Your business brand, and the message it conveys, is always speaking to your customers - even if you aren’t aware of it. That’s why your brand messaging matters so much. Everything from the look of your website to how you interact with your customers is going to affect your brand. Clarifying that brand means you can be intentional with what you’re conveying.
At ONEFIRE, we ask our clients a series of questions to hone in on what their branding should communicate to customers. This is where effective marketing is born, because it narrows your focus and helps you better understand what your customers need from you.
Here are four clarifying questions to help you establish your MSP brand messaging:
Ask: What problem do you solve for your customers?
Why?: Knowing what you do for your customers is essential for sales. But take that one step further - why do they come to you in the first place? If you get really specific, what is the main pain point that your customers have, and how do you help solve it?
This question is really essential to creating aligned branding. If you don’t know what your ideal client needs most, then your branding and marketing efforts might miss the mark. It also keeps you focused. Promoting all of your services at once can be expensive and distracting. Find that one thing that your customers need most from you, and focus on that.
Ask: Who are your target personas?
Why?: It can be tempting to try to cast as wide a net as possible with your marketing to bring in as many customers as possible, but that approach can backfire. If you’re trying to market to everyone, then you’re also competing in a much larger pool. But if you try speaking to just one type of client, you become a specialist.
Narrowly defining who you're marketing to will help you reach a more qualified audience and capture sales-ready leads. It also makes it much easier to market, because now you only have to speak to a few target personas.
Ask: Why are you better than the competition?
Why?: Cybersecurity is more critical than ever before, and that greater need has led to a crowded market. Web-based research platform Cyber DB has more than 3,500 cyber security vendors listed in the U.S. alone. Knowing what sets you apart from your competition is critical.
Knowing your strengths can also help you create your Unique Value Proposition, or UVP. This is a statement about why your potential customers should choose you above the competition. Some companies display their UVP on their website or in their marketing messaging, so that potential clients can understand from the beginning what sets them apart.
Ask: What is your call to action?
Why?: A call to action, or CTA, gives your audience something to do. You can present the most informative, eye-catching marketing campaign, but if you don’t give your audience their next steps, then they’re likely to move on.
Your message should be time-sensitive, meaning your potential customers need to act soon. Ask yourself why your ideal customer should act soon, and what the cost of inaction might be. Will they miss out on a special deal, or a chance to work with you this year? Whatever the opportunity is, communicate that clearly so you don’t leave your audience guessing.
Understanding your company’s brand distinction is going to give you an edge in your marketing and sales. It’s why we focus so much on questions like these, because they get to the heart of who you are, and who you want to help. The more clarity you can bring to your MSP brand, the easier it will be to find your ideal customers, and build lasting business relationships based on trust and true understanding.
