In our last episode, Words in Action Part 1, we talked about how important it is for messaging that describes your organization to line up with what your customers actually experience. And that, if you don’t conduct what we term an Experienced Messaging® assessment, you risk a betrayal of trust that can directly impact your bottom line. In this episode, we’re going to talk about the proactive advantages of actually creating opportunities for how customers experience your key messages
Like the assessment process described in Part 1, building a brand experience begins by examining messages you’ve developed to distinguish you from other like organizations – and thinking through how those words can be translated into memorable action. (Keep in mind that the more an experience engages the five senses, the more memorable it will be.)
An example I like to use involves the birthing center of a hospital we once worked with. To help convey messages describing their approach to care, the center wanted a piece of music to play throughout the unit announcing each birth to family members in the waiting room, and other parents waiting for their babies to arrive. They considered using the “Happy Birthday” song, but instead chose “Brahms’ Lullaby.” Think of the different experience those two songs deliver and the emotion of the choice they made.
Suppose your organization provides counseling and mental health services. How can the messages you use to describe what you do, and why, be experienced when clients enter your environment? Framed pictures of people your clients can relate to, with expressions of hope and healing on their faces, can produce real encouragement. Color makes a difference. What color on the walls will reinforce the expectations you’ve communicated? Is there a calm, welcoming scent that can be used in the entry? If not, at least consider what lingering smell cleaning solutions may leave behind.
I know that right now all or most of your services are being conducted virtually. Two points on that front. One, I encourage you to listen to a past episode of Minute with Messaging entitled Staging an Impactful Digital Experience – and two, whether in person or online, the very words your staff speak produce experiences. What opportunities are there for who-you-say-you-are to be reinforced through language? For instance, let’s say messaging describes your organization as having a culture of hope and service. What empathetic and problem-solving language can be embedded into the vernacular of your organization to help deliver that experience? Employee training that we conduct for Experienced Messaging™ sometimes includes a Say This, Not That exercise, created in partnership with the client’s leadership. For instance, instead of an abrupt, “Hold please” when a caller needs more information, instruct staff to say, “Give me one minute to find that information for you.” Or, when ending a call, instead of “Did you get what you needed?” use “Is there anything more that I can help you with?” Those examples may be subtle, but the difference in experience is clear.
Experienced Messaging® doesn’t have to mean expensive remodeling. It does require thoughtful and creative strategies. As you prepare for your on-site services to resume, now is a great time to work on translating your organization’s messages into in-person experiences. Because when words are put into action it builds trust in your brand, and that’s priceless.
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.
