What to Change, and When (Jim Karrh On Marketing)

Is it time for a change in your business message? Depending on the research you follow and the experiences of other organizations, you could be led to different conclusions.

On one side of the argument, there is plenty of evidence that companies change their message too often or for the wrong reasons. Let’s take the specific example of advertising slogans.

Way back in 2003, I shared with you the results of a nationwide survey that tested the slogans of 22 big marketers, each of which was spending more than $100 million annually on advertising. Of those 22 big spenders, only Walmart had a slogan that generated more than 50% recognition. The lowest-scoring slogans in the survey were mostly ones that had been changed within the previous year.

That is still a consistent pattern today. In many cases, the company has new marketing leadership or a new agency and people want to make their mark. A slogan or other new messaging is one of the easiest and fastest ways to do so. But a messaging change, just for the sake of change, carries both direct and opportunity costs. It’s easy to confuse consumers and lose the valuable brand equity that has been built over time.

There is another side of the argument, of course. Consumers tend to respond to what’s new and different; the same old same old gradually loses our attention. In addition to the effects on consumer psychology, there’s evidence that financial markets respond to new and different messaging as well. Publicly traded companies typically see a bump in their share prices (of about 1%, according to market event studies) in the days following the announcement of a new slogan.

How should you resolve this? I believe that messaging decisions are strategic ones; they should not be based on egos, general itchiness or any factor other than the growth imperatives of the business. There are, however, important inflection points in a business that should lead the leadership to at least consider new messaging:

► You need to establish base awareness and identity, as with a startup or newer business. In that scenario, your message needs to somehow rise above the noise while also attaching the unfamiliar you to some familiar problem that needs solving.

► There is some general rebranding initiative, designed to help establish a new position in the marketplace. Where are you being misperceived or underappreciated today?

► A company is growing quickly, bringing in new people who need to be equipped with a different set of stories to share.

► The company has a new leadership team, which needs introduction in line with a new vision (we would assume) for the business.

► The organization is adding significantly to its portfolio of products or solutions. In this case, you would likely focus your new message on existing customers or clients.

► You are now serving new or additional markets, such as a new type of customer or expanded locations.

► You have made, or are in the process of making, a significant acquisition. This one typically involves a sequence of messaging, starting with conversations designed to remove some of the mystery (and worry and skepticism) that many customers of the acquired business will naturally have.

► You are introducing new ways that you serve customers — e.g., online offerings, bundled offerings or new distribution or sales partners. Even if the changes seem pretty basic or minor to you, recognize that your changes still require some changes from your customers. They likely didn’t ask for that.

There is nothing inherently wrong with new messaging when there is a new agency or a new marketing sheriff in the company. But whether the impetus for change comes from the inside or in response to a new external circumstance, it pays to keep your message focused on the customer’s world. We all have plenty of changes to deal with.

Jim Karrh of Little Rock is a consultant and professional speaker, host of “The Manage Your Message Podcast” and author of the new book “The Science of Customer Connections.”