In highly competitive industries like cybersecurity and cloud computing, PR and marketing are essential to ensure that companies and their offerings stand out from the crowd. But how can marketers make sure their key differentiators are showcased in ways that bring their unique value home to prospects? Below are five strategies that can help.
1. Customer Persona Assessment
Analyzing your key customer personas can provide valuable insight into your target customers’ needs and buying journeys. It’ll also help you identify ways to engage them effectively and define your differentiators in terms that will mean the most to the customer. It comes down to three questions:
• Who is your customer? Work with your sales or service team members to create a list that describes your target customer personas, includin
g information like demographic details, objectives, challenges and fears.
• What’s their buying journey? When did your customers realize they had a need? Where did they first encounter your product/service? What led them to choose you over other vendors? Think about which differentiators mean the most to your customers. Use your martech tools to analyze how your customers found you and how they’ve interacted with your content.
• What’s the most practical way to engage them along their journey? Use the data points you’ve just uncovered to plot out a strategy for the best ways to engage with prospects.
2. Positioning And Messaging (P&M) Framework: Define Your Message
The goal of this framework is to distill a company and its solutions down to the bare bones — the absolute core of the company and why its products or services are unique. This will serve as a guide when developing any kind of content, including press releases, articles and social media.
By ensuring key messages and differentiators are consistently disseminated throughout all content and communications, target audiences can get a clear understanding of your company, its unique value proposition and why they should care. This framework will serve as the gold standard to keep your communications team on message as well.
A comprehensive P&M includes:
• Target Audience: The people you’re creating content for
• Market Challenges: This is where your customer persona assessment comes in handy
• Positioning: How your offerings solve market challenges
• Differentiating Messages: Specific to each customer segment
• Elevator Pitch: Describe core business value in about 100 words, 50 words and 10 words or less
• A list of keywords for SEO optimization
3. Media Engagement
Consumers and potential clients often look to reputable publications, journalists and other thought leaders for information on leading and emerging vendors and noteworthy technology solutions. Securing on-message coverage that drives home key differentiators for your company and its products, expertise and achievements are essential for standing out from the pack.
However, with the number of publications and journalists shrinking, expanding visibility in today’s media landscape has become more challenging than ever. Here are a few fundamental tactics we use:
• Diversify efforts. A holistic media communications plan incorporates a strategic mix of channels and content formats to maximize engagement with key audiences. This includes a balance of owned, earned and paid media in multiple formats, such as press releases, videos and infographics.
• Be a partner to the media. As the media landscape shrinks, it’s increasingly important to establish your brand as a valuable partner to journalists. This requires you to do your homework on their interests, engage with their stories, respect their time and, finally, bring them newsworthy information they’ll want to cover. Using these tactics to foster stronger connections will keep media contacts aware of your company and its market positioning. It also opens the door to becoming a go-to resource for industry expertise.
• Think beyond traditional media. Today’s social media platforms have empowered a broad array of thought leaders to build substantial followings. These influencers populate a wide credibility spectrum, comprising everything from explicit pay-to-play opportunities to much more credible straight-shooters. Choose your influencers wisely and cultivate relationships that’ll reach beyond traditional media.
4. Customer Success Stories
Case studies and success stories from customer champions demonstrate how your key differentiators drive results in a real-world context. After all, in a crowded market, each of your competitors is likely to tout that they’re the leading vendor or provide the most innovative solutions. But without proof to back it up, they’re just another voice in a sea of noise.
Customer case studies expand validation through media engagement. They’re also a key asset during the decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey. Compelling case studies combine human interest with technology and business know-how to demonstrate your company’s ability to deliver a positive return on investment. The narrative should keep the focus on the customer, showing how they overcame their challenges with your product and the new capabilities and results that arose.
Developing an engaging story that differs from your standard “features and benefits” marketing language helps potential customers understand how your product has specifically benefited another company experiencing similar pain points.
5. Analyst Validation
Journalists and potential customers will often look to analysts for their market expertise. Analysts offer reputable and detailed information on industry landscapes, including top vendors and the unique benefits that each offers. Developing these relationships through an analyst relations (AR) program is critical to driving home differentiators and establishing a market position.
At Nadel Phelan, we’ve helped clients validate their value propositions by getting them placed among competitors in coveted buyers’ guides, like Gartner’s Magic Quadrant and The Forrester Wave, showcasing their industry leadership and what makes them special.
To get the most value out of your AR program, speak with leading industry analysts — especially those talking about your competitors — at least once every six months.
Communicate To Differentiate
No matter what you sell or what service you provide, you’ll always have competitors. Unfortunately, customers don’t always buy the best product or service. They buy what they think is best, based on what they know and learn from their surroundings. Use the recommendations above to create differentiators that are meaningful to your prospects, and educate them about your unique value from every angle.