The Elevator Pitch: Moving Beyond the “Mom Test” to Communicating Customer Value

by Michelle Bauer
Published: February / March 2008

The elevator pitch – a brief statement about your company – is one of the communication building blocks for any business. As fundamental as it may be, however, it’s one thing many entrepreneurs struggle with long after they’ve launched their firms.

Venture capitalists often advise entrepreneurs seeking capital to make sure their pitches pass the “Mom test,” which means that if your mother asked you what you did for a living, you’d be able to tell her using layman’s terms she would easily understand. The idea is to create a brief, compelling description that will allow your listener to recall and repeat it regardless of his or her familiarity with your industry.

Empowering people to recall and repeat your company’s elevator pitch helps them more confidently and accurately discuss your business with others. Imagine having everyone you talk to understand the value of your business so well that they tell two of their friends about it. Your referrals would increase, you’d get better-qualified leads, and overall awareness of your company would grow. And those two friends would tell two more friends, and so on, to paraphrase the classic shampoo commercial. Pretty soon you’d have a small army of evangelists out there talking up your business. For free, by the way!

If your elevator pitch could use a makeover, consider giving these tips a try:

1. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Getting this bit right starts with writing down, in the most concrete and basic language possible, what you do, who you serve, and how what you do helps them. Keep the language jargon free and as concrete as possible. Forget all the “we are the worldwide leader in X” stuff. Focus your attention on the value your customers get from your business. Generate a long list at first, but then whittle it down to the one or two things that address your customers’ most important needs.

Consider YouTube’s statement about their company as an example:

Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.

The first sentence tells you when they launched and who they are in fairly straightforward terms. But the second sentence is the real winner. It explains what the company does for its customers and how they benefit by using YouTube’s product, www.YouTube.com, in language anyone can remember and repeat.

Don’t try to cram too much into an opening statement about your company. Let folks absorb what you do and how it can benefit them. YouTube’s elegant little second sentence works as well for venture capitalists as it does for YouTube employees, reporters, and analysts in communicating the basic identity and value of the organization. At that point, your customization and elaboration for specific target audiences can begin.

2. Are you talking to me? Understanding the specific needs of the person you are speaking to is essential to the success of your pitch. We’ve all had the experience of hearing someone at a networking event or sales presentation who robotically recites something about his company without any clue of what would resonate most with his listeners. Such pitches yield predictable results – no sale; quick, polite excuses to escape the conversation; or one listener turning to another after the pitcher leaves, saying, “What does his company do?” None of these are desirable outcomes.

As you go through the process of remaking your pitch, identify your top audience targets and their greatest needs. Practice tailoring your pitch for each audience. When you get all the tailored versions of your pitch perfect, memorize them and share the variations with your team to ensure consistent messaging to each audience. Preparing yourself and your people to speak to the needs of each of these audiences will increase your success in gaining their support and helping them communicate your business’s value to others.

Need help understanding what resonates most with each audience target? Ask them! You’d be surprised at how willing people are to share exactly what they find most valuable and distinctive about your company, product, or service. No need to do a big focus group. Schedule 15 minute calls with people whose opinions you want most. Send them a few questions in advance so they’ll be prepared to share their views when you speak.

3. Incorporate your elevator pitch and tailored key messages into all company communications. It does little good to have a great elevator pitch and key messages and then have different ones appear on your web site, brochures, and press release boilerplate. Consistency is important. Make sure that everyone in your organization understands – to the point where it is automatic – the value your company provides to all of its target customers and constituents.

Communicating customer value powerfully and effectively will help you build a powerful brand identity, optimize your sales and marketing programs, and clearly differentiate your product or service from the competition. And you’ll finally give Mom the answer she’s been looking for when people ask her, “What does your son (or daughter) do?"

About the Author
Michelle Bauer is the CEO & President of Common Language, a strategic communications firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Visit www.common-language.com for more information. Or contact Michelle at michelle@common-language.com