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MessageChannels

• Website• Events• DirectMail• Email• SocialMediaChannels• WordofMouth• _________________

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Aneffectivemessagingplatformwillbe:• Straightforward.Influencersandmemberscanquicklygraspthevalueproposition.

• Meaningful.Themessageisrelevantandusefultothetargetaudience.

• Differentiating.Theuniquemarketvalueisclearlyoutlinedincomparisontocompetitors.

• Credible.Theorganizationclaimscanbesubstantiated.

• Persuasive.Themessagingconvincesbuyers.

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1.ValueProposition&KeyBenefits• Hereyou’lldescribeinjustafewsentencestheorganization’stangiblevalueformembers.

• Whatdoestheorganizationdo?• Ifyourassociationcouldmakeoneguaranteedpromise,whatwoulditbe?

• Thisneedstoberelevantandcompellingenoughtopassthe“sowhat”test.

• Listthetop4-6benefitsyourorganizationoffers

2.OrganizationHistory

• Thiswillreflectthetypeoforganizationyou’rerepresenting.

• Focusonwhofoundedtheorganization,whenitwasfounded,andwhy.

• Fundinginformationanddatalikethenumberofmembers

• Formoreestablishedorlargetradeassociations,includewhentheorgwasfounded,thenamesoftheirbiggestmembers,theirmarketshareandotherimpressivedatathatmightcatchaninfluencer’seye,suchasaprestigiousawardwonoruniqueaccomplishment.

3.ElevatorSpeech

• Usedeverywherefromemailpitchesandonlinechatstosalesconversationsandconferenceintroductions.

• Your30-secondresponsetoastrangerorpotentialmemberasking“Whatdoyoudo?”

• Shouldexpressthevaluepropositionandbenefitsoutlinedinthestepabove.

• Focusonbeingsuccinctandcompelling– whyshouldthisstrangercarewhattheorgdoes?Howcanyouensureheorsherememberstheorgdoeshours,daysormonthslater?

4.Boilerplate

• Briefdescriptionoftheorganization,nomorethan2-3sentences.

• Shouldbetakenfromthevalueproposition.• Usedmostoftenatthebottomofapressrelease,aneventdirectory,oranyplacetheassociationneedsaquickdescription.

• Thistendstobemoreformalthananelevatorspeech,andcanincludeanimpressivefactoidtobuildtheorg’scredibility.

5.Q&A&TalkingPoints

• Partofyourmessagingdocumentmostusedbyotherteams.

• Goalhereistofindoutthemostcommoncustomerquestionsandbuyingobjections,andpreparecompellingandpersuasiveanswers.Don’tassumeyoualreadyknowthese.

• Askyoursalesteamforthemostfrequentreasonsmembersgiveforfailingtopurchase,andaskyourmarketingteamforbuyerpainpoints.

• Askmemberservice,salesandsocialmediawhichcommentsandquestionstheyhearthemost,includingcommentsexpressingconfusion,skepticismorintrigue.

6.Lexicon– Wordstodefineyourbrand• Createalistof8-12topwordsandphrasesthatshoulddescribeyourdesiredbrandpersonality,andyourethics,values,andmemberbase.

• Theseshouldbeusedconsistentlyinallcontentassetsandconversations.

• Developalistofbannedwords.• CheckwithyourmarketingandSEOteamsonkeywords,thencheckwiththebrandingandmarketingteamstoseeifanykindoflexiconhasalreadybeenmappedoutinthebrandbible.

• Reviewthelexicontogethertoensuretherearenoconflictsorinconsistenciesbetweenthelistandthemessagingplatform.

7.CompetitivePositioning

• Analyzetheorganization'stopcompetitorsandthedifferenceinmessaging.

• Askyourmarketingteamtoseewhichcompetitorsthey’veidentifiedalready.

• Howistheorganizationdifferent?• Howcanyouhighlightthosedifferencesinanadvantageouslight?

7.CompetitivePositioning

COMPETITOR MESSAGE DIFFERENTIATION

CompetitorA

Competitor B

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