How we know what you should say — Kelford Labs Weekly

I talk a lot about showing you the way to always knowing what to say.

And our clients at Kelford Inc. are consistently surprised at how fast and how thoroughly we “get” their voice and their value, and are able to create marketing messages around them.

So if you want to know what to say, and where to say it, this is the process we follow, so you can see if it would work for you, too.

You’re struggling with what to say and where to say it, aren’t you?

I mean, you’ve tried implementing the generic “best practices” but they didn't actually fit your business or your way of working.

And so you’ve bounced from tactic to tactic because things weren’t working (but I suspect you’re also wondering if you gave any of them enough time to work).

Our core philosophy is that marketing rarely fails.

It usually just.. stops.

Why does it stop? Why did yours stop?

Because you ran out of resources, patience, or enthusiasm and so you moved on to something else or just quit doing it at all for a while.

That’s why we believe that a marketing strategy that doesn’t account for you and your values, your team, and your resources isn’t really a strategy at all.

Strategy isn’t a wishlist or an unattainable ideal.

It’s just the structure to work efficiently to get what you want.

That’s what we give you. Not the “best practices,” but the right practice for you.

We show you how to always know what to say.

How We Discover Your Value 

Our process is deeply inquisitive.

Some of our clients have said there’s more than a little “marketing therapy” at play in our work, but we’ll let you decide.

We do ask a lot of questions, though.

It starts with our Signature 9 Questions that we ask all our clients at the beginning of every project.

That’s how we make sure we’re demonstrating your value and not just your industry or your category as a whole.

• We’ll ask you questions like, “Of the many things you might sell or provide, which single one, if removed, would eliminate your primary value?” so we know where to concentrate our initial efforts.
• And, “If your business could no longer promote itself in any way directly, which types of customers would still find you?” so we know the prospects who are actively looking for you, so we make sure you’re easily found.
• And, “What are the compliments or testimonials you get that you dismiss, ignore, or wish were more focused on what makes you special?” so we know what your clients are currently noticing about you, so we can make the most of it.

These questions, and the hundreds more we’ll ask as we work together, are how we identify the true value you deliver to your best clients, which shows us the way to demonstrating that value at every opportunity.

The answers to the questions narrow the field of possible options, so you’re not trying everything, every other day. You’re trying what works, what can work, and what you want to work on.

Which means, instead of constantly reacting to trends, competitors, or FOMO, these questions put you in control of your marketing decisions.

Demonstrating Value at a Distance 

And once you know what to say, you need to know where to say it.

Because what sets marketing apart from sales is that it’s all about demonstrating value at a distance.

But prospects don’t all hang out the same distance from us. Some are closer than others.

Our Marketing Rangefinder framework is how we determine what to say to each prospect, and where to say it, depending on what they already know about you.

It’s our diagnostic tool that tells us the types of messages to make based on the distance each prospect is from your business:

Far: At this distance, prospects have need you can solve, but they don’t know who you are. We’ll identify where your current best clients found you first, and make sure your next best clients can find you there, too.

Close: These prospects know about you, but they’re not yet ready to buy. We’ll show you where to reveal the right insights to make them more comfortable, and you more credible.

Here: Once they’re buying, the marketing doesn’t stop. We’ll help you be extra curious about where and why they experience your greatest value, so you can use that to fuel your future messages.

Connected: And we’ll help you create marketing messages that shape what former and current clients share with others, moving the people they talk to and refer that much closer to you.

“I wanted to say thank you very much again for including me in your Rangefinder Workshop! It was a lot of fun and eye opening to see clients at a distance (which makes MUCH more sense) than in a funnel.”

— Marketing Rangefinder Workshop Participant

The Marketing Rangefinder is the foundation of our marketing and messaging work, and it makes sure you’re not getting someone else’s strategy, or the best practice out of a book (or ChatGPT).

You’re demonstrating your value to the people who’ll value it most.

The Way We Know 

To be able to do this, we can’t just implement an off-the-shelf strategy or merely manage an existing marketing project.

Instead, we make sure your true value, and your real-world constraints, are accounted for. We make sure your marketing is original to you, and makes you stand out, instead of cloaking you in camouflage.

By being there from the start and defining the direction of your marketing, we avoid wasted resources and constant changes in direction.

We keep your marketing moving forward, instead of spinning round and round in circles.

Who Knows They Need Us 

Our clients have at least one important factor in common: They have something to say, but they’re not sure how or where to say it.

So they’re often communicators, like advisors, consultants, and even other marketers.

And they can be large non-profits who need to connect with their community, or even major events or travel destinations that have a story to communicate throughout the year.

What allows our work to, well, work, is that we work with clients who have something genuinely novel, distinctive, or important to share with the world.

We show them how to share it in a way the world understands.

If you’d like to learn more about our work, and why we work this way, just reply to this email!

Kelford Inc. shows communicators the way to always knowing what to say.