Words In Action Part 1-Are People Experiencing Who You Say You Are?

“Walk the talk.” I’m not a fan of that expression.  Maybe because I’ve heard too many people say that they do when they don’t, but its intention provides a critical principle for your organization’s communications.

Formulating messaging that articulates your unique purpose, values, even culture, is essential for marketing your services and distinguishing you from the competition. But when the organizational messages you have so carefully crafted are not what your customers or clients experience, the result is a betrayal and breakdown in trust that can directly impact your bottom line.

The first step to what we’ve termed, Experienced Messaging^® is to examine where your organization’s messages apply to what you do, and assessing their authenticity.  For instance, let’s say you are a healthcare system that describes its focus of delivering care as family centered.  From your front door process of admissions through discharge, would your patient families agree? Do each of their experience touch points, whether over the phone or in person, support that message? If not, how and what changes need to be made to ensure that they do?

Staying with the healthcare example, if a core message to referring physicians and other professionals is that they are highly valued partners, do they experience that message in how they’re kept informed of their patient’s care and progress?

Assessing how your organization’s messages are experienced is not intended to point fingers or undermine employee confidence. In fact, the Experienced Messaging^® process identifies opportunities for improved employee support, recommended tools for enhancing their success and employee training. And while it’s natural for organizations to focus their attention on external communications, if who you say you are isn’t what employees experience for themselves, it’s important to get your own house in order first and turn your attention inward.  If you’re the healthcare system that describes itself as delivering family centered care, is that a message your own employees experience? 

Trust is an endangered commodity and the scrutiny of whether your company – your organization – is who it says it is, has never been more intense or the risks higher. In our next episode we’ll flip perspective and look at the proactive advantages of actually creating opportunities for how customers can experience your key messages.  

I’m Kelli Newman and this has been a Minute with Messaging™. To learn more about Experienced Messaging^® and view a menu of marketing packages we’ve developed for these challenging times, visit our website at NEWMANandNEWMANinc.com.