The development of brand messaging can be a time-consuming task. And a big investment. You might be questioning the worthiness of the expense.
While I get the hesitation, have you considered that your existing messaging might actually be costing you money in ways you aren't aware of? It happens more than you might think. In fact, you may be surprised to find that the repercussions of messaging misalignment can extend far beyond the surface indeed.
Let's dive into the hidden costs that can arise when brand messages go astray.
Confused Customers
Imagine you're at a party, meeting new people, and each time you introduce yourself, your story changes slightly. One minute you're an avid traveler, the next you're a culinary enthusiast. Confusing, right?
Inconsistent brand messaging works the same way for customers. When they encounter your brand messaging across different platforms and messages, each telling a slightly different story, it creates uncertainty. They're left wondering, "What does this brand truly stand for?" The confusion erodes trust, hindering customers' ability to make informed decisions.
Building and maintaining trust is a delicate process, and misalignment can disrupt this crucial aspect of customer relationships.
To learn more: Our Messaging and Positioning Infographic visually conveys how misaligned messages lead to customer confusion.
Missed Sales Opportunities
In today’s competitive marketplace, the clarity of your brand messaging can make or break a potential customer's decision to engage with your content, your sales team, and your products.
Think of each piece of your brand messaging as a stepping stone in your prospect’s path to becoming a paying customer. They’re trying to move from one stepping stone to the next, but the stepping stones get difficult to recognize (and trust) when they don’t coordinate well enough with the ones right before and after. These confused customers oftentimes just stop walking the path. Or they do it with very little enthusiasm or interest. This means very few end up at your sales team’s door. And those that do may be less likely to convert.
Bottom line, each obscured opportunity represents a potential loss in revenue and market share.
Increased Sales Cycle Length
Okay, so confusing customers doesn’t always cause missed sales. But where you still get a conversion, you might be horrified to see how often it comes with a much longer sales cycle.
Why? Conflicting messaging leads to indecision. And indecision requires more trust building, persuasion, and case building to get over. This all leads to a longer sales cycle that neither party wants.
A prolonged decision-making process erodes customer confidence, reduces your chances of capturing good word of mouth and positive social proof in the course of that sale, delays revenue generation, and places additional burden on your sales and marketing teams.
Think of it this way: There’s also an opportunity cost associated with that drawn out effort. It’s about what your team isn’t doing with that extra time they’re spending spelling value propositions out to customers that weren’t made clear enough before. Closing sales faster allows your team to turn their attention to the next lead more quickly. That means more sales opportunities, more conversions, and more revenue.
Wasted Resources
Imagine sales and marketing as a dynamic duo. They work together, feeding would-be customers complimentary information that builds momentum, trust, and excitement until the customer converts with a purchase. It’s a symbiotic system with exponential gains in efficacy. But, when sales and marketing strategies aren’t in sync, you might as well be pouring time and money down the drain.
It often happens when a company lacks holistic messaging guidance. It becomes an every-man-for-themselves situation. And being the natural storytellers they are, people on your sales and marketing teams are going to do a great job of making things up. Different things. They’ll spend time and resources doing it. Time and resources that—because the efforts are disjointed—won’t lead to the efficient conversion of the leads they’re trying to woo. But rather, a gummed up sales funnel where a marketing message is saying one thing and a sales manager is saying another.
It can result in duplicated efforts, unnecessary expenses, and an overall drain on your company's financial resources.
Where every interaction with customers matters, the cost of misaligned brand messages can be substantial. By addressing these hidden costs, your brand can fortify its messaging identity, streamline its operations, and create a more resilient and successful business model.
Need a helping hand? We’ve got just the thing. Download our Messaging and Positioning Template to get started.
