The consequences of "Board Think"

A few nights ago I went to a strategic planning session for an organization I belong to. Of course, as it is with most organizations (or businesses), the main concern on the agenda was membership (or how to get more customers). This wasn’t the first session they've had, mind you. Planning (and planning and planning) is something they’ve been doing on a regular basis for years. That’s what Boards do.

So, what took place at this meeting was a review of what the organization had accomplished toward their goals since the last planning meeting. This was followed by a discussion of whether the plan should be changed... whether the whole organization should be changed... whether the audience should be changed... and lots of new suggestions about more changes they could implement to get new members.

There was a lot of good stuff, and I'm sure that some of it will even get acted upon.

And then, no doubt, they’ll have another one of these meetings in a short while to analyze what they did and then make even more plans and throw out even more good suggestions to make even more committees and even more activities.

Something "big" is missing from this picture.

See, while everyone at the meeting thought that his or her ideas were really swell -- and for sure, some of them really were -- continuing to add and change physical features and benefits is not going to fix the real problem.

The real problem is that they just don’t have their brand’s core marketing message right. And until they get it right, the concern over membership (or your company’s concern about new customers) is going to continue be a pesky issue that lingers, festers and frustrates.

If you’ve been reading these briefs for a while you’ve learned that market leadership is only achieved through owning an identity as the "one and only" in your category. It’s the result of occupying a specific piece of positively charged emotional real estate in your prospect’s mind that no one else can lay claim to.

You do this by making sure that your core value proposition (CVP) is clear, attractive, meaningful and fulfills a need. Then you find a great way to articulate this CVP in an emotionally compelling and easy to recall way. You create a "viral" marketing message that keeps going… and going… and going… (just like the little pink Energizer Bunny), so that the message becomes reinforced each and every time your audience hears or sees your good name.

Then, all the activities and ideas you create make more sense, because they're all done in support of the articulated "big" idea.

The big idea needs to be bigger than the organization.

Most companies struggling with their marketing often create their messages hit or miss. Oh, for sure, there have been plenty of great and memorable copy lines and logos created over the years; but in most cases they’ve been arrived at through trial, error and intuition. And, because they were just "made up", these messages have often become vulnerable to change with each new regime making new plans and implementing new ideas.

This is a dangerous scenario. Changing your message once your identity is established just confuses and frustrates the audience. A new core message (unless it's a quantum leap better than the current one) can kill off all the positive equity you’ve already built into your brand name. Worse, it can also kill off your brand.

All the more reason to not "shoot from the hip", but to take the time to understand exactly what your message should be... to make sure it’s right... and that it will be a promise you can live with and deliver on for a long, long, long, long time.

Use a foolproof approach to finding out the real "core" message.

There's a logical and sure-fire way to developing exactly the right message that will make your customers respond and swear their loyalty to you.

Ask them what they want.

Ask your organization and its members and its prospects what makes them loyal. Ask people who reject you why they are not loyal and what makes them loyal to someone else. Ask as many sources as you possibly can. Then gather up and analyze all their responses to find what the real reasons are -- the ones that lie deep below the surface -- the emotional "whys". Then go back and ask them which of these emotional "whys" is the most appealing. Their answers might surprise you.

At AGCD, we guide clients through a unique, structured process of discovery, refinement, and testing to ultimately find out the true "why" that will make an audience accept your idea.

The process takes an investment of time, hard work and money, but it always works to get the message right. And it's been used to build some of the world's leading brands.

Take the time to find out the real emotional "why" before attempting any more "fixes" to your brand. Then you’ll be on your way to crafting an image that will be a magnet for new customers -- not because of a new feature or marketing idea somebody on the board thought up -- but because your audiences are crystal clear on what you stand for… and the real reasons to join your club.

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Want more?

More tips and insights useful to everyone who's trying to market a product or service are contained in Mr. Gorman's entertaining, helpful and informative paper:

"Ten Marketing Secrets for Building a Sexier Brand"

For a complimentary copy, go to: http://www.agcd.com/order/orderform.html or e-mail a request, including Name, Company, Address and Phone to betterbrandbriefs@agcd.com

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