This is the third and final part of the "Defining your company in marketing terms" series, you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

In this blog, I will touch on tips to help develop credibility and provide a link to an exercise on how to develop an elevator pitch.

If you find this useful, let me know via twitter @FallonEmery. I'm here to help you--let me know what other topics you would like to see me cover.

DEVELOP CREDIBILITY

When defining your company in marketing terms and preparing for promotion, establishing credibility quickly is an important part of differentiation and creating your value proposition. Think about how you can reference your strengths such as:

  • Third party accreditation, for example "Microsoft Gold Partner"
  • Awards, for example "Microsoft Partner of the Year"
  • Experience in servicing an industry, for example "more than 15 years helping manufacturers get the most out of an investment in technology"
  • Customers, for example "Servicing 4 of the top 5 apple growers in Washington State"

 THE ELEVATOR PITCH

An effective elevator pitch should be unique, and have the following characteristics:

  • Brevity: be concise and think of the bigger picture.
  • Customer-focused: Why should they care?
  • Benefit-driven: What is in it for them?

 Develop multiple versions for different uses:

  • 30-second verbal: phone pitches, presentations, networking
  • 50-word version: email, websites other than your own
  • Single paragraph version: brochures, website, written presentations, press releases

EXERCISE: Can you describe your company in 30 seconds or less? Can you write a simple sentence describing your company? What does it really say about you to your prospects, existing customers and internal staff? Do all of your employees know your elevator pitch? The Partner Messaging Framework Template is a valuable resource to help you with this process