Does Your Elevator Pitch Convey Your Brand Effectively?

Every company has an elevator pitch – the very brief description you give when asked what your company does.  Your response should describe the true essence of your company or brand – those characteristics that make it unique in the market. Thus, it is very important for your company to have a very carefully crafted “elevator pitch,” or as we call it, a Brand Franchise Statement.  

The Brand Franchise Statement should be an up-to-date description of who your company is, what it does, and what sets your company apart from your competitors.  It can be used wherever and whenever a quick, short description of your company is needed.  The typical elevator pitch should take roughly 30 seconds to convey, give or take a few seconds.  As you might guess, expressing your brand accurately may require some careful wordsmithing, but imagine the power of word-of-mouth if everyone in your company expresses your brand consistently with a concise brand statement, particularly if you work for a large organization with thousands of employees!  

While many people understand the importance of having a well-crafted  elevator pitch, they don’t consider all of the ways that you can use such a statement.  Here are seven ways an elevator pitch can be used across your organization:

1. Live sales meetings and presentations - this is the description the sales team should use in speaking with customers and prospects.
2. Marketing material - use this description in marketing materials and various media such as brochures, data sheets, website, etc.  It doesn’t have to be used verbatim, and can be edited to fit the situation.  But, the essence should be as close to the original wording as appropriate.
3. Industry directories, buyers’ guides and SEO. - use this for industry directory listings, search engines, GlobalSpec, ThomasNet, etc.  Most importantly, use this to identify key phrases for SEO.
4. Media relations - for PR purposes, this is very important and used often.  It provides editors with the brief company description they often want and need.  Providing them with a well written description may also prevent the editor from describing your company in her own words, which could be risky.  A brief description is also required to be on every press release your company issues.
5. Vendor relations - you can use this to provide a company description to vendors, so that if they need to describe your business, they’re on the same page and using the same messaging as you.
6. Channel communications - use this with and for dealers, distributors, and other channel partners, so that they are also describing your company to their customers in the same manner as you.
7. Employees - use this in your internal communications, so that all employees speak about and describe your company in the same way.

You can see that by using the same “song sheet” in a variety of ways, and by the many people associated with your company, you can present a consistent and up-to-date message about your brand.  You will be utilizing word-of-mouth marketing with a clear brand message in the most cost-effective way possible.

Consider the value of your company’s brand equity.  Isn’t it important to have consistent and accurate brand messaging taking place for your brand?  Among all company stakeholders, customers and prospects?