The “silo effect” is when each marketing collateral piece seems to be envisioned and created in isolation. There is no continuity and consistency in the message to the market. Every marketing piece is a one-off which is no way to do positioning.
Yet the “silo effect” is a common problem in B2B software and technology marketing. As a result, many fail in their quest to claim a position in their market. The good news is the solution is simple as it is to identify the problem. If you aren’t saying the same thing in all your marketing communications, then you’ve got a problem.
First signs of the “silo effect” might appear on your website. For example, many companies boldly claim they are transforming how business gets done on the home pages of their websites, yet few substantiate the claim or use it as the theme for the rest of their website.
Even fewer use their position as the theme for the rest of their marketing efforts. Instead of using the same idea for each marketing piece, perhaps executing it a little differently, they come up with something new each time.
Execute the same position in all your marketing communications
What’s wrong with trying a new message for every new marketing campaign? You’ll never own a position in your market. That’s because the key to successful positioning is consistency and repetition.
Positioning is the mental space in your target audience’s mind that you can own with an idea that has compelling meaning to the recipient. It’s in this mental space where your solution to your target buyer’s most pressing problem meet and form a meaningful relationship.
You can claim a position by using it as the theme for everything you do in marketing for an extended period of time – at least 18 months and ideally much longer – and repeating your positioning statement over and over until you are sick of it. Then keep repeating it!
Before I dive into why the brain responds favorably to repetition and consistency, let’s make sure we have a common understanding of what they mean in marketing communications terms.
Which is more important? Consistency or repetition?
Consistency means sticking to your position as the central theme in all of your marketing communications. Being consistent means delivering your message strategy accurately in all media, all channels, and all markets.
Repetition means communicating your position over and over and over and over. Why be so persistent? Your prospects know nothing about your offering, and they really don’t care. You’re competing with thousands of other messages. Put yours out there often.
But which is more important – consistency or repetition? Both breakdown the “silo effect.” Although they go hand in hand, repetition is the stronger partner. Repetition – that is, repeatedly exposing the target audience to executions of the same position over an extended period of time – is perhaps the most important factor in claiming a position and giving it staying power.
Every B2B marketer should read “Neuromarketing”
That’s one of many useful takeaways from a book every B2B marketer should read, “Neuromarketing. Understanding the “Buy Buttons” in Your Customer’s Brain.” According to one of the authors, Patrick S. Renvoise, here’s why you make your positioning statement more memorable by repeating it over and over:
“Even the repetition of a few simple words sends a strong signal to the reptilian brain, prompting it to note, ‘I should remember that.’ Repeat your claims so that the reptilian brain will bookmark them as important…
“The most solid and logical message, though it may interest your prospect, will not trigger a buying decision unless the primitive, reptilian brain understands and remembers it.”
The reptilian brain is one of three parts of the brain, and it makes decisions, according to “Neuromarketing.” It responds best to statements that alleviate pain – they express a benefit that solves an important problem. And that “primitive brain which hardly understands words will pay more attention if the music and tone of your message is appealing: the repetition of your key points will create that enjoyable rhythm!”
Repetition and consistency both eliminate the “silo effect”
While repetition gets the nod over and consistency, they both eliminate the “silo effect” and are critical in claiming a position and giving it staying power. An effective position helps your target buyers associate a benefit with your product or service that makes them want to buy. With some effort, time and money, you can claim a position by consistently executing an idea that has meaning to the target audience in all your marketing communications and then repeating it, and repeating it, and repeating it…
Give it a chance to eliminate the “silo effect.” You’ll be rewarded with your own unique position in the market, one that creates awareness and demand.
Note to my readers: Eliminating the “silo effect” saves time, money and makes your marketing dollars go further. I’ll explain why in a follow up to this blog.