OUTSIDE-IN MARKETING: Part 3 of 4

OUTSIDE-IN MARKETING is a brief 4-part series. Part 1 examined the mission, strategies and objectives of an Outside-in Marketing plan, and Part 2 looked at getting to know your market. This is Part 3, highlighting branding and communications programs.

Part 3: Brand Building and Communications

Walking down the street one day, a stranger offers you a brand-new laptop computer for only $59. Would you buy it? No? Why not? You probably don't trust the stranger, and you may even suspect the laptop was stolen. In any case, you want to be left alone as you walk down the street...

That scenario could be a metaphor for your business—you're the stranger. You have a great product or service, and you want to offer it to potential buyers. But they don't know you, and if they aren't already looking for what you have, why should they listen to you?

It would help if you weren't a stranger. It would help even more if you were trusted. That's what branding is all about: Helping the market get to know you and trust you, so when you offer your goods or services, the market pays attention and you have a favorable starting point.

A brand is your promise to deliver on your unique value proposition. It requires single-minded focus and alignment across the company. Every business process has a part in delivering on the brand promise, so the internal work of building it must be supported from the top down. Here is the process:

Obtain top-down support for the internal effort to develop, test & agree on the brand promise:

• What is the uniquely valuable fit between the target market’s compelling needs and your unique expertise?
• How do you quantify its value? (e.g., “before and after” use-cases comparing efficiency, effectiveness and quality)
• What perceptions in the marketplace need to change for the brand promise to take hold?

Translate the brand promise into a perception-change strategy and a communications plan:

• What “hot-button” beliefs and values comprise the buying attitude in the target market?
• What is the optimum way to hit the hot-buttons for each segment (specifiers, approvers and influencers in each vertical industry, and by country…)?
• What marketing assets and tactics are required for each stage of the buying cycle?
• What policies govern each customer-facing business process to reinforce the brand promise?

Your goal is to develop a compelling and sincere brand promise, a quantifiable value proposition, your communications platform, and ultimately your PR and marketing communications plan. Successful planning and execution of your PR and marketing communications requires a communications content platform that establishes a clear messaging hierarchy to consistently reinforce your brand.

When it comes to PR and marketing communications processes, some tactics educate; others ask for the order.

• Credibility of "journalistic" content makes PR effective for educating the market because it results from getting media outlets to carry news and features about you. You don’t pay for the content, so you don’t control it.
• Control of messaging, offers, and creative execution makes advertising and direct marketing campaigns critical for generating sales leads.

Here is a quick checklist of communications tactics that should be included in brand-building

Public Relations

• News: press releases announcing new products, big deals...
• Features: articles about the proven approach
• Influence the influencers: meet with the luminaries to whom customers pay attention

Events, Conferences and Expos

• Papers, posters and panel participation at key conferences
• Demonstrate your product at key expositions
• Seminars presented by account reps teamed with subject-matter experts

Advertising

• Brand/awareness focusing on the value proposition, as opposed to direct-response ads, focusing on lead-generation, pilot programs, and promotional offers...

Part 4 will focus on what to do once you’re ready to refine and fill your sales pipeline with qualified leads.