Creating a Marketing Message
Do you know how to speak to your prospects in a way that attracts them? Can you easily convey why YOUR BUSINESS is the right one for them?
There is an art to crafting a great marketing message for your business. At Fitness Revolution we’ve created a simple formula to help you out and wrapped it up into what we call your Local Market Positioning™.
The goal of your Local Market Positioning threefold:
- Differentiate your business from the competition.
- Address important client buying criteria.
- Articulate key service characteristics.
Let’s walk through creating your own Local Market Positioning and bring it all together by creating a Positioning Statement (your marketing message) for your business.
Step 1: Identify Your Ideal Client
Before you create a marketing message you need to know who you are trying to attract. Many experts will talk about a target market or niche market. However, I like to get much more specific so that I can speak directly to one person.
To do this you’ll need to create a profile for your Ideal Client. Narrowing your focus will help you really get inside the head of your prospects so that you can understand their wants, needs, fears and emotions.
Step 2: Identify Your Ideal Client’s Biggest Problem
Knowing your Ideal Client’s goals is key to creating a great Positioning Statement. It goes well beyond the surface level goals like losing weight as well.
Think about the feelings that your Ideal Client wants to have by reaching their goals. Those feelings are going to provide you with a lot of powerful info when creating your Positioning Statement.
Once you know what your Ideal Client wants, figure out what their biggest obstacles are to accomplishing their goals. This helps with the next step…
Step 3: Features, Benefits and Stand Out Stats
Now that you know who your Positioning Statement needs to attract, it’s time to start piecing together the info you need to convey to them. This includes the key features of your program, the benefits it provides your clients and key stats that help you stand out from everyone else.
Features are the characteristics of your service. They could be the number of days per week you train someone, how you deliver your service (group vs private), the types of equipment or training that you offer, etc. They are what your product IS but not what truly sells your program to your prospects.
Benefits are what your service does for your clients. They help answer the question “What’s in it for me?” Here’s a quick example…
Feature: 60 Minute Small Group Training Sessions 3x Per Week
Benefits: Individualized help from a trainer to ensure you’re doing everything right, and you don’t have to worry about injuring yourself or making quick progress. Great results in just 180 minutes per week so you aren’t spending all your free time in the gym.
Finally, make a list of all the stats, awards or recognition that you’ve received as a business. This includes stand out results from clients, “Best of” awards from your community or any other recognition that helps you stand out from everyone else. Here’s specific examples…
- Best of TOWN 5 Years in a Row
- Our typical client loses 10 lbs in their first 60 days
- #1 in 5-Star Reviews on Yelp
- First Boot Camp in TOWN
- Finalist for FR Trainer of the Year 2015
Step 4: Know Why Your Client Buys
Buying criteria is critical to your positioning statement. Understanding what your client needs to know before making a purchase can help you address those things quickly and easily. These may or may not connect directly to the benefits or features of your program.
When identifying your Ideal Client’s buying criteria think about what matters to them. The best way to get this info is to interview your clients. But remember to ask them what info they needed prior to becoming a client.
The reason they stay with you will be different from the reason they decided to start working with you. You can also ask your prospects a simple question, “What’s most important to you?”
Step 5: Research Your Competition
You don’t need to let your competition dictate how you run your business, but a great business owner is aware of their competition.
Go out and determine your top 3-5 competitors, the price range they sell their services and their positioning in the market. This information will help you see where you stand out and how to position your business against theirs to attract better clients.
Step 6: Create Your Differentiators
Now that you’ve taken an assessment of your business it’s time to put a list of your differentiators together. The sweet spot here is 3-5 differentiators.
Each individual differentiator may not be unique to your business, but together the list should clearly make you stand out from your competition and resonate with your Ideal Client.
The biggest mistake that I see being made with differentiators is specificity. Your differentiators should be client focused, addressing the things that are critical and important to them. If you can use “so that” statements (just like benefits) to make them more powerful.
Poor Differentiator: We run 30 minute workouts
Good Differentiator: Accomplish all your fitness goals in 90 minutes per week so that you save valuable time!
The first one assumes your target market understands why 30 minute workouts are valuable to them. The second statement tells them what they will get (all their fitness goals) and why it’s important (saves them time).
After you write your differentiators evaluate them by asking if your target market would think they are valuable and make you different from your competitors.
Your Positioning Statement Formula
Formula: “For [Ideal Client/Target Market] that [Needs/Wants Goal], [Business Name] is a [Category/Solution] that [Biggest Benefit] by [Unique Differentiator].”
Example: “For busy men that want to turn back the clock and rediscover their athleticism, Fitness Revolution is a personal training program that allows them to feel 10 years younger in 180 minutes a week or less by providing them with an individualized workout program and nutrition plan that fits their lifestyle.”
Quickly, Easily Create A Crystal Clear Marketing Message
You can grow your business faster and more effectively when you have a great marketing message perfectly crafted to attract your Ideal Client.
If you’d like me to walk you step-by-step through creating your marketing message and get access to resources to speed up the process, then you need to check this out…
