Trying to come up with the right words to use in the marketing message for your business can be like trying to find the Loch Ness Monster: impossible.

Hours and days can be spent and wasted on hundreds of revisions, countless ideas, and plenty of starts and stops when it comes to finding the right message.

I get it, it’s not easy to figure out what to say in your marketing and most businesses struggle to do it well.

Because of that, many companies fall back on cliches they’ve heard that make little to no sense and it’s costing them thousands of dollars.

Think of where your messaging shows up, your websites, lead magnets, email campaigns, sales brochures, advertisements, etc., as your most valuable and expensive piece of property you own. Yes, even more valuable than your physical property if you have one.

Why?

Because most of your customers will check you out online before they visit your business in person. So if you don’t make the right impression digitally and in your marketing collateral, you won’t have the opportunity to make an even better impression in person.

When you use your highly valuable marketing real estate on meaningless cliches, you might as well be burning your cash and chasing customers away.

There’s one marketing cliche way too many businesses use in their marketing.

I’ve seen it in insurance companies, dental and doctor offices, auto dealers and mechanics, real estate, law offices, and pretty much in every industry.

It’s the biggest waste of money and messaging ever and if you’re doing it right now….you need to get rid of it.

So what’s the phrase?

“We’ll treat you like family”

Or “caring for your family like you care for yours”.

Or any other way to frame it, it’s equally as bad.

Why? Four reasons:

1. Family Drama

Do you know how many families dislike each other?

Sadly too many.

Even if they are as happy as the Brady Bunch, every family still has that aunt, brother, uncle, or grandpa that drives them crazy!

So when you say “we treat you like family”, there’s a good chance that’s exactly what your customers don’t want.

 

2. Know it all Uncle Joe (that doesn’t really know anything)

Guess who isn’t an expert in real estate, law, auto body repair, medicine, or whatever your field of expertise is? Your Uncle Joe.

In fact, the only thing Uncle Joe is trained for is how to rock a sweet pair of all-white New Balance dad shoes and tube socks paired with oddly large calf muscles and a killer pair of jean shorts that are 15+ years old. Am I right?

Your customers aren’t coming to you because you’re family. They’re coming to you because you’re an expert in what you do.

So tell your customers how your knowledge and expertise is going to help them and stop comparing yourself to know-nothing Uncle Joe.

 

3. Everybody else is saying it

As mentioned above, there are so many other companies using the “family” line so if you’re saying it, you’ve successfully made yourself sound like everybody else. And if your business is lost in a sea of noise, your sales are going to flatline.

 

4. Wasted words

Last but not least, “we treat you like family” tells your customer nothing. It’s just a bunch of cheap filler ingredients in your marketing hamburger meat.

What your customers do care about is the benefit they get from using your product or service, but they’ll never know the benefits unless you tell them. Remember, your customers aren’t mind readers so you have to communicate clearly and simply!

When you communicate clearly and effectively how your product helps your customer survive and thrive, your business will win.

 

How You Can You Create A Marketing Message That Helps You Stand Out

Ok, so we know now what not to say, but what should we say instead?

Here are three steps to follow that will help you create a magnetic marketing message:

1. Start with the problem your customers have.
   • What’s holding them back?
   • What’s keeping them from getting something they want?
   • What’s costing them time, money, pain, or heartache?
2. Tell them what your product or service does.
   • Saves you time
   • Saves you money
   • Helps you lose weight
   • Teaches you how to play ear-splitting heavy metal guitar
3. Paint a picture of what their future looks like after using your product.
   • If you’re a financial advisor, explain how with your savings plan, your customers will be able to save up money to buy a boat and cruise the crystal clear blue water in the Caribbean
   • If you’re a fitness trainer, your customers will be able to slip into their favorite pair of jeans that have been hanging in the closet for too long with your personal training program.
   • If you teach guitar, your students will become a head-banging, guitar-shredding heavy metal rockstar that will command the stage and wow the crowd…rock on brother!

 

Your Marketing Message

When it comes to your website, sales presentations, ads, and all of your marketing collateral mix in these three elements.

When you talk about your customer’s problem, how you can help, and what their life will look like after they use your product, you’ll stop throwing away money on useless phrases like “we treat you like family” and you’ll start attracting new customers because you’re addressing what your customers really care about.

And when you hit your messaging on the head, your customers will start telling you how it’s like you knew exactly what they were thinking. When you hear that from your customers, your sales are about to take off.