The Written Word November 13, 2008, by Peter Mirus in Marketing
One of the important ways in which I help clients is by developing a “language” which the client uses to express its vision of itself—including its core beliefs, competencies, and products/services.
This language is composed of two parts. The first part is “fact words”. These are words and phrases that the company uses when expressing truths about itself. The second part is “feel words”—what the company feels about itself and what the company wants others to feel.
There is a process for mining, or extracting these words from the conscious or subconscious thoughts of the company’s key individuals. Not everyone can easily put what they know to be true, what they believe to be true, and what they feel emotionally into concise words and phrases. I bring this information forth, refine the raw material, and craft effective pieces of corporate self-expression.
Naturally, these pieces are tailored to particular audiences. Otherwise, you aren’t making a social language—your company is making a cult language without caring if only your own company can understand it. What language is your audience already speaking, and therefore require? Some audiences require a “fact word approach”, some require a “feel word approach”, and some require a “fact/feel approach”.
So, your audience needs to be segmented for success, and an important segment is your own company! One of the great values of the process is that it provides all aspects of the company with a vibrant, yet concise language for communicating corporate vision internally.
When your new language is used for communication on all levels of your corporate structure, you’ve primed the pump for success. And through market research, the language that you use to communicate will be a language that is compatible with, and influenced by, your customers and your industry.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.