Defining key messages—this is where the best consultants deliver outstanding value
I love to ask people what advice they would give to their younger selves, as so often the answers are deeply illuminating. So for my Laika column this month, I decided to answer the question myself.
The answer came to me instantly: I would have been more robust with clients. More challenging.
I think as I have aged I have become more direct with clients, but with age, and financial security, comes a certain degree of confidence. A kind of “if you don’t like my advice, then what’s the worst that can happen” attitude.
Honest feedback vs. rocking the boat
That’s a little harder when you’re younger, and perhaps more concerned about the consequences of losing a client. This is particularly true if you happen to work for a PR firm which is part of a publicly listed organization, where the pressure on the bottom line is relentless. Of course there are many great PR people working in such firms, but the financial pressure is greater, and the temptation to dilute honest feedback in an attempt to avoid rocking the boat is greater.
Defining purpose
I think I should have been more robust with clients when helping them define their key messages, in other words, the things for which they wish to be best known. Very few companies have a unique proposition. Most have any number of competitors who do very similar things, whether that’s producing sports goods (more on that later), fashion products, electronics, or financial services.
Thus, a key element of the communications process is deciding on a company’s mission and values. If that’s not clear internally, how can it possibly be understood externally? And in my experience, the vast majority of companies have not defined their purpose with clarity, and even if they have, they’ve failed to see how it sits within the competitive marketplace.
Challenging clients
That’s where the best PR consultants earn their fee. They challenge their clients from a position of intense marketplace knowledge. I know I have become better at doing this, as I have become more experienced. I suppose there has been an element of being comfortable with becoming the dissenting voice in a discussion, the one who retains the external focus. But that’s the point of an external consultant, right? If we’re not providing perspective, I’m not sure what we’re doing.
Seducing messaging
I’m going to take Nike as the standout company in this respect. Strip Nike down to its basics, and it makes trainers and sports gear. When I’m deciding to buy a new pair of running shoes, basically I choose Nike. Frankly, I don’t really know if their running shoes are better or worse than any others. But in essence, I have been seduced by the simplicity of Nike’s messaging. The swoosh logo, the Just Do It branding, the imagery of ordinary people overcoming their fears to give their best performance.
Nike has a simplicity of purpose that has made it one of the most successful companies of my lifetime. And my advice to my younger self, internally debating whether or not I should advise a client, knowing that the reaction to my advice might not be positive? Undoubtedly, just do it. Only then are we truly adding value.
