Messaging is an integral component of any organisation’s PR programme; the type of story you tell can make a big impact on your target audiences and how they perceive your brand. When working within a business, it can be easy to develop tunnel vision to the point where your understanding of the business is dramatically different to that of your customers. This is precisely the point when a fresh pair of eyes is needed. A messaging workshop is a great tool for pooling the resources and ideas of your staff to develop or hone more powerful messages about the business.
Customer perceptions of your brand
Since your customers are the ones funding your business, it’s important to pay attention to how they perceive your brand. Information from your employees who regularly interact with customers will help to inform this discussion, as will other key pieces of data such as customer surveys, email feedback, online reviews and testimonials. During the workshop, we will help you to make sense of the sea of data available to you and determine exactly how your customers see your brand. Hopefully there isn’t a vast chasm between their viewpoint and how you see the brand, but if there is, we can help you to correct this.
Competitor profiles
You’re probably aware of who your main competitors are and what they’re offering, but how does their messaging differ to yours? After conducting research, profiles will be established for each of your main competitors. Next it’s time to determine how each competitor is dealing with the concerns of their customers, and how effective they are at weaving their own stories. By analysing competitors within your niche, this will provide you with valuable reference points for tailoring your own messaging with maximum effectiveness.
Current strengths and future innovations
By looking at the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, it will make the strengths and weaknesses of your own business that much clearer. Involving key staff in a messaging workshop, or in the research stages, is crucial in order to secure their buy-in when it comes to using the agreed messaging. While the participating employees should bring their own opinions to the workshop regarding the current strengths of the organisation, it is important that these are corroborated by data from customers to ensure there isn’t a disconnect between belief and reality. This information will be crucial in order to move onto the final phase of the workshop.
Bringing it all together
With our fresh perspective and PR skills, we will help you to dissect the information available, assess your current strengths and weaknesses and most importantly, help you to move forward and create messaging which not only reflects the values of the business but resonates strongly with your target audience. Messaging will not only describe your offering but also address issues facing the business. The workshop will also help you to understand what mistakes to avoid, which is also extremely important when creating your messaging!
Good messaging isn’t merely a gimmick to improve your marketability. Key messages represent your company’s core values, mission, unique features and accolades all condensed into succinct, eloquently worded prose. The messages are then used across all internal and external communications, marketing materials, digital marketing, PR, advertising promotions and more, delivering a consistent, cogent and credible brand story.
Tags: brand messages, corporate messages, PR training, PR workshops
