How many times have you listened to someone struggle to explain what their company does? Or, perhaps you yourself are the one struggling. There’s no shame in that! You’re not alone. Those situations are usually a result of veering too far away from the basics. Getting back there is obviously not a quick fix. But, let’s take a page out of the reporter’s playbook and ask the basic questions that can get you back on track:
- Who? Who are you helping at the broadest level? Now’s not the time to dive into segments and customer personae. They’re important but not when you’re giving the basic elevator pitch.
- What? What are you delivering to these people? What is the problem you’re solving?
- When? In what situations do they find themselves in need of your help?
- Where? Where are they, either literally in the world or figuratively in their heads?
- How? This question is extremely important! How do you help your customers in ways that are relevant and competitively differentiated from the other choices they have?
- Why? And, finally, perhaps more importantly, why does or should anyone care? Why do you care? As author, motivational speaker, and marketer Simon Sinek says, people don’t buy what you offer, they buy why you offer it.
If you’re able to break it down in those six basic questions, you should have a much easier time explaining what you do. Of course, if you run into roadblocks, we’re here to help.
