for this, including a Key Copy Message Platform and a Brand Story. All those words mean the same, but, of course, each person executes them a bit differently.

With any project, there are three phases: Research, Strategy, and Execution.

Gathering all of this information is one reason I created the Website Copy Framework. The reason so many business owners sit down and stare at a blank screen is they don’t know what to say.

Creating that message strategy helps them execute on writing their website copy. If you have ever used AI software to write content for a website, you know it needs this information as well.

AI for content is only as good as what you put into the software.

So, you need a brand messaging strategy or, as I like to call it, your core marketing message.

Your core marketing message is the tip of the arrow or the arrowhead, while the entire arrow is your marketing. You need the arrowhead. It guides the arrow.

The core marketing message also helps you decide how to craft your strategy.

What do you absolutely need for your core marketing message?

I can break it down into four questions: Who are we? What do we do (value)? Who do we do it for (target market)? and How are we different (differentiation)?

I counsel companies to answer these questions to put together their Value Proposition.

There are other things you need to know, but this is the start. I would add that you need relationship building, message distribution, and personalization to build the jet fuel to move forward.

Wrapping it up

I believe the future will be more of what used to be. Tactics often work when we have the strategy and the goals right.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, “Build a relationship, craft your message, and share it with others.”