I am a regular reader of Protein Power author Dr. Mike Eades' blog. He mainly covers issues relating to nutrition, and how to control or treat certain conditions (like diabetes) with diet - but lately he's been posting often about the dangers of statin drugs, used to lower cholesterol. In his opinion, statins are over-prescribed, have no proven benefit, and can actually lead to harm. So what does this have to do with your Essential Message?
A few days ago, Dr. Eades posted a letter he received from a reader. This person had been given statins by his doctor to treat a slightly high cholesterol reading (which, according to some doctors, is actually not a problem that requires treatment at all). He experienced some unpleasant side effects, for which he was given more drugs...and those drugs gave him side effects, so he got even more drugs, and so on. Eventually, he became extremely ill and is now attempting to rebuild his health - without statins, or any other drugs. You can read the entire post here, if you're interested (and I highly recommend doing so).
The logic of this whole situation baffled me. Why would a doctor not see that his patient was not getting better under his course of treatment - and in fact, was actually getting worse? Then I realized that this pattern is not at all unlike what we see here at The Essential Message, time and time again, with our Clarity Package clients.
There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of marketing books, tactics, strategies and tips floating around out there. When clients come to us, it's usually not because they lack information about how to market their service - it's because what they've been doing isn't working for them. They've tried networking. They've tried newsletters. They've tried radio spots, direct mail, and full-page ads. And sure, they've gotten a few hits. But they know these efforts aren't bringing in the business that they could, or should, be. Still, they keep at it - they read more books, hold more strategy meetings, seek more advice. But nothing changes. They're taking pill after pill, but not getting better.
The problem? They're treating an improper diagnosis. Their marketing efforts aren't the problem - more often than not, it's their core messaging that ails. Without establishing a core message, one that communicates their true differentiation, all of their marketing efforts are in vain. Like the pills, it doesn't matter how many strategies you throw at a marketing problem if the actual problem isn't the marketing in the first place. But once you treat the real problem - the overall messaging - all of the marketing symptoms go away. Suddenly, the course of treatment is clear (and much simpler). And their business starts taking on a healthy glow.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Are you treating the symptoms, or the disease? Go through the "What's Your Essential Message" workbook (free to Bullpen members) and, as you do the exercises, really think about what makes you different from everyone else. What is your core message? Are you getting that across in your marketing? Examine your current efforts - brochures, press releases, sales letters, website - and see if you can diagnose any conditions that would be curable with the proper core messaging RX.
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