The Importance of Messaging for Business Growth

If your marketing messaging is ONLY about benefits, it's dead on arrival. "Our software saves you time." Yawn. It's like setting up a joke but forgetting to write the punchline. People don't want a list of benefits. They want a story about how those benefits TRANSFORM their life. I call this "dimensionalization" - the art of turning abstract benefits into concrete life changes. Bad marketing says: "Our project management tool is faster." Good marketing says: "Save 10 hours per week." Great marketing says: "John used to spend every Sunday doing paperwork. Now he coaches his daughter's soccer team - and his business is growing faster than ever." See the difference? The first is a feature. The second is a benefit. The third shows how your product changes someone's life. People buy the better version of themselves. They buy the transformation. When you dimensionalize your benefits, you're selling time savings AND: - The pride of being a present parent - The satisfaction of growing a business - The joy of doing what matters most You deliver dreams. And if you don't... your marketing needs to change.

Too many firms are sleeping on the importance of messaging and positioning. The result? Less effective marketing and missed opportunities. Your value prop and differentiators are pivotal in this equation...they're the foundation for your messaging and positioning strategies. And there's a difference between both of them. Positioning needs to be nailed down before you move on to messaging. It defines your service’s place in the market compared to the competition. -What problems does your service solve? -How is it best at delivering the value that your clients cares about? Messaging is the words you use to articulate your positioning. -What does your service promise? -How do you deliver it? It describes the reasons why your ideal customers care about it. Here's why you should care... First, clarity build trust. When messaging is clear and consistent, potential clients understand exactly what you offer and why you’re the best choice. This transparency builds trust and credibility, making clients more likely to engage with your firm. Next, you need differentiation in competitive markets. Strong positioning helps your firm stand out. Period. It highlights what makes your firm unique, ensuring you’re not just another option but the preferred choice for your target audience. Finally, it improves marketing effectiveness. Clear messaging and positioning aligns with your marketing strategies, making campaigns more targeted and effective. It ensures that every marking effort reinforces your core strengths and values, leading to better engagement and higher conversion rates. Look at your firm’s messaging and positioning. Ask yourself… 1. Are our differentiators and unique value propositions clear and compelling?     2. Does our messaging address the specific needs and challenges of our target clients?     3. Are we consistently communicating our strengths across all marketing channels?     If not, refine them. Make sure they clearly convey why your firm is the optimal choice. This is the best way to keep attracting your best clients. The juice is worth the squeeze. Invest time here. It’s an exercise worthwhile that will improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and drive better results. 🧃

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀? 𝗢𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀? Most of the time, you're making the 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿 the value your products & services bring to them. Don't despair: here's a powerful tool to help you create impactful messaging that resonates with potential customers.  It's called the 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲-𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁-𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 (𝗩𝗕𝗙) 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 Begin by addressing the underlying personal values that drive your audience's behavior. This sets the stage for why your product matters to them on a deeper level. Instead of: "Our software has advanced AI capabilities." 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: "Empower your team to make data-driven decisions that drive business growth." 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 Showcase the direct advantages your offering provides to the customer. This answers the crucial question: "What's in it for me?" Instead of: "Our platform features real-time collaboration tools." 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: "Boost team productivity by 30% with seamless communication and project management." 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 Use specific product attributes to back up your claims and provide concrete evidence of how you deliver value and benefits. Instead of: "Our solution uses machine learning algorithms." 𝗗𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: "Leverage cutting-edge AI to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up to 5 hours per week for strategic work." 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗩𝗕𝗙 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 1. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:  Conduct thorough research to identify your target customers' pain points, goals, and desires. 2. 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:  Clearly articulate how your product solves customer problems better than alternatives. 3. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀:  Create 3-4 core themes that support your value proposition and resonate with your audience. 4. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲:  Avoid jargon and communicate your message in simple, compelling terms. 5. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳:  Incorporate data points, testimonials, and case studies to substantiate your claims. 6. 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘀:  Adjust your messaging to address the specific needs of various customer segments. 7. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲:  Regularly update your messaging as your product evolves and market conditions change. Remember, effective messaging is about showing customers how your product/service will improve their lives or businesses, not just listing features. Don't make customers work to decipher the value. #marketing #positioning #valuemessaging

"We need to be everywhere!" my client insisted, juggling social platforms like hot potatoes while her marketing budget burned. Six months later: "Nobody knows who we are. We've spent $50,000, and I can't tell you what message actually landed." THIS is the invisible tax businesses pay when they don't have a messaging strategy. You may be pouring time, energy, and money into your marketing, but without a solid messaging strategy, it's like throwing spaghetti at the wall. Here's what's actually happening when your messaging is all over the place: Your customers are confused. And confused customers don't buy. They're thinking: "Wait, I thought you were all about sustainability last week, but now you're talking about luxury?" or "Didn't your Instagram say something completely different from what your website claims?" The real cost isn't just the wasted ad spend (though that stings too). It's the erosion of trust. We can all relate to having that one friend who keeps changing their story. After a while, you stop believing anything they say. Your business works the same way. Every time your messaging zigzags, you're chipping away at your credibility. And rebuilding that is WAY harder than getting it right the first time. The good news: This is totally fixable. You don't need a complicated 50-page brand bible. You just need clarity on: —Who you're really talking to (NOT everyone—get specific) —What problem you solve for them (that keeps them up at night) —How you solve it differently (your secret sauce) —Why they should believe you (show, don't just tell) When you nail this down and make sure everyone in your company is singing from the same sheet, magic happens. Your marketing gets easier. Your team gets more confident. And your customers start to really trust you. What's one place where your messaging feels disconnected right now? That might be the perfect place to start.

If your company’s messaging makes people say, “Wait… so what do you actually do?”—we have a problem. I’ve seen it happen too many times. A B2B SaaS company builds a great product, hires a rockstar team, and starts selling… but the messaging? It’s vague, jargon-heavy, or—worst of all—indistinguishable from everyone else in the market. Messaging and positioning are the foundation of how your entire company communicates its value. From sales conversations to investor pitches to customer onboarding—if your messaging is unclear, everything else suffers. Good messaging attracts the right audience. If you’re trying to sell to “everyone,” you’re selling to no one. It sets you apart from competitors. If your pitch could be swapped with another company’s and still make sense, you’re missing your unique value. It makes marketing and sales go faster. A documented messaging and positioning framework is like a cheat code for your marketing team. No more starting from scratch on every campaign—just pull from the guidebook and go. More speed, more consistency, better results. It strengthens your brand and builds trust. When everyone in the company—from the CEO to customer support—describes the business the same way, it reinforces credibility. Prospects hear the same value prop everywhere they turn, which builds confidence and trust. So, how do you get it right? → Talk to your customers—constantly. Your messaging shouldn’t be based on internal brainstorming alone. Interview and survey your customers to understand what they see as the real value of your product and how they naturally describe it. Then, validate your messaging with them to ensure it actually resonates. → Be painfully clear. If a stranger outside your industry can’t understand what you do, refine it. Read it out loud. Is it something you would say in an actual conversation? Would your grandmother get it? → Lead with the problem. No one wakes up thinking, “I need AI-powered, next-gen, cloud-based synergy software.” They think, “I need to close my books faster” or “I need to stop drowning in spreadsheets.” → Document it and make it accessible. Messaging isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it exercise. It should be a living, breathing resource that every team can use and refine over time. The best messaging evolves as your company grows and as you continue learning from your customers. If your messaging is solid, everything else—marketing, sales, product adoption—works better. If it’s not? Well, you’ll keep hearing, “Wait… so what do you actually do?” What’s the best (or worst) messaging you’ve ever seen? Drop it in the comments! 👇

High-level benefits sounds good on paper…but they're totally ignorable. You see this in B2B messaging all. the. time: ⦿ Increased revenue ⦿ Faster growth ⦿ More leads ⦿ More sales Valuable? Of course. Forgettable? Absolutely. Because this kind of value ripples out from virtually every brand in B2B it loses any impact as a differentiator. There are (at least) 3 reasons why this happens: (1) Again, it sounds good on paper. Nobody on the internal team reads that and says “Nope, we don’t do any of that stuff”. (2) Customers will say these things are very important to them. Your research will likely confirm that customers do in fact care about growth and revenue (shocking). (3) It’s what market leaders are often talking about. That’s why this is a sneaky trap – the ideas aren’t wrong they’re just not enough. It’s a classic yes-and situation. *Yes* we provide those things – *and* we need to get crystal clear on the differentiated points that produce that higher level value. *Yes* customers say they want growth and revenue – *and* we need to dig deeper to understand how our solution delivers on those needs in a way our competitors don’t. *Yes* market leaders message at a high level – *and* they’re at a totally different level of brand equity, *and* they’re focused on broad market expansion…*and* it still doesn’t make it memorable. The job of your messaging / copy is to articulate your differentiated value as clearly and effectively as possible. If your messaging / copy tells me yet another generic, vague, high-level story then I have no reason to remember your brand. Get off the pedestal and bring it down to the street level. Tell me: ✅ Who this helps ✅ What the product or service does ✅ How you address my critical pain points ✅ Why you’re different from the competition Otherwise you may have something incredible to offer but the people who need it will walk right by. 👉 It's day 26 of my series: 50 Days to Differentiate. #messaging #positioning #differentiation

Marketing Won’t Scale Your Business. This Will. Most people think marketing is the key to growing an eCommerce brand. But here’s the truth: 💡 If you can’t clearly explain why your product is different, you’ll struggle to sell—no matter how much you spend on ads. Messaging is everything. If you can’t answer these questions immediately, you have a problem: ✔️ Why should someone buy from you instead of a competitor? ✔️ How does your product fit into your customers' lives? ✔️ What’s the real transformation or benefit you provide? ✔️ When does someone use your product? What’s the exact use case? ✔️ What problem does your product actually solve? 👉 Because here’s the truth: No one cares about your branding, pretty images, or clever slogans. People only care when they see why your product matters to them. If you want people to click your ad, open your email, and actually buy, your messaging needs to be airtight: 🔹 Value Proposition – Why this product? Why now? 🔹 Use Case – When & how does someone use it? 🔹 Solution – What real problem does it solve? Get this right, and your ads, emails, and content will convert better—instantly. Here's what I do. And It Works: Every single year, I work with brands I’ve been with for 4, 5, even 6 years. We re-validate every possible value proposition, use case, and solution. And guess what? Every year, we uncover new opportunities for growth. 🔹 Example: Let’s say you sell underwear. 🚫 The use case isn’t “underwear.” That’s just a product category. ✅ The use case is WHEN and WHY someone chooses your underwear. -For the gym? Sweat-wicking. Breathable. Built for movement. -For a night out? Sleek. Seamless. Designed to feel sexy. -For all-day comfort? Stretch fabric that moves with you. -For a barely-there feel? Soft. Lightweight. Second skin. The brands that win don’t just sell products. They sell solutions. They sell moments. They sell transformation. I break this all down in my free masterclass. Because if you don’t get this right—nothing else will work. THIS is the work that has scaled some of my clients +1544% in 48 months in DTC only revenue (without Amazon, retail, and wholesale). If your ads and emails aren’t converting like they should, watch it now. 📌 https://lnkd.in/gXRTQE3V

If what makes you stand out is harder to find than the scoop in the protein powder— it might be time to rethink your messaging. Let me guess: ✔️ You’re great at what you do. ✔️ Your clients love you. ✔️ You have results that prove it. … but people don’t understand your value until after they work with you. Which means: - You struggle to find leads (and the ones you do get aren’t always the best fit). - Discovery calls end with “I’ll think about it” instead of “How can we start?” - Explaining what you do feels like tossing up a word salad (and people can’t refer you if they don’t know why they should). So what do most people do when sales feel like pulling teeth? They tweak their website. Adjust their pricing. Try a new sales strategy. Double down on lead gen. And when that doesn’t work, they assume the problem is them. But no amount of tweaking your website, adjusting your price, or testing new strategies will fix a message people don’t understand. If people don’t instantly get what you do, who you help, and why it matters—they won’t take the next step. So how do you know if messaging is the real problem? - People keep asking, “Wait… so what do you actually do?” - People don’t see why you’re different from competitors. - Clients hesitate on price because they don’t see the value upfront. When your messaging is clear, everything gets easier: ✔️ Leads come in pre-sold. ✔️ Discovery calls turn into “How do we start?” ✔️ Referrals roll in—because people know who to send your way. Messaging isn’t just about words. It’s about making your business easier to grow. What’s the strangest (or most frustrating) question you’ve gotten about your work? Let’s hear it. Mine’s in the comments. 👇🏻

Here's my list of low-cost, high-impact marketing moves --> Most small businesses don’t need more marketing. They need clearer messaging. I’ve seen business owners spend thousands on websites, ads and social media. All without clearly explaining what they do, who they help or why it matters. If I were stepping in to support your marketing, here’s what I’d focus on first (before spending another one of your dollars): 1. Create clear positioning – We’d figure out what you do, who you help and what makes you different. 2. Fix your homepage – We’d make sure people can understand your business in 5 seconds or less. 3. Create a simple one-liner – So you, your team, and your customers all know how to explain what you do. 4. Simplify your offers – Make it easy for people to understand and say yes to what you’re selling. 5. Clean up your emails – Remove the fluff and confusion from your welcome emails, sales emails and newsletters. 6. Align sales and marketing – Make sure your sales talks match your marketing message so people trust you faster. 7. Talk to customers – Use their words in your marketing so it actually connects. 8. Get your team on the same page – Everyone should know how to clearly talk about your business and why it matters. No new platforms. No ad spend. No fluff. Just clarity. Because when your message is dialed in, marketing becomes a whole lot easier (and cheaper). #marketingstrategy #messaging #smallbusiness #brandpositioning