Speaking our customer’s language

A few years back, I stumbled upon the above image of a car.

I’m pretty sure that no other sales copy would have sold that car more successfully than this short shoutout: “Runs great!”

Whoever is going to buy this car is looking for a car that brings them from here to there. A car that just runs, preferably great. No professional photo-shooting with a star photographer would have resonated any better. Neither would an elaborate diagram with all the statistics about the car’s technical details, such as energy efficiency etc.

The story “runs great” just resonates with the people who this offer is for. It attaches to what the buyer already believes in. It doesn’t try to sell them something that they don’t want. It sells them precisely the thing that they do want and frames the offer in these terms, using their language.

A lot of frustration in marketing stems from trying to sound more professional when our customers are just looking for someone who speaks their language.