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.

Get Daily Insights on The Art of Communicating for Free

Check out my new book
The PATH to Strategic Impact

Read More

Simple ideas

Did you ever struggle to get a simple idea across? This might explain why … We’re so good at adding stuff to our ideas. For

Read »

That’s better!

But better than what? What does better even mean? Is it faster? Or is it more reliable? Cheaper? More pleasant to look at? “It’s better”

Read »

Daily insights on
The Art of Communicating

Find the right words and
make a bigger impact!!
You can opt-out any time but I think you’ll really like what you get. Please see my privacy terms.