What Does Your Unique Message Look Like?

by Jason Ogden | Aug 21, 2018

“Taking your unique message to your unique audience”

If you’ve ever been in a sales meeting with Syrup, you’re likely to have heard that phrase at some point. It’s how we define Connect, the first stage of our marketing funnel. You have to do a host of things right in this step in order to connect well.  

Let’s try a quick exercise. Close your eyes and put on your sales and marketing hat for your business for a second. Try to think about just one part of that sentence: “your unique message.” Okay, got it? How many of you thought of your elevator pitch? How about your unique value proposition? Company vision? Your “why?”

I’m guessing most people responded in one of those 4 common ways. You’re right to do so, but the problem is that all of those answers are made up of words that require either a person to say and hear them, or a willing reader who’s come across some of your marketing online or in collateral of some sort. I have a follow-up question for you: what does your unique message look like? 

Your visual identity is not simply a design; it’s a part of your unique message, and it’s a critical one. In an environment where we’re exposed to thousands of messages a day, you might not get the chance to speak your message directly to someone. And we know people are becoming less and less likely to read, especially deeply. However, if a split second is all you can get from your audience, a visual message can say more, and much faster than words can. Initial responses to a visual stimulus not only start forming opinions, but can be the deciding factor on whether a person engages or moves on to the next thing. 

Both science (95% of all communication non-verbal) and anecdote (a picture paints a thousand words) support this point of view but I challenge you to consider your company’s visual identity as part of your unique message, perhaps the leading part, and not something different. In that same what that Your Logo Isn’t Your Brand, your unique message isn’t just your words.

Questions to ask  yourself

Here are some questions that might help you assess how well your visual identity lines up with your “market-ready words” and whether it’s sending the message you intend.  

• • Taking out all words from your marketing collateral & online properties, what message are you sending?  
  • How likely is a viewer willing to give your written message a look in a crowded and oversaturated marketplace after you’ve made the visual first impression?
  • How does your visual identity support things like your brand’s “uniques” and “flavors,” as well as emotionally connecting to buyer psychographics as laid out in your brand strategy?
  • Is there a strategy behind how you use creative & design to drive visually that which has been established using words?
  • Do you put as much effort into what you say visually as you do into words?

If you’re not sure what your unique message is or how to effectively communicate that to your audience, we’d love to talk. Contact us here and we’ll get started.