It is exceedingly difficult to break through the massive amounts of white noise and clutter that assault our senses in today's always-on world. It puts a burden on our brand messages that is unlike anything organizations faced just a couple decades ago.

This challenging environment demands that we provide exceptional relevance and meaningfulness in what we communicate.

3 questions to intensify your brand message

There are many things to think about when constructing a brand message. It's easy to get consumed with everything we want to say. Unfortunately, this takes us in the opposite direction that we need to go if we want our brand to be as compelling as we want it to be.

There are 3 questions that can help us avoid this situation, or provide a little relief if we're already feeling the frustration.

1. Who are we hoping to serve?
The great thing about this question is that it eliminates that struggle to put everything we wanted to say into that brand message. Because it's no longer about what we want to say. It's all about what those we hope to serve want to hear.

2. What is their challenge?
I like to think of this as naming the villain in their story. This is what they struggle with. By understanding this, we can truly begin to communicate something of value to them. If we want to say something that resonates, there is no better place to start than with understanding their challenge.

3. What is their aspiration?
Connecting with their aspiration is what helps us create something that has real meaning for them. This is their hope for the future. An idealized state where they are the best version of themselves. Knowing this is what allows us to help them in a deep and meaningful way.

Why this is transformative for our brand message

Asking these three questions focuses us on the most important player in this scenario - those we hope to serve. Additionally, it helps us address both their short-term need (the challenge they face) and their longer-term desire (their aspiration). All of these things help us craft a brand message that is exponentially more powerful.

Want to see how it works? Review any of your past efforts by asking the three questions. Was the effort clearly focused on who you were hoping to serve? Did it address their challenge and not just what you wanted to promote? Did it tap into their aspirations or show them how they could join you in the pursuit of the Big Audacious Meaning your organization embraces?

These three simple questions can reveal a lot. Most importantly, they can point you in a direction that can transform how your brand gets voiced - from a sales email to a full-fledged brand campaign.

There is so much to think about as we craft our brand messages. These 3 simple questions can bring a surprising clarity to our efforts. A clarity that can change everything.