Tell the Truth

One of the biggest challenges for B2B marketing is complexity. So many different campaigns, programs and tactics – and so many different channels. It’s hard to keep things straight and be effective.

I found that one of the most powerful ways to simplify your marketing and still do the work is to tell the truth.

Now, I don’t mean be honest (while that’s a great thing). What I mean is be authentic and transparent with your marketing. Know your truth and understand how it matters to your customers’ truth. Tell that story over and over again in everything you do.

You can’t get there from here

Your customers’ journey is what drives your business. They are trying to solve their problem, and your ability to help them do that is how you get paid.

If your messaging is about who you are and how great that is, you’re missing the mark. Your customer doesn’t really need to know that. Your customer needs to know how you can help them with their problems.

So you need to find a way to get your story to be their story.

The Truth Chain

I’ve used a tool called the Truth Chain with businesses to help them align their business story to their customers’ needs.

The way it works is we start at the bottom and the top of the chain and work to the middle.

At the bottom, we make sure we agree on the truth of their business – why they exist and what their value is to the world and their market.

At the top we make sure we agree on who exactly it is that we can help. Who is our target? We get very clear on who it is that we’re trying to add value for.

And then we work towards the middle to understand what’s keeping our customers up at night, and what it is we have to offer.

And then the magic – the anchor – is how we can help our customer. Understanding that message is the most important thing.

In the Challenger Sales methodology, this the commercial insight. That’s the center of your message to your client. It includes both what you do and what they need.

I have found that when you can get crystal clear on the Truth Chain, all of your marketing planning and execution becomes simpler, more impactful and more effective.