You’re Probably Marketing the Wrong Thing
Nobody buys a drill because they want a drill.
They buy it because they want a hole in the wall. And behind that hole is a shelf. And on that shelf is the photo of their kid’s first birthday, or the TV they saved up for, or the award they’re finally going to hang after three years of it sitting on the floor. The drill is just the mechanism. The life they’re building is the point.
Most businesses market the drill.
They lead with credentials, features, years of experience, certifications, the size of their team, the software they use. And while those things might be true and even impressive, they’re answering a question nobody asked. Your customer isn’t asking “how qualified are you?” They’re asking “can you fix my problem and make my life better?” Those are different questions, and most marketing only answers the first one.
The Gap Between What You Offer and What They Want
Here’s a framework I use with every business I work with. I call it the Benefit of the Benefit — BOB for short.
You start with what you offer. Then you ask: what’s the benefit of that? Then you ask again: what’s the benefit of that benefit? You keep going until you hit something emotional, something that connects to how a person actually experiences their life.
Take a bookkeeper. What do they offer? Accurate financial records. What’s the benefit? You know where your money is. What’s the benefit of that? You can make better decisions. What’s the benefit of that? You stop losing sleep over whether you can make payroll. What’s the benefit of that? You feel in control of your business instead of anxious about it.
Now which of those would you rather lead with in your marketing? “Accurate financial records” or “stop losing sleep over your finances”?
The second one sells. The first one gets scrolled past.
Most businesses stop at the first or second level because it feels safer. More professional. More factual. But safe marketing is invisible marketing. The businesses that break through are the ones willing to go all the way to the emotional truth of what they actually provide.
Why This Is Harder Than It Sounds
There are two reasons most business owners struggle to do this.
The first is that they’re too close to their own work. When you’ve spent years developing a skill, the craft becomes the thing you’re proud of. And you should be proud of it. But your customer doesn’t care about the craft — they care about what the craft produces in their life. Getting outside your own expertise to see yourself the way your customer sees you takes real effort and often requires an outside perspective.
The second reason is fear. Leading with emotional benefits feels vulnerable. It feels like advertising. It feels less professional than leading with credentials. But the irony is that the businesses that connect emotionally are the ones that come across as the most trustworthy — because they’ve demonstrated they understand their customer’s world, not just their own.
What Happens When You Get It Right
When your marketing speaks directly to what your customer actually wants — not what you do, but what their life looks like when you do it — a few things shift.
Your website starts converting better because visitors instantly recognize that you’re talking to them. Your emails get replies because people feel understood rather than pitched to. Your ads stop feeling like a money pit because the message resonates with the right people instead of bouncing off everyone.
Most importantly, you stop competing on price. When you’re marketing the drill, the customer compares your drill to every other drill and picks the cheapest one. When you’re marketing the life they’re building, price becomes secondary to trust. And trust is built through the clarity of your message, not the size of your discount.
Finding Your Real Message
The clearest path to better marketing is this: sit down with your three or four best customers — the ones who value what you do, pay without friction, and refer their friends — and ask them why they work with you. Not what you do for them technically. Why they chose you and keep choosing you.
Their answers will almost never sound like your website. They’ll say things like “you make me feel like someone finally has it handled” or “I stopped worrying about that part of my business” or “you actually understand what we’re trying to build.” Those words are your marketing. Not your credentials. Not your methodology. The way your best customers feel when they work with you.
That’s what you lead with.
If your marketing isn’t converting the way it should, the problem is usually in how clearly your message connects to what your customer actually wants — not your budget, not your platform, not your design.
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