How to Build Messages That Build Buy-In

Are you struggling to implement changes in your marketing strategy? Wondering how to get buy-in from skeptical team members or clients?

In this article, we'll explore how to create messages that get people to embrace change inside a business.

Why Change is Difficult for Marketers and Businesses

Change is a constant in the business world, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects for marketers and organizations to navigate successfully. 

Understanding the psychological barriers to change is crucial for developing effective strategies to overcome resistance and drive the adoption of new ideas, technologies, or processes.

So, why are we resistant to change?

At the core of change resistance is risk aversion. People naturally want to protect what they have, whether it's a stable work environment, proven processes, or a sense of competence in their role. Introducing change disrupts this stability and can trigger fears of loss or failure.

But our resistance to change often goes deeper than these practical concerns. It can challenge people's self-concept and desired identity within an organization. We all want to be seen as smart, capable, and good at our roles. Proposed changes that seem to conflict with these self-perceptions can face significant pushback.

This complexity means that successfully driving change requires a nuanced approach that addresses resistance's logical and emotional aspects. 

Suppose you're driving change with a new product offering or business process. Understanding these underlying factors will help you craft more persuasive messages and strategies to guide your organization through periods of transformation.

This process will help you communicate change to your customers, colleagues, and peers.

#1: Articulate Why Change is Necessary

To effectively promote change in a company or industry, it is crucial to anchor your proposal to questions or challenges your stakeholders or customers are already actively considering. This approach taps into existing motivations and curiosity, making your proposed change feel more relevant and less risky.

Imagine a leadership development company that wants to help companies execute strategic shifts. Instead of leading with a generic pitch about leadership training, they could frame their offering around a specific question: “How do we successfully execute a strategic shift with the leaders we have?” This targeted approach will resonate more strongly with companies facing such challenges.

To identify key anchors, look for persistent irritants or ongoing challenges in your organization or industry. These don't always have to be significant pain points – even minor, consistent frustrations can be powerful motivators for change.

To uncover these critical questions, you can:

• Examine company strategic priorities and ask what your organization's ongoing or current focus areas are.
• Consider industry-wide challenges and ask what persistent issues your sector faces.
• Conduct stakeholder interviews and ask team members and clients about their day-to-day frustrations and long-term goals.
• You can even leverage AI assistants like ChatGPT to generate potential questions based on your target audience persona.

Once you've identified potential questions, evaluate them against a business version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Questions that address more fundamental or urgent needs will likely be more compelling drivers of change.

Remember, the goal is to find questions your audience is actively and knowingly asking right now. By aligning your proposed change with these existing concerns, you create a natural bridge between current challenges and your solution, increasing the likelihood of acceptance and adoption.

#2: Position Change-Based Messaging on Existing Beliefs

To drive accepted and lasting change, you must ground your message in beliefs and principles that your audience already holds. This approach reduces resistance by building on familiar foundations rather than challenging core assumptions.

For example, when Apple launched the iPod, it didn't focus solely on technical specs. Instead, it tapped into existing consumer frustrations with music portability and variety. Its tagline, “1,000 songs in your pocket,” resonated because it addressed consumers' beliefs about the value of music choice and convenience.

These four tips will help you uncover and leverage existing beliefs.

1. Identify Universal Truths: Look for principles that hold true across various contexts, not just within your specific industry or situation.
2. Consider Your Audience's Worldview: What fundamental assumptions does your target audience make about how things work?
3. Examine your positioning: What core beliefs drive your product or service design? How do these align with your audience's values?
4. Use Customer Testimonials: Analyze the language and focus of customer feedback to uncover underlying beliefs and priorities.

These beliefs often take one of two forms. The first is definitions or clear statements that define key concepts (e.g., “Accountability is the ownership of outcomes.”) The second is cause-and-effect relationships: Principles that explain how things work (e.g., “Success requires execution at scale.”)

By framing your change initiative in terms of these existing beliefs, you create a stronger foundation for acceptance. You can anchor it in something people already want and argue for it based on things they already agree with. Your audience will see the proposed change as a natural extension of their current worldview rather than a disruptive force.

Another key to communicating your desired change is understanding layers of beliefs, from universal physical realities to more subjective interpretations. Marketers are uniquely positioned to navigate these layers and translate market insights to leadership, making them valuable change agents within organizations.

#3: Develop a Compact, Principle-Based Case for Change

To maximize the impact of your change message, you need to create a concise, compelling case that combines the key question you've identified with your audience's core beliefs. This compact case serves as a powerful tool for communication and persuasion throughout the change process.

When crafting your compact case, aim for clarity and memorability. The goal is to create a message that's easy for others to understand, remember, and share within the organization.

For example, a leadership development company might present its case as follows: “Because accountability is the ownership of outcomes and because success requires execution at scale, to successfully execute a strategic shift, we need to scale accountability throughout the organization.”

To develop your compact, principle-based case, follow this framework:

1. Start with the key question or challenge you've identified (e.g., “How do we successfully execute a strategic shift?”)
2. Identify 2-3 core principles or beliefs that support your proposed change (e.g., “Accountability is the ownership of outcomes” and “Success requires execution at scale”)
3. Clearly state your proposed solution or change (e.g., “Scale accountability throughout the organization”)
4. Combine these elements into a concise statement that shows the logical flow from beliefs to solutions.

The benefits of this approach include providing a clear, memorable message for change advocates to share, demonstrating the logical connection between existing beliefs and the proposed change, offering a foundation for more detailed discussions and planning, and helping others “sell” the change within the organization when you're not present.

#4: Leverage Collaboration and Multiple Perspectives

To increase the reach and impact of your change message, incorporate collaborative content creation strategies by including influencers, experts, or contributors in your proposed change. This gives them a reason to share and promote your message, expanding its reach.

When Michael Stelzner wrote The Dark Side of Twitter for MarketingProfs, he consulted his network for opinions and stories to create a piece with diverse perspectives. This approach led to exceptional performance, with editors noting it was among the top-performing content of the entire year.

To effectively use collaboration in your content strategy, you first need to identify potential contributors and reach out to them 1 to 2 weeks before your deadline. Look beyond just social media influencers. Consider bloggers, podcasters, and those with engaged email lists or membership communities.

Pro Tip: As submissions come in, remain transparent. include perspectives that may challenge or complement your main message.

#5: Communicate Differentiation Through Core Beliefs and Positioning

In a crowded marketplace, differentiation based solely on product features is increasingly difficult. Instead, focus on articulating the core beliefs and principles that drive your change, using these to create a unique position in the market.

When examining your product or service, look beyond surface-level features. Ask yourself: “What fundamental beliefs about our industry or customers' needs drove us to create our offering this way?”

Keep asking why, until you reach the core of the reason.

For example, one social media management platform differentiated itself by emphasizing core beliefs about the importance of visibility and comprehensive data integration. Rather than just listing features, they focused on why these elements were crucial for effective social media management, creating a more compelling and distinct market position.

To differentiate through core beliefs and positioning, follow this framework:

1. Identify Your Fundamental Principles: What core beliefs drive your product or service design?
2. Articulate Your “Why”: Clearly explain why you've built your offering the way you have, based on these core beliefs.
3. Connect Features to Beliefs: Show how specific features or aspects of your offering directly result from your core principles.
4. Use Customer Language: Analyze testimonials and feedback to understand how customers articulate the value you provide.
5. Create a Clear Position Statement: Develop a concise statement that captures your unique approach based on your core beliefs.

Other Notes From This Episode

• Connect with Michael Stelzner @Stelzner on Instagram and @Mike_Stelzner on X.
• Watch this interview and other exclusive content from Social Media Examiner on YouTube.

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