The Importance of Clear Marketing Messaging

How much is your unclear marketing message costing you? The short answer is – probably a lot more than you think.

Take a look at the contents of your website and if your answer is no to any of the following questions, you may be losing customers faster than you’re gaining them:

• Is there a clear and direct call to action above the fold on your website?
• Is it obvious exactly what you do when a user lands on your website?
• Do you make it easy for users to contact you from your website?
• Is there an offer available that doesn’t require a massive commitment?
• Are you using language that your audience understands? Be careful about industry jargon.
• Do users know how you can solve their problem based on your home page?

When I worked on Toyota, Sage, and Qualcomm accounts, I noticed the copy approved to use in advertising were “cutesy” and clever in order to capture attention. This is perfectly fine when you are a well-known brand name that has spent millions on advertising over many decades but when you are a small business, you cannot afford to use “cutesy” and colorful copywriting that doesn’t convey clear outcomes.

Let me make this clear: there’s nothing wrong with being clever in your messaging but don’t sacrifice it for clarity.

It’s time to overcome the curse of confusion in your marketing. Many small businesses who are advertising on platforms like Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, and IG are being ignored! The reason for this is because they are not communicating clearly.

Reminder: If you confuse, you lose.

Abundance of Information

Can you recall any advertising you saw the last time you were on LinkedIn or Facebook? Probably not, because you are being bombarded with information overload and triggered by too many distractions. Most people will only listen to people and brands that do a good job in communicating in a simple and clear manner.

This leads to some serious issues when it comes to converting prospects into leads for your business such as:

• Ideal prospects not understanding what you offer. If they don’t know what you offer, how can they buy from you?
• Your sales team is unclear about how to differentiate your offering in the marketplace
• Your goals are muddled and you aren’t connected to a purpose that drives your business forward
• Word of mouth isn’t spreading as it should because people cannot explain what you do in layman’s terms
• Your ideal customers are doing business with competitors because they know how to communicate

The good news is, it’s not that difficult to make these changes. The key to successful marketing is first understanding your customer and how they think, talk, etc. It’s not only important to know their demographic profile but their psychographic profile too.

Once you identify those along with their pain points, you’re one step closer to developing clear messaging that communicates and agitates their point points to convert into a qualified lead.

Solve a Problem for Your Customers

If you’re in business, you’re offering some type of product or service that solves a problem (otherwise, you probably won’t be in business too long). Your customers will only go to your website and spend quality time there if you’ve identified their problem – that’s how you get their attention.

Your job as a business owner is to speak to their problem on your website in a clear and effective manner so that your customers are drawn to take the next step you want them to take – whether it’s to download an e-book, purchase, get a free consultation, whatever it is, it needs to be crystal clear and easy to do.

But don’t just speak about their problem, share how you as a business can help them alleviate their pain. Speak to what life would look like if they worked with you and all the benefits that comes along with that. Tip: Being in business for 58 years and having a MBA are not strong enough reasons to work with you. These are great things to mention to position you as a qualified guide but do not directly solve the customer’s pain points directly.

Clarity Wins

The key to a high-converting website, landing page, or ad in general is simply clarity. Don’t make it difficult for people to understand what you do – that’s the fastest way to lose the attention of your customers.

The problem that too many business owners and marketing leaders face is that they get too deep in the weeds of the business that they forget how to communicate with their prospective customers online. Don’t let that be you.

If you’re not getting the volume of leads you’re looking for, it’s very likely that there may be an issue with the copy on your website or landing page contributing to the low conversion rates. Take a few steps back and audit your messaging using the questions at the beginning of this article to see if you need to make some adjustments.

Marketing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Every business is different and requires a different messaging strategy.

If you’re stuck in terms of your lead generation messaging and strategy, feel free to reach out. I’d love to chat and see how I can help you elevate your results to the next level