Breaking through the noise can be a challenging feat for many small business owners. With so many competitors and larger companies with big marketing budgets, the task can seem daunting. But the good news is that it is more than possible to reach and persuade your audience with a great message and dedicated frequency. Let's see how.
Why Your Business Needs a Great Message
Your business needs a unique message based on your company's strengths to break through the noise. These days marketing messages are everywhere and in all forms of media, from the games we play on our phones to the articles we read online. But when it comes to marketing, the truth is that most marketing messages are low quality. Instead of telling a story about their business, most companies use flashy, attention-getting ads to bombard their audiences with numbers and sales pitches. There is another way of doing things, however. By digging deep to genuinely understand why your business is different, you can tell your audience a story. Stories resonate with people in ways that fast pitches and $19.99 stickers do not. Your message is your story. It must be true and explain who you are and how doing business with you will make your customer feel.
Think about this: at any given time, only a certain number of people need or want your product or service. That's why most of your marketing should be geared toward putting out your well-crafted message. By telling your story to your potential customers, you build a relationship with them and build trust. Rather than constantly talking up your next sale or great prices to temporarily increase sales, it is better to make sure that your customers know about and have a positive view of your business. That way, when the time comes that someone needs a product or service from you, they know to come to you. But most importantly, they understand why they should choose your business to fill their needs. Then, when they need your product, you will make the sale.
What Is Your Branding Message?
Finding your message is all about understanding what your business does best and putting that in a succinct way. You want your customers to understand what makes you unique... and to remember it! This is where creativity pays off majorly. Look at the example of one of our branding clients: Anderson's Car and Tractor. They were able to build a persuasive and entertaining message about their company based on a unique aspect of their dealership. What was it? They had been unfortunate enough to have some of their Kubota tractors stolen from their dealership, but they took that and flipped around into their new branding message. They had a new slogan, a jingle, and a popular radio ads campaign based on Kubota envy. That's how you build a branding message.
Listen now: Anderson's Car and Tractor - Kubota Envy Press Conference
Spreading Your Great Message with Frequency
Another component of breaking through is frequency. And frequency is every bit as important as the message itself. Your audience needs to be exposed to your message regularly to remember it. It doesn't matter how great your branding message is if your audience only hears it once. It is essential that wherever you advertise, you invest enough to dominate that space. Many business owners fall into the trap of using too many types of advertising without making a significant impression on any of them. For instance, if you are buying newspaper ads, but your ad only appears in the paper once every other week, you are likely not making much of an impact on your potential customers. Instead, you should invest in a marketing medium until you dominate that channel. That way, you will not overstretch your budget and waste it with mediocre results. Based on research, and the proven BrandsFormation marketing system, we know that for radio, you must run an ad three times a day for a year to make your message stick with your potential customers.
Pair Your Message with Frequency to Get Marketing Results
The combination of a great message and adequate advertising frequency work together to build your brand identity. When you create a message that emotionally resonates with your audience, you give your potential customers a reason to remember you. And, when you run your ads with proper frequency, you ensure that they will remember. In that way, you will see your brand recognition grow, and along with it, your business!