Introduction to key messages
Everyone is busy. It is difficult to get their attention. Having clear, memorable marketing messages will help you to get noticed and make more sales. If you repeat them, people will remember them and this will help you before, during and after the sale (or to put it another way, throughout the customer journey).
‘Key messages’ should be a separate section in your marketing plan. Have a central key message that you want people to associate with your entire enterprise, as well as a handful of additional ones. My advice is not to have more than six central key messages in total.
In addition to these messages, you can have separate ones for individual products and services – as well as the market segments that you communicate with.
In marketing communication, key messages can help you to get your product or service noticed. These concise statements encapsulate what your business stands for, what it offers and why it matters to your customers. This article looks into the art of writing compelling key messages and integrating them into your copywriting and promotional campaigns.
Start with your customers
As always in marketing, start with your customers. What are they looking for, in relation to your type of product or service? What is likely to catch their attention? How can you serve them better? The answers to these questions can form the basis of your key messages.
As mentioned above, it is a good idea to have key messages that are written for specific market segments (groups of people with shared needs). After all, segment A is different from segment B.
Your brand
What does your business stand for? What are your values? Your brand is your business, seen from the customer’s perspective. Include your answers in your messages. See: What is branding?
Creating effective key messages
Effective key messages are clear, concise and relevant. They should be straightforward, easy to remember and resonate with your customers. They are the essence of your brand’s promise to your customers and should reflect what sets you apart from your competitors.
Writing key messages
Key messages should include your business’s core values, USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and purpose. They should comprise brief, compelling single sentences. Include emotional appeals, which create a connection with your audience and rational appeals, which highlight the practical benefits of your products or services.
Embed key messages into your copy
Include your key messages into your sales and marketing copy. This is where a professional copywriter can help, as they have the ability to weave these messages into articles, blogs, press releases, social media posts, emails and advertisements effortlessly.
Be consistent
It is important to use your key messages consistently, throughout your sales and marketing activities. When you write a new piece of copy, ask yourself whether you have included at least one key message?
An example
For The Marketing Compass, our central key message is: Discover your marketing direction
It took me a long time to come up with (and refine) this message. Discover refers to learning. Marketing is our central topic. Direction fits in with the word compass.
Conclusion
Do you have key messages? Are you using them? Are key messages part of your marketing plan, copywriting or promotional mix?
