I’m frequently asked my opinion on communications, marketing and
advertising. I’m usually loathe to give advice for free. (Like you, I prefer to
be paid for my expertise.) When it’s friends or family or colleagues I’ve
worked with closely, I tend to be a bit freer with it than my bank account
would prefer.
Lately, there has been a trend in the questions. Whether from start-ups
or established companies looking to grow, the questions have basically centered
around, “Where do I start?”
Sure, they’re phrased a bit more specifically e.g.:
·
I’ve got a business plan. When do I need to
think about marketing and advertising?
·
We’ve done well for years, but business is
slowing down. How do we turn that around?
The simple answers are:
Start thinking about your story when you start thinking about your
business.
AND
Advertising to capture new customers is the only consistent way to grow
a business.
If you’re just starting, communications must be part of the business
plan. If you’ve been in business for years, communications must be constant and
consistent. I’ve often argued that the three most important conversations you
have when starting a business are with an attorney, an accountant and a
communications pro.
You need to be sure you’re doing everything according to the law. You
need to be sure you’re ready to take on the financial needs ahead. And you need
to be sure you have the right story to tell the right people to actually have
revenue.
So what’s the story you need to tell? Answer one simple question: Why
are you in business?
Answering that question will be the seed of your brand voice. It will
be the ur-statement that grows into everything else you do. It will shape the
language you use. It will define how you describe the benefits to your
customers. It will determine whether others will care about your company enough
to give you money.
More than that, it will help you focus your decisions as you grow.
Because it will be the defining piece of how you talk about and share your
company.
I can point to companies that only had a good story and became huge (Theranos
comes to mind). I can also point to companies with superior products that no
longer exist because they had no story or changed it so frequently that no one knew
what they hell they represented other than making money (looking at you Yahoo! and
Blockbuster).
If you’re thinking about where to start, it’s with your story. It’s
with why you’re in business.
If you’re not thinking about it, why the hell not? It’s more important
to your short-term and long-term success than you can possibly imagine.
