Christopher Penn, accomplished marketing thought leader and speaker, mentioned a cool idea in a recent newsletter. Say hello to the first, best, only test.
He mentioned that he learned the idea when he worked with a national agency called SHIFT Communications and its former CEO, marketer Todd Defren. SHIFT was a Boston-based firm with offices in NYC, San Francisco, and Austin.
It turns out Todd lives in the Raleigh-Durham area, where I reside. We never met, yet we both worked in the same southern region and marketing industry for many years. I was aware of SHIFT but our paths never crossed.
Penn said that he learned from Todd a simple test he used with clients called first, best and only.
- What are you first at?
- What are you best at?
- What can someone only get from you?
This simple approach helps clarify the most common marketing challenge I discuss with clients every day. For years, I always referred to it as the “only we” statement.
In a brief LinkedIn exchange, Todd said he thought he first learned of this approach from Jim Collins or Al Ries books. I learned about “only we” from a conversation I had with a marketing agency partner during my Slim Jim days in the 1990s.
Sorry, Everyone Says They Have Great Customer Service
A few months ago, I asked a client what they are known for by prospects – what is their point of differentiation? What is their “only we statement”.
My clients went on and on about how their point of difference was their customer service. She was effusive about their fantastic team and how they are their “secret sauce.” It appears that no one has people who care as much as her people.
Really?
I demonstrated to her that their competitors were equally responsive and just as kind when I called them to discuss an order I placed with them. They were quick, prompt, and resolved my questions and issues in under a few minutes. Seems like they too have great people and systems in place.
Excellent customer service is table stakes – the price to play these days. If you think that answering the phone or text chatting politely makes you world-class – think again.
Examples
If you can’t answer the question to demonstrate what you are first, best, or only, no wonder your marketing is ineffective. Your messaging isn’t telling prospects how you can help them and reduce a pain point.
The first gluten-free cassava premium cassava flour sold in the U.S. for home bakers is special and a culinary game-changer, matching wheat’s unique taste and texture. You can substitute Otto’s for traditional wheat flour and they provide enticing recipes.
A catalog for the left-handed consumer who wants kitchen and gardening tools is an example of the best provider in the world of left-handed instruments. Most catalogs serve 85% of consumers who are right-handed.
Only Serengeti Tea Company makes their tea bags a stirrer to infuse and stir simultaneously. This company solves two problems at once – and is unlike any other tea biz. Only Serengeti gives you a stirrer as part of the teabag/infuser.
Try This Exercise
Send an email to some of the folks that work at your company. Ask them to share with you, in a sentence, what makes your company first, best, or an only we. Read the responses.
If the answers are all over the place, you need to improve your internal messaging first and probably your external communications.
When I did this with my client, she was surprised at her teammates lack of clarity about what made them special. Answers were all over the place, they weren’t succinct, and they didn’t have a simple hook to help tell their story.
A Simple Phrase
Often, a communications solution is as simple as a phrase that helps position you. It is a language that your company can use to tell exactly the right story. When Chris Penn is asked what makes his agency special, he says, we are data detectives. He builds his company’s message from this starting place.
One of my clients was struggling with language to use for their technology consulting business – after some work together, I suggested they use the language that they were data architects. It perfectly describes who they are and how they see themselves as different. It was a launching off point for an explanation. It helped everyone in the company to frame their point of difference for the markets they served.
A simple phrase like data architects is an example of a great building block for telling your story. Everyone in your company can easily remember it and, then show examples of how like a building architect, you construct data for businesses to help clients achieve your goals.
First, best and only is a great place to start thinking about marketing strategy and communications.
Need assistance defining your first, best and only?
I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash
