6 reasons your strategy should be ‘internal’
And after all, why not? Why shouldn't I write my strategy like an ad?
In every strategy project, there comes a time for wordsmithing. The interviews are done, the research has been fielded, the data has been thoroughly analyzed, the stakeholders have nodded their heads approvingly, and the core ideas have been confirmed. All that's left is to articulate the strategy in a way that will spur action: something clear, memorable, and directive.
When this time comes, there is always a person, or often several, who ask: So is this going to be customer-facing?
I have seen so many of my colleagues reflexively answer, Yes, of course!, dooming themselves to weeks of revision. The correct answer to this question, objectively, is No. Let's talk about why.
1. Your strategy is a communication.
A strategy, or at least an effective one, is not just an idea: it is a tool for rallying others around the same idea, and spurring them to action. It needs to be tailor-made, not just to express a goal or plan, but to persuade people of the validity of that plan, and the necessity of acting on it. A brand strategy doesn’t just say how we want to be seen, but persuades its reader to act differently to help us build that reputation.
And who, exactly, needs to hear that persuasive message?
2. Your colleagues are the audience.
The people who need to understand and act on your strategy are your colleagues. Whether you're developing a product positioning to be used by a focused marketing team, or a corporate purpose to be used by every single employee, the people who most need that persuasion and inspiration are within your company.
Like any audience, they have specific needs: perhaps they've built up skepticism based on the existence of the gap you're filling, or maybe they're already all-in on this strategy's predecessor. Whatever the circumstance, you need to customize the expression of your strategy to their expectations and needs, just as you'd tailor any other communication to its intended audience.
"But," asks my strawman stakeholder, "Couldn't we kill two birds with one stone?"
3. Your customers don't care about your strategy.
One of marketing's few rules of thumb is that customers care more about benefits than anything else. Your offering's properties, even your advantages over competitors, are only important if they prove to your customer that you can help them do what they're trying to do. And unfortunately, a strategy is always going to be at least one step removed from delivering a benefit: it's great that you plan to do something, but what really matters is that you do it.
This is doubly true for marketing and branding strategies, where the plan to convince the customer of something. You're not going to get anywhere by telling someone you plan to persuade them, or even straightforwardly telling them what you plan to persuade them of, or how.
The message your strategy's primary audience needs to hear, your customer doesn't want to.
4. Targeting is actually more efficient.
One reason people ask this question is that they're looking to save time and money by having a single multipurpose tool, rather than two single-purpose ones. Surely writing one line is easier than writing two! But because this line needs to say two different things to two different audiences — and audiences who don't need to hear each other's message — it's actually a nearly impossible task: what's compelling to customers won't be clear for employees, and vice-versa.
The amount of time you'll spending hunting for the unicorn phrase that does both, is far more than the time you'd spend simply crafting two purposeful messages instead. If you do end up with a single phrase, you'll be trying to explain it to one audience or another — or, worst case, to both — for years to come.
5. Good strategy leaves a job to do.
One of the best ways to demotivate your colleagues is to make it look like the job's already done. Showing customer-facing language to colleagues in lieu of a proper strategy says, "say this to our customers." You'll end up with countless talking heads parroting exactly the same message, boring both them and your clients.
Telling them the impact they need to have, on the other hand, sparks their creativity. How can I persuade my customer of this? is a much more interesting task to engage with than How many times can I say this sentence before it stops making sense? It’s also one where every colleague’s answer will be different, giving you a rich range of expressions rather than a thousand repetitions.
6. Internal-facing doesn't have to mean boring.
The other reason people ask this question is that they've lost faith that internal language can be as engaging or inspiring as customer-facing language. And it's true that many organizations frame their purpose, vision and values, and the other strategies that build on top of these, in the driest and most generic language possible. Only OurName has the innovation and integrity to reimagine OurIndustry.
But this is far from necessary. A strategy should be not just clear, but compelling; not just practical, but persuasive. As we've said, your colleagues are an important audience: even if something is targeting them, not customers, it should still be carefully crafted.
The key is to work with a strategist that has the writing chops to smith words, or a copywriter with the ability to parse strategy.
But where would you ever find someone with that skillset?
Have a strategy that needs careful crafting?