When the lead performance of sales communications disappoints, it is tempting to blame the content. After all, it is the suspect standing over the body with a smoking gun. But, before you slap on the handcuffs, there is another possibility to be considered: You might be coming to market with a generic value message that is simply not motivating anyone to act.
Here are four questions to help you decide if the generic marketer label describes you:
- If you removed the company name, could you tell the difference between your marketing language and your competitors?
- Does your value proposition rely on characteristics your competition can share, such as comprehensive services, developing custom solutions, commitment to client service, quality, or experience?
- Is your website primarily a list of your services and background?
- Is your corporate visual image bland and not very different from your competitors?
How did you do? Sorry my friend, but If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are marketing yourself generically.
Why is this important? I hear you say.
Well, in point of fact for many years, it wasn’t. For most of their corporate lives, service firms developed new business through personal sales efforts.
But, times have changed. The sales culture has shifted. Buyers aren’t as susceptible to being “sold” as they once were. They are better informed and more likely to negotiate on price – even our buddies.
To add injury to insult, many service markets are experiencing technological disruption, resulting in firms having to work harder for lower profit margins to weather the disruptive competition.
The era of the rainmaker is over, and the age of promotion is upon us.
Communicating a competitive value proposition, whether through social media or paid promotion, is an essential strategy for service firms today to fill their lead pipeline.
There are no leads without a value differentiation that is compelling to your target market as a reason to select you over your competitors.
That may be the bad news, but there is good news coming.
You are not alone. A surprising number of your fellow service firms seem not to have made the shift. Many of their value propositions read like a Wikipedia entry into what the category does.
This gives you a window of opportunity.
What if, instead of following the generic message herd, you were the competitor that got its value messaging right?
Let’s do a short scenario to demonstrate the impact of this.
- A potential client is looking for a provider in your sector. They have been given several names or are doing a blind search for advisors in your field.
- The prospect visits a series of websites, finding the same overview, list of services, background, and even blog over and over. After only a few sites, they blur together. Trying to find some sense of how one of these firms can help them is like slogging through deep mud.
- Then, they get to your company’s website.
- Your site’s first 100 words deliver a powerful value message that connects to their mission-critical need.
- Clicking one link on the home page takes them to your company’s services in their vertical market and how you created value. You give them examples of how you have solved challenges for their type of firm.
- Your site’s call to action puts them in touch with the colleague that has direct experience in their industry.
Between the generic sites and your firm’s fabulous value-tuned site, who gets the phone call?
That is the sales impact of being the competitor that delivers a strong targeted value message at first contact.
Imagine the advantage if you extended this value strategy throughout the entire range of your marketing communications: collateral, sales presentations, social media, proposals.
At some point, one of your competitors is going to have their Aha! Moment. They may be reading this article right now.
Don’t play catch up. Revamp your marketing communications to stake out your unique value proposition. Be the competitor that gets it right first.
