Where’s The Conflict In Your Message?

Communication is powerful when actions and words agree. But credibility crumbles when there’s conflict between what you are saying and who you are being. The brain immediately recognizes any inconsistencies, and reacts by raising a bright red flag of disconnect and doubt. So cheap talk won’t win your customer’s loyalty or trust.

But aligning your actions with your words is easier said than done. Inconsistencies sometimes creep up unintentionally, and these things happen to the best of us.

Even the mighty U.S. Military struggles to recognize and resolve conflicts in the messages it sends.

A recent article from The New York Times quoted Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying, “No amount of public relations will establish credibility if American behavior overseas is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting.”

Admiral Mullen reasoned that American messages to counter extremist propaganda campaigns “lack credibility, because we haven’t invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven’t always delivered on promises.”

Bingo.

And just like the U.S. Military, your company must also deliver on its promises. So here are three straightforward questions that you should ask yourself regularly to ensure your actions and words agree.

The Three Questions of Message Alignment:

1. What are your company’s defining characteristics?
   What makes your business special? What are those values that your business stands for, or against?  What promises or claims are being made in your advertising? How about on your website?  And don’t forget about the unspoken expectations customers might have of you. Be diligent. Flush everything out.
2. What signals do your decisions send?
   Look at your business through the eyes of the customer. Start with the basics: Review your hours-of-operation. Comb through your policies and procedures. Examine the decisions that your employees make. And most importantly, gather customer feedback, comments and reviews of your products or services. Google Alerts is a crafty way to keep tabs on your company’s reputation. This free service allows you to choose multiple keywords that are relevant to your business. Google will then scour the Internet and email you each time any of these words have been mentioned relative to to your company.
3. Is there conflict between what you are saying and who you are being?
   Remember, your company’s credibility is at stake here. Move quickly to reconcile any contradiction:  Whack the clichés. Close all loopholes. Substantiate every claim. Investigate any complaint or concern.

Again, get in the routine of using the Three Questions of Message Alignment to ensure that your marketing message remains consistent. Believe me, your company’s credibility depends on it.

* Hat tip to Jeff Sexton for sending me the article on the U.S. Military.