The Process
Message Map
To create your Message Map, I work with every member of your customer-facing teams (sales, customer service, deployment teams, etc) to discover your prospects’ problems, limitations, expectations, and desires. This includes surveys for your team as well as interviews with both your wins (existing customers) and losses (those who have said “no”). The result is a comprehensive matrix of concepts, statements, and specific wording directed at each of the decision-makers and gatekeepers in your selling process, including technical, financial, operational, and managerial members.
Step 1 – Surveys and Interviews (about 1 week to complete)
Team Surveys – all customer-facing personnel fill out a questionnaire that asks them why they believe your customers buy your product. It also asks them to define specific customer problems you address, along with all relevant concerns, needs, and challenges they’ve experienced.
Win/Loss Interviews – I will contact up to three customers of your choosing to ask them about their reasons for choosing your solution, and any suggestions they may have about your sales process. I repeat this with up to three “lost” engagements. These latter interviews often provide the most enlightening information – information that is not often shared with your sales team.
Competitor Analysis – Your messaging must be specifically designed to counter any claims made by your key competitors, to eliminate any perceived advantages that they claim, and to show your value beyond them. I will research the material published by your main competitors, and compare them to your own capabilities and current positioning. In this way, we can ensure that prospects can clearly understand why yours is the better solution. This includes differences in technology, functionality, support, and cost.
Step 2 – Group Working Session (about 4 hours)
This is a discussion with your team of the survey findings. This is the most lengthy and challenging part of the process, wherein each team member’s perspectives are heard, discussed and evaluated by the group. The outcome is a set of messages – themes, statements, and wording that will serve to define your content. Once created, it should be reviewed again after the session by all participants, as often additional contributions and adjustments will arise. The objective is to ensure that we arrive at a result that is complete, and to which everyone can commit consistent best efforts.
The Content Plan (about 4 hours in total)
Most B2B buyers research potential vendors in much the same way. They often start by responding to some piece of content, or via a web search. Their next stop is usually your web site, a product comparison site, or any other destination that is revealed when they search for your name. At that point, you must offer them content that answers their most pressing questions at whatever stage they are at in their research. Your lead generation programs should also reflect these stages – every piece should lead to (have links to) the next stage of content, so that no matter where they are, your content leads them along an informational path to engage with your sales team (demo, exploratory call, etc.)
| Stage | Their Questions | Your Message | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Early AWARENESS AND INTEREST | “What do you offer, is it relevant to me, and how is it different?” | “We understand your needs and concerns, and we solve them in a unique and better way.” | Web site, ads, seminars, whitepapers, etc. |
|
Middle UNDERSTANDING AND BELIEF | “How can you prove your advantage, and will it work for me?” | “Here is exactly how we do it, and here are examples of customers just like you, who were successful.” | Demos, videos, testimonials, quotes, analyst opinions, etc |
|
Late DESIRE AND ACTION | “How would this work for me? How is it implemented? How do you support me? What does it cost?" | “Here is how our solution would work in your specific environment, what it costs, and how we support you.” | Custom demos, Implementation guides, services promotion, pricing, support plans. |
Using your message map as a guide, I will work with your team to create a plan, including clear descriptions of content pieces for every stage, and the messages that each must present.
Production, Implementation, and Management (4 hours included)
Once the Content Plan is complete, I will work with your team to show them how each piece can be incorporated into their lead generation programs. I can help them ensure that any such campaigns are designed to move prospects through the content stages.
Depending on the experience and capabilities of your team, I can also provide guidance on the actual production of the content, including through third parties whose work I know and trust.
Finally, I will check the final production of your content, and check back with your team at regular intervals (every two weeks for 6 weeks) to answer any questions of concerns that may have.
