You’re ready to bring your new product to market — or even your new company — so it’s time to develop your marketing and PR message. Right?

Well, now’s better than never. Ideally, though, you would have started to formulate your message at the same time you were developing your business plan. Because the image you must take to your publics — your customers, your investors, your suppliers, your competition, your employees, the consulting community, the media, the blogosphere and more — is one that is tied to your business goals and reflects them appropriately in the context of the marketplace.

If you have worked out your message early in the business or product develop ment process, you can use it to help prepare the market for your eventual announcement and product introduction.

Your message should incorporate information about the business problem your product responds to — the motivation for developing the product. It should explain potential applications and the benefits to be expected. It should spark the imaginations of your potential customers, so they can envision themselves putting your product to work. It should make your employees proud and energize them as ambassadors for your company and your products. It should inspire confidence in your investors and respect in the minds of your competitors. It should clearly differentiate your product in the marketplace and make the case to your customers for choosing your solution.

Most importantly, your message should leave no doubts about the capability of your product and your company. It should be accurate and fact-based, while generating the excitement your product deserves.

By crafting your message early in your strategic planning, you have the opportunity to prime the marketplace with expectations and to explore the business challenges your product is designed to address. You also have time to test your message and to fine-tune it for optimum impact. You can explain your product and validate your message with industry consultants and prepare the media for your announcement. All these activities will help you be completely prepared for your product introduction and confident that your message is “right-on.”

When you’re heading for market, developing your message should top your strategic “to do” list.

Photo by Alan Weinkrantz - 

Quite often when speaking to a prospective client, the first question I get is: “…so do you have the right connections in the media to get us coverage?” 

Are we connected?  Does our team have “good connections?”  Sure.  That’s the easy part of what we do. 

The Message.  The Story.  It’s The Hardest Part. 

Crafting a message and developing a story is more an art than a mechanical process. This was the message I recently took to current and potential clients when I was in Israel in March (2008).  In meeting with CEOs and VPs of Marketing at leading Israeli high-tech companies I addressed the need for crafting a message that resonates with a company’s many publics including bloggers, analysts and journalists.

In twenty-five years of PR practice, I have found that it is no longer sufficient to build a traditional PR program.  The notion of just pitching stories and badgering journalists no longer works.   And while I take great  pride in knowing that yes, I “know” and have relationships with many leading members of the media, I am equally selective about when I call on them to pitch a story. 

The truth of the matter is that what has proven to be the most successful for clients in the last three years has been having them “being found,” when journalists are doing research on story ideas and industry trends.

So Where To Begin?

The first process is to clearly articulate a relevant message based on facts and endorsed throughout the organization. Then you must develop a messaging strategy and deploy a targeted blogger, media and industry analysts outreach relations program. Your goal, at this phase, is to build or strengthen effective relationships with bloggers, analysts and journalists who can not only help you hone your message, but also help you position your company, you technology, your products and your marketplace.

Four Elements of A Great Story

A successful story must have the following elements:

1.     Truth and credibility; a compelling “hook;”

2.     Independent endorsement;

3.     Clarity of purpose and message;

4.      An obvious answer to “why should I care?” 

You must also know your target audiences and carefully tailor your messages to respond to their interests and to make sure you are found on search engines.  A few well-aimed contacts can provide much more value than a random shotgun blast.  Equally, tagging, social booking marking and participating in industry blogs can contribute to the entire process.

Case studies and customer testimonials are other important elements that help reinforce a message.  Nothing speaks to the veracity of your story like case studies and customer testimonials. While it is not always possible to secure these — especially with a brand new product or technology — whatever you can do to generate third-party endorsements of your products, their performance, or the industry trends or challenges they address can be helpful in providing dimension and perspective to your story. Do not overlook story angles that include collaborators, resellers, partners, referrals, and the like. This changes the story from “he claims” to “they report” and lends credibility.

There is nothing that bolsters your company’s and products’ long-term success more than having a positive marketing story based on verifiable facts and told truthfully. To rephrase an old saying: “make it short; make it simple; but never make it up.” Take part in the conversation; consider developing your own company blog, or at the very least participate and join in on the conversation.  Applying the basics of PR and introducing social media methods into the mix will not only increase your chances of visibility, but also add to quality and authenticity of the story you are trying to communicate.