Almost every non-profit or purpose-built organization has a solid mission and vision statement that describes what they do and what outcomes or impacts they hope to achieve. But in the digital world, you have seconds to capture someone’s attention and inspire them to click. To be successful teams need to translate what is typically referred to as the “elevator pitch” to the digital environment. If your team doesn’t already have a key message toolkit it can be a challenge to consistently communicate your story and increase awareness of your brand.
A key message toolkit starts with this elevator pitch and then adapts it to each of the audiences you communicate with. Imagine a typical scenario where you train your staff or volunteers to describe your organization and what you do. Here’s an example of an elevator speech I could make – For example if I ran into someone new at an NFP conference:
Q. NFP Conference Attendee: “What do you do?”
A. I’m a freelance Chief Marketing Officer for non-profit and purpose-built organizations. I love my business because I like helping nonprofits who may feel stuck come up with a communications plan to create clarity, solve issues, and produce measurable results.
Q. NFP Conference Attendee: “What types of issues do you most often solve?”
A. Often EDs are so busy managing the business they lack the time to bring together many diverse elements and competing priorities to create a clear communications strategy. I excel at bringing together ideas, products or programs, thoughts, etc. to combine them in a way that creates a new whole that works together better – or in figuring out a way to create a clear, compelling and concise way of describing the brand. My clients tell me I can turn information into a cohesive message that packs twice as much punch.”
Now as I read what I have written (no surprise) this it seems a bit long, so let’s consider something shorter – I may also say something along the lines of:
“I help EDs and NFP teams who are experiencing confusion, inertia or lack of movement with their marketing communications plans get to the heart of the matter quickly and find clarity on what is working, what isn’t and what they should prioritize and measure moving forward”
And since I began my retail career at Harry Rosen Mens’Wear working with the actual brand himself “Harry Rosen” who always focused on the customer first, I would leverage his teachings and tailor the message to the person I am talking to – e.g. Is it someone from a large NFP with 10+ people in “communication” roles or a new Founder with no staff.
How to Begin Mapping your Brand’s Elevator Speech
Just by reading the examples above, you can see that your volunteers, board, staff and stakeholders will have different ways of articulating your organization’s brand story to diverse audiences. And it can change over time as your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats help you focus on what elements matter most. To begin to map out your elevator pitch, make notes about each of the following criteria to help you craft your story.
- Why your brand exists (mission) and what it hopes to achieve (vision / outcomes)
- Your organization’s business objectives or strategic plan priorities
- Your brand’s current competencies
- Your brand’s current competitive advantages
- Your brand’s USP – unique selling proposition (e.g. why join / donate / buy?)
- Your brand’s lived experience and knowledge – or if you like the reasons I should believe your USP
- Key resources your brand possesses or critical skills your brand brings to the table
- Any formal accreditation / third-party validation
- The values, philosophy and culture your brand represents
- What historically has worked around the way the brand was expressed and articulated