Let's face it, in the world of B2B expert services, brand often feels like an afterthought.
For many consultancies, training bodies and education businessess, this isn't a topic that gets much airtime in big meetings. In many ways, brand has become the ‘Kevin’ of business priorities (left home alone while the older siblings of strategy, service and sales grab their seat on the plane).
But many expertise businesses with a powerful service offerings are being let down by a weak and inneffective brand. The real problem? It isn't the logo. Or the name. Or even the lack of visibility.
It’s the messaging.
And in one sense, that’s hardly surprising. Expert services aren’t like simple products. It’s not easy to ‘package up’ people and thinking. Given the chance, smart people are prone to overthinking and overcomplicating.
Over the years, we’ve spotted the patterns – the trip hazards that can catch out even the smartest of businesses. These messaging niggles might start small, but can quickly grow into giant-sized problems for the widere business.
Here are the five most common messaging mishaps of smart businesses (and the impact they have on growth)…
#1: No clear positioning
Positioning is about being clear on two things: WHO are you here for, and WHAT what you want them to think of you. Without a clear strategy for how to position the brand in the minds of your audience, your messaging will quickly become untethered – ready to be grabbed by whoever in the business has the loudest voice or the latest idea on what's 'right'.
#2: An undefined category
Most brands in the expertise space have a category problem. They prefer to either (a) push back against traditional category labels (e.g. “think tank”; “leadership training programme”); (b) avoid the category question altogether (by saying nothing); or (c) come up with some newfangled label (“we are a global transformation enabler”). The result? Audiences left scratching their heads and wondering: “What on earth are you?!?”
#3: All jargon, no specifics
Specificity is the bogeyman for many expertise businesses. And let’s face it, being specific can feel reductionist (“we’re about so much more”). It can get you backed into a corner (“you promised if we did X, then Y would happen”). It can be difficult to get everyone to buy into ("I prefer to use this buzzword instead"). In the end, many expertise businesses opt to play it safe – framing their services in broad and vague terms, aping the meaningless jargon of their peers, and sounding just…like…everyone…else.
#4: Too much process, not enough people
Most expertise businesses love to wax lyrical about their process. Paragraphs of prose will be dedicated to the ‘methodology’, ‘principles’ or ‘model’ of delivery. But a puzzlingly small amount of real estate will be given to the real heart of the business – the people working there, and the customers they serve. The result is an imbalanced brand with too much focus on left-brain rationality, and not enough on right-brain emotion.
#5: Confusion around ‘purpose’
Whether it’s framed as purpose, vision, mission, or beliefs – most expertise brands want to unpack the why behind what they do. And what could possibly be wrong with that? Well, this tendency butts up against an inconvenient truth of marketing – that audiences will always care more about their why than your why. In short, they want to know how you will solve their problems before hearing how you'll solve the problems of the world.
N.B. For a quick sense-check of the state of your messaging, take our Meaningful Messaging quiz
What’s all the fuss about messaging, anyway...?
There’s a knock-on effect of all these messaging mishaps. We see it time and again in the world of expertise B2B services – muddled and meaningless messaging that leads to:
- Unconvinced prospects (never fully persuaded by the website, pitch deck, etc)
- Constant marketing & sales ‘hustle’ (as they pick up the slack left by the brand)
- A leaky sales pipeline (with prospects ultimately preferring other brands)
In short, ineffective messaging can quickly become a drag on demand at each stage of the customer journey:
If you're struggling to say the right things to the right people.
If you feel your brand isn’t doing enough of the heavy lifting.
If you know it’s become the ‘Kevin’ within the business.
Then maybe it’s time to get to the root of the problem –
absent positioning and ineffective messaging.
