Ten Core Concepts for

Communicating Value

in Industrial Markets

Value!

Rhett Talley, National Business Development Manager, Scale Components Pty Ltd

What is the

Vision and Mission served by our

Value Communication Strategy?

Wait! Why are we here?”

“And what are we supposed to do?”

1

The customer is a precisely defined market segment or niche comprised of

buyer personas with known characteristics, challenges, value needs, preferences, and expectations.

Where in the world are you?

Who is our customer?2

Please answer these two questions: 1. What do we want the customer to buy? 2. And…why?

Answer: We want to improve the customer’s life by sellinga valued solution to a vexxing problem which we really understand.

“Mr Customer, I understand your frustration, your pain...”

“…and with our company’s help soon you will be this guy…”

“Please, tell me about your problem. It could be an opportunity to improve the quality of your life…”

This is you:

This is the customer:

3

Regarding what we want to sell, how and why is it really valued by the customer?

Do we have a deeply informed understanding of our customer’s value needs and expectations?

“What do you see?”

“It’s leaking. Clearly the food trough has been poorly riveted, sanded in the wrong grain direction, and is unsymmetrical.”

“How about you? What do you see?”

“I see the end of my hunger.”

4

Do we and the customer have a shared understanding of problems, needs and expectations? Do we assist the customer in articulating need and value?

How well does the customer understand her own problem and value need?

“I’m not really an expertat this stuff.

I’m in the dark here.”

5

Does our value narrative content clearly identify and address insightfully, effectively, and persuasively the customer’s value need and value expectation?

Is it a great story that engages and makes sense?

Like a perfect couple, does it seem that we are a match made in heaven?

“What’s a value narrative?”

“Uh, I think it’s a brochure.”

Insert Value Partnership here

6

What is our value narrative communication strategy within our target market and what tactics do we employ to connect our compelling value story with those expectations and needs of targeted persons or companies?

• Telephone Conversations• Face to Face Meetings• Direct Mail• Trial Use Offers• Email Campaigns• Technology Showroom• Telemarketing• Company Technical Blogs• Thought Leader Blog• Social Media• Print Advertising• Trade Media Articles• Web Based Advertising• Trade Shows• White Papers• Google SEO Mastery• Social Cause Promotions• Peer Word of Mouth• Company Newsletters • You Tube Videos• Technology Roadshows

Go see a customer!

Sir, Is that a tactic or a strategy?

7

What are we famous for? (What does our brand actually mean to our customer?)

Does our customer and our target market even know what we are famous for?

Should they? Have you told them?

“Thanks for calling our company! My name’s Bob and I’m the CBMO (Chief Brand Meaning Officer).”

8

How effectively do we communicate and reinforce the value-in-use and value co-creation story of our existing satisfied customer-partners to prospects and industry peers?

9

In all of this wonderful value communication, how does it stack up within the need requirements of our Web, Google, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, and other enquiry capture and convert strategies?

Have we defined what our need requirements actually are? Or who is in charge?

Incoming enquiry levels needed to B/E

Actual incoming enquiry levels (Yikes!)

10

Bonus Slide!

“Mr Customer: The guy on the left chose to partner with our company…

…the guy on the right chose to partner with a different company…

…please don’t be the guy on the right.”

If you’ve made it this far – thanks for viewing. Now go and market something! © Rhett Talley 2014