In my workshops, we do a lightning-fast exercise to create a 7-second story on a Message Map. A Message Map gives you an elevator speech of 23 words or less, so you can tell your story in 7 seconds. That quick start is crucial to break through short attention spans. Observing people do this exercise …
The top 10 blogs you chose to read in 2016 focused on marketing messages & content marketing. You zoomed in on 3 problems that vex and bedevil marketers every day: • How to build a simple marketing message • How to address multiple buyer personas with one consistent message • How to write a content marketing mission statement. Here …
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When you use a Message Map, it’s easier to become your buyers’ guide. A Message Map performs several critical jobs for marketers – and for buyers. First, a Message Map identifies the important points buyers should consider when pondering a purchase. It educates buyers on what to look for, how to compare competitors’ offerings and which …
Continue reading “Be buyers’ guide: connect the dots clearly”
Telling your company story well can unlock tremendous value. By reframing its story, one public company unlocked $2.9 billion in shareholder value. The tool they used: a 1-PageTM Message Map to help them tell their story better. This story comes from my former employer, Ameritech. In the 1990s, it made a series of investments in European telecom companies. In …
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One thing companies need but don’t always have is a single source of truth. Marketing becomes far more effective when there’s one main story about your company that rings true for all audiences – customers, employees, investors, influencers, and even regulators. Without such a message, your company’s communications become unfocused. They may begin to sound like …
Continue reading “One Company. Many Stakeholders. How Many Messages?”
Fresh Ideas on Storytelling, Disruption, Messaging, Customers, Content & Analytics Business Marketing Association (BMA) conferences convened hundreds of B2B marketers and marketing thought leaders. Here are quotes from the most thought-provoking speakers at one conference: Linda Boff on storytelling: “Be creative. Nothing will take the place of great storytelling. Nothing would matter if the material …