• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 21, 2015

According to a new survey by Corporate Visions, Inc., nearly three-quarters of companies do not have a formalized marketing messaging process for all employees to follow. This results in a lack of consistency and an abundance of product- or company-focused content, which ultimately impedes an organization’s ability to connect with customers, says the report.

 The survey asked respondents how they would describe their company’s marketing campaigns and sales content development process. The results highlighted that more than 70% of respondents do not follow a clearly defined message development process within their organization, while a 10% reported they aren’t sure what their company does at all:

• Everyone follows a well-established message development process   (28.7%)
• We have an established message development process, but it is not applied consistently   (35.1%)
• We have a message development process, but it is rarely followed because people are unaware or feel unaccountable    (13.2%)
• We don’t have a formal process for message development; we hire people and expect them to do the right thing, but it’s hit-or-miss in terms of execution   (12.2%)
• I don’t really know what we do    (10.8%)

This lack of consistency and customer focus across marketing campaigns and sales content has resulted in one-third of companies still focusing their campaigns on their own story, rather than that of their customers:

• Customer-centric; we focus on our prospects’ story   (27.2%)
• Company-centric; we focus on our own company’s story   (32.1%)
• Our campaigns contain an even mix of both    (40.7%)

 Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions, says that “… company-centric messaging often leads salespeople into a competitive discussion… distinguishing their organization from other vendors… (so)prospects and customers tend to stick with… status quo rather than making a decision to change… customer-centric messaging… focuses on identifying customers’ and prospects’ unconsidered needs… this most effective method… creating urgency for change that results in more closed deals...”

 When asked how companies ensure consistency across their marketing campaigns and sales content, the results found that only 34% provide ongoing coaching to help employees stay on track. More alarming, says the report, is the fact that 20% of respondents feel there is no process for ensuring consistency at all:

• 58.3% depend on templates and tools to reinforce training and guarantee consistent messaging company-wide
• 50.8% have trained their content creators and expect them to apply the messaging approach consistently
• 44.3% depend on a brand guide to set parameters for consistency
• 34.3% rely on coaches to provide oversight, quality control and feedback for content creators to ensure messaging stays on track
• 18.7% believe it’s a free-for-all and everyone just does whatever they think is best

 “… these unsettling survey results demonstrate the urgent need for companies to develop a marketing methodology… rooted in customer-centric messaging… underscored by a unified approach to message and content development…” concludes Riesterer.

For more information about Corporate Visions, visit http://corporatevisions.com/ or call 415-464-4400 or 800-360-SELL.