At Moxie, we see a lot of content conundrums. Heck, we even have some of our own. The truth is, the closer you are to the day-to-day business operations, the harder it can be to make important marketing decisions that positively impact customers.
Less Is More
As your business, product offerings, and teams change and grow, it’s common for your branded materials to do the same. We know what out of control content looks like. In a blink of an eye, your website has 50 pages, you don’t know what flyers the sales team is using, and your social media descriptions are still mentioning the 25th anniversary from five years ago. To effectively share your brand in a way that is consistent, relevant, and easy for customers to understand, your marketing materials should get a continuous makeover.
What to Do When Company Content Is Out of Control
Here are steps to help you regain control of the company content.
- Review Your Brand – Go back to your most important brand statements such as your unique value proposition (UVP), company values, or voice and tone. What is your company committed to being for customers? Does your brand focus on relationships, expertise, or innovation? Look to these foundational pieces to guide your process and set the “north star” for all team members involved. Your intent for streamlined marketing materials should match key aspects of your brand.
- Know Your Customer’s Core Needs – When focused on the features and benefits of your program, product, or service, it can be hard to remember your customer’s true need. For instance, you sell the very best coffee bean with wonderful flavor, but what your customer really needs is energy to crush their homework assignment. Getting into the customer’s mindset is key to getting the key messages right. We typically gather this information through research, by interviewing the customers or the team members closest to them, such as the sales team.
- Review and Revise Key Messages – As your business changes, so should your key messages. This isn’t a monthly update and maybe not even a yearly one. But instead, the update may come paired with major milestones such as the following:
- We understand our business better and can better describe our products
- We understand our customers better and can speak better to their needs
- We have new leadership and want to reflect revised values
- Identify Your New Content Needs – Once key messages are defined, it’s time to audit your materials and craft your new content needs. This is the time to confront old materials and bravely choose that less is more. That means you choose to discontinue flyers, brochures, and webpages that are no longer part of your core. Here are examples of materials you may consider:
- Websites – Home page, product or service pages, about pages, blog
- Social Media – Profile descriptions, posting strategy, content strategy
- Print – Brochures, flyers, sales packets, customer onboarding materials
- Digital – Sales decks, presentation templates, online brochures or tools
We used to say that content is king – a phrase that thoroughly benefits this content strategist. *wink* But dare I say it – less is more! If this all seems overwhelming, Moxie is here to help. We are your marketing ally.
If you’re ready to discuss an update content strategy, reach out! Contact our VP, Michele, at michele.jensen@experiencemoxie.com.
