Ever struggle to explain what you do without sounding like everyone else? Having a clear and succinct way to get across what makes you stand out is powerful – but hard to achieve. That’s where your brand messaging framework comes in – it quite literally helps you get your story straight.
Without well-defined messaging, you end up describing your business slightly differently every time – on your website, in a newsletter, at a networking event – and your ideal clients never quite catch the full picture.
So, let’s find out more about what makes an effective brand messaging framework!
What is my brand messaging?
If your brand strategy tells you what you want to say and to whom, your brand messaging is about how you say it to your customers. It’s the actual words you put in front of people you want to work with. It helps you focus on the key messages you’ll use across every piece of marketing, from social media to your elevator pitch.
That makes it a crucial piece of the puzzle for you as the business owner and marketing lead. However, it’s also vital when bringing in other people. Whether you work with a freelance copywriter on your marketing campaigns or your assistant is helping with your social media, your messaging is an important guideline for them.
Your brand messaging framework is the language equivalent of your visual brand guidelines defining your logo, fonts, imagery and colour palette. It creates consistency and alignment in how your business is represented online and offline. And, it substantially strengthens your message, making it memorable, simple and much more effective.
Haven’t defined your brand strategy yet? Make sure to check out my Small Business Brand Strategy Guide first.
Step 1: Your value proposition
The first thing to get right for your brand messaging framework is your value proposition: a statement that names the best possible outcome your ideal clients get from working with you. Not your products or services themselves, but the transformation and results you deliver.
It answers the question: “If I choose this business, what will I get that I can’t get elsewhere?”. This often lays the groundwork for your business’s tagline.
Working out your value proposition starts with listing the benefits you deliver for your ideal clients. Then, you dig into what each one really means to them – the value it brings – until you land on the one that matters most.
In my brand strategy guide, I used the example of a personal trainer who came to fitness later in life. Let’s continue with that example here.
The PT’s reason for starting the business was to help people see that an active lifestyle is possible and accessible at any age. Their ideal clients are adults who want to start exercising but feel intimidated, unsure or out of practice. They’re looking for help to feel stronger, healthier and more confident in everyday life.
So, some of the benefits of working with our PT are:
- Feeling supported and understood from day one.
- Building a fitness habit that’s sustainable and realistic.
- Overcoming fear or self-doubt around exercise.
- Seeing real progress that improves health, energy and wellbeing at their own pace.
To find the value for the customer of each of these benefits, Emma Stratton’s book Make It Punchy has a very effective tactic. Ask yourself, “So what?”
The idea is to ask this a few times over until you get to what each benefit really means. The result is a list of possible value propositions. Now look at it with your ideal clients and their goals in mind. The one that stands out, that describes the best possible outcome for your clients, that’s your value proposition.
Let’s take the PT’s benefit “overcoming fear or self-doubt around exercise”, for example:
So what?
> They stop dreading workouts and start looking forward to them.
So what?
> Movement stops being a chore and becomes something they actually enjoy.
So what?
> They discover that being active can feel good.
By asking “So what?”, you can explore what your small business is helping your ideal clients ultimately achieve.
When I did this for my own business, this process led me to the value proposition of “become the go-to for your favourite customers“. I also use this as my tagline. For our PT, it could look like this:
Value proposition: Helping bookworms, armchair athletes and sofa survivors discover the joy of being active
Tagline: Find your fit, or: Discover the joy of being active
Step 2: Your framework template
Now it’s time to turn all of this into a full messaging framework. Emma Stratton’s book Make It Punchy has a great template for this, which we’ll use for our PT example here:
[value proposition/tagline]
Find your fit: Helping bookworms, armchair athletes and sofa survivors discover the joy of being active.
Let’s find a way to move that fits your life, builds your confidence, and helps you stay active for the long term.[Key benefit 1 + features]
Build confidence and consistency
Gain the skills, habits and motivation to make movement a natural part of your life.
- Step-by-step programmes tailored to beginners and returners
- Coaching that removes fear, intimidation and pressure
- Realistic pacing to fit movement seamlessly into everyday routines
[Key benefit 2 + features]
Improve strength, energy and wellbeing
Feel stronger, more energised and capable, so daily life feels easier and more enjoyable.
- Functional exercises that improve mobility, stamina and core strength
- Focus on long-term progress, not short-term performance targets
- Guidance on building routines that suit your lifestyle and goals
[Key benefit 3 + features]
Enjoy fitness that fits your life
Move in a way that feels approachable, rewarding and sustainable – without the stress of gym culture.
- Supportive, welcoming environment for beginners and returners
- Flexible programmes designed to fit your schedules and commitments
- Encouragement and motivation to make movement enjoyable, not daunting
This brand messaging framework is the perfect foundation for all your marketing going forward. From your website and newsletter to your elevator pitch, you’ll use it everwhere.
For example, our PT could use the following as an introduction and elevator pitch at his next networking event:
Introduction
“I’m a personal trainer specialising in helping people who’ve never felt exercise was for them find their fit. I help you figure out a way to move that actually works for your life, builds confidence and helps you enjoy being active long-term. Basically, it’s about making fitness approachable and enjoyable for people who thought it wasn’t for them.”Elevator pitch
“I’m a personal trainer making fitness approachable and enjoyable for people who always thought it wasn’t for them.”
Now, over to you – time to stop sounding like everyone else!
KEEP READING
To read more about this topic, have a look at these:
How to Build Trust with Your Marketing (and Attract the Right Clients).
Small Business Content Strategy: Show Up Consistently & Keep it Simple.
Small Business Brand Strategy: Stop Blending In and Start Standing Out.
Create a Strong Brand: How I Did It and How You Can Too.
