Speak Clearly And Confidently With A Strategic Messaging Framework

Written by Adam Mohrbacher on September 18, 2024. Posted in Marketing

In our last marketing blog, we walked through how to put together an effective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis for your agency. SWOTs are a valuable tool for building greater visibility into your agency, but that’s not all. They can also inform other initiatives beneficial to your short- and long-term business goals. Take a strategic messaging framework as just one example. They channel your SWOT’s insights and help you speak with a unified voice that forms deeper connections with customers. Here’s how to put together your own framework.

How to think about a strategic marketing framework

Before you begin, it’s important to note what a strategic marketing framework is and what it is not. First, this framework should be:

• Mission-driven: It should include the core tenets of your brand promise and identity.
• Targeted and relevant: The framework needs to resonate with your target audience by offering clear value.
• Strategic and succinct: Your framework must align with your agency’s needs and be short enough to fit various communication channels.
• Emotional and actionable: Remember, people respond powerfully to emotional appeals and clear next steps.
• Cohesive and comprehensive: Your framework must tie together seamlessly and speak to the entirety of your organization’s high-level priorities.

On the other hand, it should not be:

• Disjointed or random: Each element of your framework must feel intentional and complementary.
• Granular and tactical: Avoid discussing specific marketing campaigns or granular organizational details.
• Exclusively sales-focused: Don’t make your framework solely about getting customers to buy from you. Instead, make it squarely about how you can solve their problems.
• Vague and unfocused: Just because a strategic messaging framework is intended to capture high-level aspects of your agency does not mean it should be vague.

Start building based off your SWOT

Now let’s explore how to build a messaging framework based on your SWOT. First, create language that emphasizes your agency’s strengths. An example might be a message about how you “bring decades of collective experience to each closing.”

Then, build a message that reframes SWOT weaknesses as areas primed for growth or future advantage. For instance, if your tech stack is aging but you plan to update it, talk about how you are “quickly implementing more innovative solutions to better address stakeholder needs.”

Next, address your SWOT’s opportunities. The messages should align and build off your identified strengths. They should also convey how your company is positioned for long-term success. Be as specific as you can, include data if possible and always indicate why customers should care. As an example, if you have expansion plans on the horizon, you could explain how this “reflects the depth of your resources and the unparalleled competency of your team.”

Lastly, message your SWOT’s threats. These must also be reframed by putting the focus on how you will address them. The ebb and flow of the real estate market offers a good example of how to do this. For instance, you could articulate how “your financial strength and operational efficiency enable you to ride out periodic downturns and continue delivering for clients.”

Implement your framework

Once you have fleshed out messaging, it is time to integrate your framework into your agency’s communications. Let’s look at a few ways for doing this:

1. Incorporate your framework into your marketing materials, including your website, social media and press releases.
2. Create simple talking points so your team can easily memorize key messages and amplify your agency’s efforts where appropriate.
3. Incorporate your messages into your brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all materials, including those created by third parties.
4. Leverage your framework for thought leadership by using them as a springboard to talk about your values and long-term vision.  

Measure, refine, rinse and repeat

After you have your key messaging framework based around your SWOT, it can be tempting to sit back and put your feet up. Don’t! The whole point of this exercise is to build greater connections with your customers. To know if you’ve achieved this, you must measure whether people are responding to your messages and connecting with your brand.

Track meaningful changes in core metrics once you begin using your messages in communications, and consider surveying your customer base to understand how they perceive you. If you don’t get the answers you want, revisit your strategic messaging framework and refine. And if you still don’t get the responses you desire, refine again.

Tell a story that connects and converts

In a competitive field like title insurance, it’s important to differentiate yourself. Building a strategic messaging framework based on your SWOT analysis is one way to do this. By thinking about your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, you can create a compelling story that will make your customers take note and engage more fully with your brand. That’s because they will have come to better understand who you and how you can help them achieve their goals.

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Your Must-Have Guide to SWOT Analysis

Written by Adam Mohrbacher on August 20, 2024. Posted in Business Development, Education

Build out your SWOT for a complete picture of your business.

As any business leader knows, there is a huge difference between having an idea for your business and bringing it to fruition. One way to increase your chances of success is to utilize what’s known as a SWOT analysis. SWOTs bring increased visibility to your operations, while providing an honest assessment of your company’s capabilities. The exercise’s insights can then be used for more informed decision-making. Let’s explore what’s involved in doing this work and doing it right.

What is SWOT?

The “SWOT” in “SWOT analysis” is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Here’s some additional detail on each point:  

• Strengths are everything you have going for you with your business. This can include things like a strong balance sheet, top talent or a high net promoter score.
• Weaknesses are the opposite. They can include high turnover, significant customer churn or outdated and inefficient technology.
• Opportunities involve industry trends that you can capitalize on. Some examples are regulatory changes, strategic partnerships or positive changes in customer behavior.
• Threats include anything that might imperil your business in the short and long term. Threats could be negative economic forecasts, supply chain disruptions or new competitors in the market.

Create your dream team

The first thing to realize about doing a SWOT is that it’s pretty difficult to pull off alone. No business leader is going to know everything about their organization. You need a team with you that has first-hand knowledge of each aspect of your business. Include different department heads and stakeholders from both in and outside of your company.

Dig into the data

Next, begin collecting data – and lots of it. Compile information on internal processes, review existing resources and pull up any performance metrics you have on hand. Some specific examples could include:

• Financial reports
• Brand recognition data
• Customer reviews
• Employee feedback  

Draw conclusions and establish your matrix

Once you’ve gathered these insights, start identifying your company’s strengths and weaknesses. Drill down on what is working well and pay attention to any unique selling propositions. Then, do the reverse and look at what is not working. Be open and transparent here. It is the only way to get an accurate picture of what might prevent you from achieving your goals. Next, catalog opportunities and threats. Write down anything that might enable or prevent you from taking your business where you want it to go in the near and long term.

Now organize your thoughts via a SWOT matrix. It’s often easiest to group elements by: 1.)internal factors, that is, your strengths and weaknesses, followed by 2.) external factors, also known as your opportunities and threats.

Analyze your results and plan for action

You can then start putting together an action plan to achieve your organizational objectives, armed with the knowledge that you have an informed outlook on your business’s prospects. Be sure your plan works in unison with your SWOT. When done right, your plan’s strategies, tactics and decision points will grow organically out of your matrix.

Moving forward

Like any piece of strategic planning collateral, always remember a SWOT is a living document. As your business changes or the market shifts, don’t forget to update your analysis so it remains accurate and helpful. That way, you will always have a powerful tool on hand that will help you see your business clearly and make more strategic decisions.  

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