How to Capture Your Company's Essence in 15 Words
Let's assume that your press release gets picked up by several outlets. It's a great opportunity to increase your company's visibility. So what do you say in your 15-word introduction? "XYZ, a ___ __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ ___ __, announced today..." Would that resonate with your prospects?
Another scenario: One of your happier clients is at a barbecue listening to another guest describe a business challenge that sounds like the one you just solved for her. What easy-to-remember message have you provided your client to use in a situation like that?
Or let's assume you decide to sponsor an NPR program, and you draft a 10- or 15-second message to be read. What do you say? "All Things Considered is sponsored by XYZ. ___ __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ ___ __ at XYZ.com" Is what you say clear and succinct enough that your prospects can absorb it while driving?
If people started with those scenarios in mind when they crafted their short company description, they would craft more concise and more memorable descriptions.
Now, as a B2B company, you may never advertise on NPR (though some do), but distilling your company description to its essence—as if you were—is a powerful goal. It will force you to jettison the jargon and superlatives. And your message will resonate all the more with prospects.
An Anatomy of a Company's Messaging
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Great read Kathryn!
I think you'll find this post at blueprint.ca very interesting. They make the point that you should be able to do it in just 7 words: http://www.theblueprint.ca/wordpress/?p=11
Regards,
Jeff Ginsberg
CEO
www.theeMailguide.com
I found this post quite educating. The Lotus example is very instructive.
Regards,
Ibrahim Bello
MD/CEO
PR Value Consulting
email:prvalue@yahoo.com
A very informative and practical post. I'm a fresh graduate who worked for a few months with my previous company and was tasked to create a summary for a proposal to the client. My superior couldn't get around the initial ommissions I made and it had to be revised to fit everything in. It's really hard to convince people about "less is more", especially when you're entry level like me.
Writing an NPR sponsorship plug is a great exercise! I listen to a lot of public radio, and many of the company descriptions are forgettable. While I like your Constant Contact example, one suggestion is to remove the "dedicated to ..." tag. I think this (and similar phrases like "committed to") have become hackneyed. It's stronger to eliminate and get to the core of the message, such as: "Constant Contact helps small businesses and nonprofits ..."
What do you recommend for a salon that is celebrating 10 years in business and reinvrnting itself?
Fabulous post. So many companies miss the opportunity to effectively communicate their message because they try to say too much. Another downfall is relying on marketing buzz words. Sure, words like trust, quality and commitment sound great, but do they do anything to truly differentiate your company from anyone else? Read my list of the top 10 buzzwords to avoid at http://bit.ly/B32r
--pam
http://kilgannonsays.wordpress.com
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