Take Stock of Your Messaging Ingredients
How do you come up with the right messaging for your business?
You need to find the words that:
Authentically express what you do
Stand out in an oversaturated, noisy environment
Persuade your ideal customers to hire you
It’s daunting. Especially if you feel you struggle with writing.
But like many things, the goal can be made less daunting when you break it down into smaller parts.
When I first started studying copywriting (persuasive writing to stimulate action), what really drew me to it was its combination of logic and empathy.
You don’t need to intuitively understand who you’re communicating with and then write eloquently to resonate with them.
Instead, you can just move yourself through the fairly simple process of collecting the building blocks for your messaging and playing around with them. You put them together in different ways until you find something that might work, and then you test it.
Copywriting books are sort of like cookbooks. They all have a particular take on the ingredients you need to collect and how you should put them together.
But not every recipe is well-suited to every business. So I always take stock of what a business has to work with before assuming I know how we should construct the messaging.
In this article, I’m going to help you take stock of your messaging ingredients, starting with what’s inside your business and then by looking outward at your market environment. Finally, I’ll give you some tips on how to bring it all together.
(Yes, we’re going to follow the framework of everything.)
The Basics
These are foundational. You always need to address them in your messaging:
The Problem
What problem(s) are people dealing with that you can help solve?
E.g., An overgrown garden; a house that’s too small; disconnected, disengaged teams in the workplace
The Desire
What does success look like to them? What do they dream of achieving? Try to go beyond “to not have the problem.”
E.g., A beautiful, calming space they love to spend time in; a new spacious, comfortable home the whole family can enjoy; a supportive, productive environment where people enjoy working with each other
The Solution
What do you provide that moves them away from the problem and toward the desire?
E.g., Landscape maintenance services; a custom-built home; a team-building scavenger hunt
Going Deeper – The Internal Domain
Here, you want to dig deeper into your resources, capabilities, and experiences.
You might not have a good answer for everything below, and that’s fine. We rarely use every ingredient in our core messaging.
Authority
What authority do you have to solve the problem? How could your customer justify hiring you to a skeptical friend or colleague?
Consider customer reviews, awards, impressive statistics, or logos of businesses you’ve worked with.
Empathy
How can you express empathy for what your prospects are dealing with? What have you experienced that they can relate to?
Focus on the problem. You can brainstorm empathetic statements starting with “I understand how it feels to…” or “I remember when I… and I felt…”
The Process
When someone understands the steps involved in a solution, it alleviates confusion and greatly reduces their sense of risk.
Map out your entire process, from how an interested prospect can contact you to the completion of your service. List it in bullet points.
Then, condense the process to 3-6 steps. Focus on the steps your customers will experience and those they would be interested to know about.
The Call to Action
Ok this one is also mandatory. What, specifically, do you want an interested prospect to do when they read your messaging? The CTA should align with Step 1 of your process.
E.g., Book a Call, Request a Quote, Call Now
Features
What are the component parts that enable your solution? Think resources. And focus on those that are unique to your business.
Do you have a skilled workforce? An app? Proprietary tools? Multiple locations? A supply chain advantage? A valuable network? There are many possibilities here.
Your Story
Your personal story is incredibly valuable. To explain why, I’m going to break a ‘punchy messaging’ rule and use some business textbook speak:
The key to sustaining a competitive advantage is to leverage valuable resources and capabilities that cannot be easily imitated.
Your personal experiences are an “inimitable differentiator.” And unlike many things in the world right now, AI will never change that.
When you can tell a story about your life that explains why you chose to do what you do — and why you are skilled at it — you unlock a very powerful form of authenticity. One that could easily be the difference between someone hiring you or your competitor.
AI will put a premium on human authenticity.
Practice telling your story.
For these internal messaging ingredients, you will draw from your experiences, capabilities, and processes.
Next, we’ll look outward to the external environment: your customers and the competitive landscape.
The External Environment
Whatever external ingredients you have to work with, the goal is to present an opportunity for positive change — moving your customers from The Struggle to Success. I'll write more about how to tie these together with your internally-focused messaging at the end of this article.
Let’s dive in:
Ideal Customer Profile
How do you define your ideal customer? How can you show that your service was designed with them in mind?
You might start with demographics (e.g., profession, location), psychographics (their values or lifestyle), or behaviours (what they’re trying to do and how). For B2B businesses, you can also consider firmographics like company size, industry, or revenue.
The Problem (a.k.a. The External Problem)
What problem(s) do they have that you can solve?
No need to galaxy-brain this one; these are surface-level problems like a leaky pipe, a wedding without music, or disconnected, disengaged teams in the workplace.
The Internal Problem
Here, you need to empathize with your customer. How does the problem make them feel?
Does the leaky pipe frustrate them? Are they anxious about hosting a wedding that might not be fun for their guests? Are they afraid their home purchase could fall through?
The Struggle or PAIN
Tie the external and internal problems together to describe the pain they are experiencing. And hey, this is a marketing exercise. You’re allowed to be dramatic.
By identifying the struggle, you tap into their lived experience and show you understand what they’re going through — which builds trust and strengthens your messaging.
“They spend every weekend trying to tame their yard, but it still looks messy. And it’s starting to feel like a waste of time."
The Bigger Picture
Why does this problem matter to the company or society itself?
For businesses, disconnected teams don’t just hurt productivity and retention — they create workplaces where people feel disengaged and undervalued. For individuals, an unaddressed home repair isn’t just inconvenient — it’s an unfair burden on their safety and peace of mind.
Framing the bigger picture connects your offer to what ought to be and resonates on a deeper level.
The Villain
Who or what causes the external problem?
You can be creative with what you vilify. It could be anything from workplace distractions to dust bunnies to cookie-cutter marketing agencies.
Naming the culprit helps customers focus on the problem — and positions you as the one who can help them overcome it.
Triggers
What’s going on in their life or work that could prompt them to seek a solution like yours?
A trigger could be something like receiving an inheritance or an embarrassing presentation where the projector doesn’t work. Triggers are events or changes in circumstances that create an immediate need for your solution. It’s useful to identify what might prompt your ideal customer to act now.
Success
What does success look like to them? This goes beyond simply solving the problem.
How is their life better after using your solution? Success could look like a beautifully landscaped yard where the family gathers every summer or a workplace culture where employees feel energized and connected.
The “Job to Be Done”
What’s the main thing they want to achieve?
It must address the external problem they seek to solve, but it should also incorporate what success looks like to them. For example, "Stop water damage fast with a repair that lasts — and protects your home from future leaks."
Hesitations
What hesitations might they have about purchasing from you, and how can you address them?
For example, if someone is worried about price, you could emphasize the value they get relative to the alternatives. If they’re unsure about your expertise, testimonials and case studies can provide reassurance.
The Risk
What does “failure” look like to them? Can you tie this to the risk of nonaction or choosing the wrong solution?
For example, for an audiovisual support vendor, the risk of nonaction could be continued business disruption and increased long-term costs due to neglected system maintenance.
A note on negative messaging: It’s like salt. Start small — just enough to clarify the stakes of their decision. Use too much, and it will ruin your meal.
The Alternatives
What other options do they have?
Your competitors aren’t the only alternatives. Consider DIY solutions or doing nothing. For example, a business considering a team-building activity might also consider a company retreat or no activity at all.
Positive Differentiators
This isn’t the same as the main job to be done. What do people like about solutions like yours?
Think customer service, ease of use, or anything else that could put yours over a competitor’s similar service.
Negative Differentiators
What don’t people like about other services like yours? Show how your business avoids these pitfalls.
Pro tip: Mine online reviews for positive and negative differentiators, and note the exact words customers use to describe them.
Keywords
This is about more than search engine optimization (SEO), which is beyond the scope of this article. Find out what words your ideal customers are currently using to seek solutions like yours.
Even if it’s not the way you prefer to describe your services, you should always try to meet new customers where they are — and then persuade them to follow you where you want them to go (e.g., by adapting your terminology).
Tying It All Together
Now that we’ve taken stock of your available messaging ingredients — first from within your business, then from your customers and competitive landscape — I will teach you how to combine them to create powerful core messaging for your business. This will help you understand how to write and talk about what you do.
Your goal is to write a value proposition, elevator pitch, and three core benefits.
Step 1: Review Your Messaging Ingredients
First, review the list of internal and external messaging points you’ve gathered. These may include:
Internal ingredients like your story, unique features of your process, or elements that showcase your authority and empathy.
External ingredients like your customers’ problems, desires, struggles, or triggers, as well as differentiators that set you apart from competitors.
How to Choose the Most Relevant Ingredients
To craft your value proposition and benefits, focus on points that:
Directly address your customer’s external and internal problems.
Look for struggles, pains, or risks that align closely with your offer.
Showcase your unique capabilities or advantages.
Highlight features that differentiate your solution from competitors.
In other words, what do you do differently from the alternatives and why?
Emphasize outcomes your customers care about.
Refer to your customers’ desires, successes, or what "better" looks like to them.
Ultimately, you’re looking for links between your customer’s most urgent pains and your service’s best qualities.
Step 2: Write Your Value Proposition
Your value proposition is the big win your customer wants to achieve, paired with what makes your solution unique. This should capture what makes your offer compelling in just one or two sentences.
Here are two simple formulas to help craft your value proposition. You should brainstorm a few options before choosing the best one:
“[Job to be Done or ‘Success’] without [common pain point or negative differentiator].”
For example: “Grow your appliance repair business without wasting thousands on ads.”
Bonus points for identifying the ideal customer in the value proposition.
“[Unique approach] to [solve the problem or complete the Job to be Done] so you can [achieve “Success”].”
For example: “Intelligent websites designed to attract your best-fit clients, so you can close more deals with less effort.”
This is your north star — the core message that sets the tone for your elevator pitch, benefits, and all other communications.
Step 3: Craft Your Elevator Pitch
Your elevator pitch is a conversational version of your value proposition. Think of it as your go-to explanation of what you do when someone asks, “So, what do you do?”
Here’s a simple structure for crafting your elevator pitch:
State the problem: Open with the main problem your ideal customer faces.
Share what you do: Explain how your business solves that problem in a simple, jargon-free sentence.
Highlight success: End with how your solution improves their lives.
Examples:
For a team-building company:
“Disconnected teams hurt productivity. We bring coworkers closer together with scavenger hunts that actually get people talking, laughing, and working together.”For a landscaping service:
“As they get older, many homeowners struggle to maintain their yards. We provide friendly landscapers that people actually enjoy having around so they can enjoy their outdoor space without any hassle.”
Step 4: Highlight 3 Benefits
Your benefits are the specific ways your service helps your customers achieve success. These should support your value proposition and differentiate your solution from competitors.
Here’s how to build your benefits:
Start with a unique feature: Look at your internal ingredients to identify something about your process, tools, or approach that sets you apart.
Translate the feature into a benefit: Show how this feature directly addresses a customer’s pain point or delivers a desirable outcome.
Make it relatable: Use plain language that resonates with your audience.
Note that benefits must state the actual value customers get from your service. You can’t just talk about your awesome capability, tool, team or whatever. Those are features.
Go a step further and turn them into benefits.
Examples:
Feature: A simple user interface.
Benefit: “Our one-page scheduling software is simple, fast, and easy to use. You’ll never waste time trying to figure out how to book with us.”Feature: Proprietary SEO tools.
Benefit: “Our specialized tools help you rank higher on Google in multiple cities, so your ideal customers will find you first.”Feature: Experienced team.
Benefit: “With hundreds of successful projects under our belt, you can trust us to get it right the first time.”
So, now you’ve got:
A Value Proposition: Use this as the foundation of your messaging. It’s perfect for your website’s homepage, LinkedIn profile headline, or even your email signature. Anytime you need to succinctly explain the big win your customers can expect, your value proposition is your north star.
An Elevator Pitch: Think of this as your “in-the-moment” messaging. Use it at networking events, casual conversations, or any situation where someone asks, “What do you do?” It’s your chance to connect with potential customers quickly and memorably.
Your Three Benefits: These are your supporting points. Use them in sales conversations, marketing copy, or anywhere you want to reinforce why your business is the best choice, given the available alternatives.
“But I have more ingredients that I didn’t use in my messaging!”
I bet you do! But people aren’t going to have a lot of space for you in their heads when they first learn about your business. You need to be strategic about how you fill that space.
Often, the biggest challenge isn’t finding things to write about; it’s knowing what to omit. Stick to the stuff that provides a clear link between the internal and external domains (i.e., what you do and what they need), and prioritize things that are unique, given the available alternatives.
Now, you have a messaging foundation to help you explain what you do in a way that will resonate strongly with your ideal customers.
If you’d like some more help, we offer strategic positioning & messaging services for skilled service providers. Send us a message, we’d be happy to chat.
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