It began with James Carville and George Stephanopolous trying to focus presidential candidate Bill Clinton on what mattered most in 1992:

“It’s the economy, stupid!”

Now twenty-seven years later, the economy is again the most pressing issue on the minds of executives everywhere.  For some, the last two years have been the most desperate in their company’s history. Top executives are focused on many things that float just above the bottom line: employees; shareholders; health-care costs; impatient board members.  Today, as companies are just begining to rise from the recession, some executives seem to have lost their focus on the one factor that can help them the most: CUSTOMERS!

 Because it appears that we have hit the bottom of the recession, executives are quick to send the message, “This company is strong! This company continues to deliver the best product and services!”  Not a bad message for the financial community, I suppose, but nowhere does a message like that speak directly to the customer.

A company message can always be re-framed to focus on the customer.  The quote above is inward-facing and self-congratulatory.  So how about something like this: “Our customers are turning to us for products and services that make their lives (better; easier; more productive), especially in this economy”.   The take-away is that the company IS strong, because customers find value.  The financial community likes this message as much as the company-focused message, and the paying public hears that you are focused squarely on their needs.  A win-win.

Whenever you are drafting your company’s message framework, look for opportunities to put your customer front and center. Make sure that your executive is trained to talk less about the company and more about the customer.  And unless you’re James Carville or George Stephanopolous, don’t expect to get away with calling your executive stupid.

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