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One thing I talk about a lot is strategy.
You’re strategy is SUPER important and you can have the best strategy in the world.
The Perfect Customer Journey, mapped out stage by stage.
Every tactic in place.
Everything connected.
BUT, if your messaging is wrong, none of it lands.
Because messaging is the thing that makes everything else work.
It’s what your emails say.
It’s what your website says.
It’s what your social media posts say.
It’s the words you use when someone asks “so what do you do?”.
And most businesses get it wrong.
Not because they’re bad with words, because they’re talking about the wrong things.
The biggest messaging mistake
Here’s what happens.
A business owner sits down to write their website, or their social media bio, or their email sequence.
And they start with what THEY want to say.
Their qualifications, their process, their experience, their features, their “unique approach.”
The problem?
Nobody cares - Not yet at least.
Your customer doesn’t care about your process.
They care about their problem.
They want to know one thing - do you understand what I’m going through, and can you fix it?
That’s it.
That’s the whole conversation at the start.
If your messaging leads with your features instead of their problems, you’ve lost them.
They’ll read “we provide bespoke solutions using our proprietary methodology” and their eyes will glaze over.
Because it means nothing to them.
But if they read “this is why your marketing isn’t working and here’s how to fix it” - they’re in.
Because you’re talking about their world, not yours.
Clarity beats creativity - Every time.
I see businesses tie themselves in knots trying to sound clever.
Fancy taglines. Wordplay. Vague, impressive-sounding statements that don’t actually say anything.
“Transforming businesses through strategic partnership solutions.”
What does that even mean?
Nothing.
It means nothing.
It sounds like it might mean something, but it doesn’t.
Compare it to: “We help small businesses sort their accounts so they can focus on running the business.”
Not clever.
Not fancy.
But crystal clear.
You know exactly what they do, who they do it for and what the outcome is.
Clarity wins…
…every single time.
If you confuse, you lose.
The moment someone has to work to understand what you do, they move on.
They’ve got twenty other tabs open and a business to run.
They’re not going to sit there decoding your messaging.
Make it obvious.
Make it simple.
Say what you do in words a twelve-year-old would understand.
Your messaging has three jobs
That’s all - Three.
1. Say who you help.
Be specific. “Small businesses in the UK” is better than “businesses.” “Tradespeople in Yorkshire” is better again.
The more specific you are, the more the right people think “that’s me.”
2. Say what problem you solve.
In their words. Not your industry jargon. The actual problem as they experience it. “Dreading your tax return?” is a problem people feel.
“Suboptimal financial management” is something nobody has ever said out loud.
3. Say what outcome you deliver.
What does life look like after working with you?
More enquiries? More confidence? A system that works without them having to think about it every day?
Paint the picture of the result.
Who you help.
What problem you solve.
What outcome you deliver.
If your homepage does those three things clearly, it’s doing its job.
If your social media bio does those three things, people know whether to follow you.
If your elevator pitch does those three things, the person at the networking event knows whether to ask for your card.
Use their words, not yours
This is where most businesses trip up.
They know their customers.
They’ve had the conversations.
They know what people are struggling with and what they actually want.
And then they sit down to write their website…
…and it comes out in corporate-speak anyway.
As if there’s some unwritten rule that says your website has to sound different from how you actually talk to customers.
There isn’t.
If your customers say “I just want more enquiries,” your website should be about getting them more enquiries. Not “optimising your lead generation pipeline.”
Their words go on the page - Not your translated version of them.
This is how your messaging builds Know, Like and Trust from the very first touchpoint.
When someone reads your website and thinks “they get me” - you’re already one step ahead of the competition.
Test it on a real person
Here’s the simplest messaging test in the world.
Read your homepage out loud to someone who isn’t in your industry.
A friend, a family member, your partner.
Then ask them three questions:
“What do I do?
Who do I do it for?
Why would someone choose me?”
If they can answer all three clearly, your messaging is working.
If they look confused, or they repeat back some vague version of what you said…
…your messaging needs work.
Don’t test it on people in your industry.
Test it on normal people.
Because that’s who your customers are - normal people trying to solve a problem.
Keep it consistent
Once you’ve nailed your messaging, use it everywhere.
- Your website
- Your social media - Your emails
- Your proposals
- Your conversations
Not word for word, you’re not a robot.
But the core message should be the same.
The same problem, the same outcome, the same language.
When someone sees your LinkedIn post and then visits your website, it should feel like the same person talking to them.
If your social media sounds casual and helpful but your website sounds corporate and stiff, there’s a disconnect.
And disconnects kill trust.
One voice. One message. Everywhere.
The mistakes I see all the time
Leading with features instead of problems. Nobody cares about your process until they believe you understand their problem.
Trying to sound clever. Clarity beats creativity.
Using jargon. If your customer wouldn’t use that word, you shouldn’t either.
Being vague. “We help businesses grow” says nothing. Be specific about who, what and how.
Different messaging on different platforms. Your website says one thing, your LinkedIn says another, your email says something else. Same core message everywhere, adapted for the format but the same foundation.
Your messaging makes everything else tick
Here’s why this matters so much.
Your messaging sits underneath EVERYTHING in the Perfect Customer Journey.
Stage 1 - Get Noticed only works if the right people see you AND understand what you do.
Stage 2 - Connect only works if your offer is clear enough for someone to hand over their details.
Stage 3 - Engage only works if people feel like you get them.
Bad messaging doesn’t just make one stage weaker, it makes all of them weaker.
Get your messaging right and everything else gets easier.
Get it wrong and you’re building on sand.
One action you can take today: Write down, in one sentence each - who you help, what problem you solve and what outcome you deliver. Use your customers’ words, not yours. Then go look at your website. Does it say those three things clearly? If not, that’s your next fix.
Let us help you get your messaging right inside of The Portal
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