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Organizations often struggle to clearly articulate the answer to a common question. “What do you do?”
Whether developing an “elevator pitch,” the About page of your website, a press release boilerplate, or other communication aimed at conveying your reason for being, paying attention to a simple mnemonic – C-A-U-S-E – can keep your copywriting and talking points on track.
You’ll arrive at messaging that is not only clear, but concise and compelling, too, so that you can make the most out of every stakeholder interaction, whenever and wherever they occur.
Describe your organization in plain-spoken language. Leave the jargon in the conference room. You want to answer the “What do you do?” question unambiguously. At Brand Federation, for example, we energize brands to inspire customers and employees. It’s straight-forward, clear, and primed for elaboration depending on what the situation calls for.
Different situations call for adaptable messaging. An investor, for example, needs a different message than a customer does. An investor, for example, would want to know that energizing brands leads to increased employee loyalty, higher organizational morale and, therefore, stronger business performance. A prospective Brand Federation client may want the same outcome but would want to know about the strategic process that energizes brands. Messaging must adapt and pivot to the situation.
Though different audiences have different needs and expectations, there are foundational aspects of your story that unify it no matter who is receiving the message. These core concepts fuse messaging and ensure consistency. Brand Federation messaging is united by our fundamental belief that brand energy comes from the inside, fueled at its core by a great organization. Great organizations inspire employees. Inspired employees live an organization’s values and work hard for its success, creating a brand experience that in turn delights customers and earns their loyalty.
Don’t overcomplicate things. There’s no need to get into the weeds of operations, processes, or differentiators at the introductory stage. Those aspects of your business will arise as conversation continues. And if you keep things simple, you increase the probability of the conversation continuing because you have piqued interest, not overwhelmed.
Finally, engage audiences with your messaging. You’ve simply and clearly explained what you do. Now tell them why you do what you do. Help your audience see themselves working with you. How will they benefit? What will they achieve? Why should they continue the conversation? In our case, an energized brand, invigorates the organization to unleash a cascade of benefits for employees, leaders, customers, investors, and other stakeholders. This is the fun part, answering the “why” after “what.”
Absolutely nailing the answer to “What do you do?” every time it’s asked, no matter where, gives you a chance to continue talking. Isn’t that goal of any business development effort? Keeping C-A-U-S-E in mind can help you craft and deploy messaging that meets this objective.
Kelly O’Keefe, co-founder and managing partner at Brand Federation, is a respected brand strategist known for his leadership in corporate brand strategy. He is formerly a professor and chair of the creative brand management program at the VCU Brandcenter — a master's program for advertising, branding and creative problem-solving at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business. He’s an inductee in the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, a former Richmond Ad Person of the Year, as well as Virginia Entrepreneur of the Year; and he has been a strategic brand advisor to corporate clients like Capital One, Carmax, GE, ESPN, Walmart, Dominion Energy, UPS and many other leading organizations.
