Selling Today
Three Steps to Generating Value Messaging That Will Resonate BY TODD M. ZIELINSKI AND LISA BENSON
Below we provide three steps to help you create value messaging that will resonate with your prospects and assist you with converting them to customers.
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ou may be asking: What is value messaging, and why should I care? Simply stated, the right valuefocused message can move you closer to making a sale. When we talk about messaging in this context, we mean what you communicate to your customers and prospects about your business, products, and services with the goal of creating a sale. The messaging could be verbal or written, online or offline. Your message plays a significant role in converting prospects to customers. When you talk to prospects or generate content aimed at them, are you talking only about capabilities such as printing
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BOXSCORE March/April 2022
ability, equipment, customization, or box sizes you offer? Many do. Unfortunately, if you are leading with capabilities or services, your messaging will become part of the pervasive messaging “noise” people are bombarded with daily. This noise is often ignored. This is where value messaging plays a vital role. Creating dynamic value messaging can help you better connect with your customers. It is about understanding your customers and meeting them where they are with real value that will positively impact their businesses. Creating impactful value messaging isn’t hard, but it does take effort and time.
Know Your Audience The first step to creating value messaging is to know your audience. This twopronged step entails gathering knowledge about the targeted person and the industry. This should be done after you have built your target market profile to narrow your focus to the types of accounts best suited for your business. With regard to the person, you may have heard this referred to as a buyer persona. This isn’t an actual individual but a representative example of the person. You will likely have a different persona for each job title and possibly each industry. This is important because the purchasing manager will have different perspectives and goals than a marketing manager, who will differ from a shipping manager. However, this doesn’t mean you should overwhelm yourself with a dozen personas. Keep it reasonable. It is also crucial that you understand the industries. A produce distributor will have much different concerns and needs than a luxury brand or a pharmaceutical company. Answering the following questions can help you better understand your target audience: • Who is buying your packaging? • What packaging solutions are they buying, and what is important to the person or required by the industry (e.g., SFI certification, ISTA testing, food-safe materials, tamper
