Signs Your Brand Messaging Isn’t Working
Ever click on a video and it just buffers?
That’s what unclear messaging feels like to your audience.
They’re ready to listen. They’re interested. But if they can’t quickly understand what you do or why it matters, they move on.
In this post, we’ll go through the signs that your messaging is hurting your business more than it’s helping you. And give you resources to improve it.
You Know You Need to Show Up, You Just Don’t Know What to Say
Signs Messaging Might Be Your Problem
3-Step Plan to Fix Your Message When It’s Not Working
When Your Brand Messaging Is Clear
Fix Your Brand Messaging
You Know You Need to Show Up, You Just Don’t Know What to Say
In your business, you need to use words. Lots of ‘em.
You need words in website copy, social posts, email campaigns, sales conversations.
And every time you sit down to write or speak, you start from scratch.
You try one way of explaining it. Then another. Then another.
Some of it sounds good in the moment. But then you’re on to the next thing. The next time you show up, you start all over again.
There’s no consistency.
And from the inside, it feels way harder than it should.
Over time, it creates a bigger issue:
Your audience doesn’t have a clear picture of what you offer, how it helps them, or what they’re supposed to do next.
Which means they don’t take action.
I see this all the time.
Smart, capable business owners who are great at what they do, but every time someone on their team goes to talk about it, the language is slightly different. The website says one thing. Social says another. Sales calls take a different angle.
I’ve worked with clients to fix this at a high level.
When I helped Ari Siegel, founder of History By Mail, refine his message for Shark Tank, it wasn’t about adding more words. It was about getting clear with the words he had.
When the episode aired, he walked away with a $250,000 deal.
The message landed. It was simple and clear.
That’s what most businesses are missing.
You don’t need better ideas. You don’t need more content.
You need a clear, repeatable way to talk about what you do so it makes sense to the people you’re trying to reach.
What It Takes to Clarify Your Message for a Shark Tank-Sized MomentHow to Tell if Messaging is Your Problem
If you’re constantly rewriting your homepage, wondering why no one’s opening your emails, or feeling like your Instagram captions are yelling into the void... it might be time for a messaging check.
Here’s what to look for:
People often ask, “So… wait, what do you actually do?”
You’re spending way too long writing content—and it’s still not converting
You offer a great product or service, but your website doesn’t make that clear
Your talking points change depending on the day, or who is writing them
You’re getting traffic, but very few inquiries or sales
Sound familiar?
As Donald Miller says in the book Building a StoryBrand 2.0:
We’re in a race to communicate why our customers need [our] products. Even if we have the best product in the marketplace, we’ll lose to an inferior product if our competitor’s offer is communicated more clearly.
As a StoryBrand Certified Guide, I’ve trained directly with Donald Miller to learn how the right brand message has transformed thousands of companies. Including B2B companies.
Why a Clear Brand Message is Key to Growing Your Business (And How You Can Master It)3-Step Plan for When Your Messaging Is Not Working
If any of the above bullet points sound like your company, don’t worry. There are solutions. Let’s break them down.
1. Evaluate Whether You Have a Consistent Message
One of the reasons that your brand messaging may not be working is because you have multiple brand messages.
Look at the homepage on your website, your welcome email, your LinkedIn About section, and how you describe your company in sales conversations.
Is the message the same each time?
If your message changes from place to place, then your messaging is going to be muddy.
That’s different than the message not working.
If your message is the same and it’s not working (again, because of the bullets in the section above) then head to Step 2.
Building a Solid Marketing Foundation: Why Messaging, One-Liners, and Brand Playbooks Matter
2. Distill What Your Company Does in the Simplest Way Possible for Anyone to Understand
Once you’ve spotted the inconsistencies, the goal is to figure out what your brand is going to say going forward.
Just like how an actor uses a script to know what to say in a play, you can use a BrandScript to know what to say in your marketing.
Clear messaging is about saying the right thing simply enough to be understood.
A BrandScript is a simple way for everyone on your team (yes, even if that person is named Claude, or Gemini, or Chat GPT) to consistently explain:
the problem you solve for your customer
how you are qualified to solve it
what the plan is to solve it
how your customer can get started
what happens if the problem doesn’t get solved
what happens if you get it right
how the customer will change once their problem is solved
The key here is simple. You’ve got to take the big, complex ideas that your company offers and make it really easy for anyone to understand. And especially easy for them to understand when they’re preoccupied or distracted. (Which, we all are. All of the time. Pretty much.)
You want to avoid jargon.
You want to avoid generic words (like “elevate” or “unlock”).
In the words attributed to Albert Einstein, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
3. Distribute That Consistent Message Over and Over
Now, here’s where branding comes in. Here’s where making an imprint on your audience’s brain really happens:
You’ve got to keep repeating the same thing over and over again.
Odds are good that you have a commercial jingle from when you were a kid rattling around in your head. If not, allow me to introduce to you the Mentos commercials from the ‘90s.
That song played on television often enough that millions of people can still remember that song.
Your company has to do the same thing. You’ve got to consistently say the same thing over and over again. Say it on the About page of your website, say it in a video you' have pinned to your YouTube channel. Say it in the description of your LinkedIn Company Page, say it on sales calls and at networking events.
Put it on the walls of your office.
You are going to get sick of it. Say it anyway.
How to Use Your StoryBrand BrandScript (Examples Included)When Your Brand Messaging Is Clear
When you know how to talk about what you do, your marketing stops feeling like guesswork.
You’re not starting from scratch every time you sit down to write. You know what to say, and how to say it.
Your website makes sense. Your sales conversations feel more direct and less like you’re trying to explain yourself on the fly. Your prospects start to understand, “oh, I get it.”
And that shows up in a number of ways:
You company publishes content faster because no one on your team has to start from scratch
You close prospects faster because they understand what problem you solve for them
You can hand off marketing to someone on your team (or an AI tool) because the language is already defined and approved
You build campaigns that work because they’re grounded in a consistent message
Instead of spinning your wheels, your efforts start to build on each other.
People recognize what you do. They understand it sooner. They know how to take the next step.
And that’s when your messaging supports your business.
Fix Your Brand Messaging
Clear brand messaging starts with knowing what to say and having a structure to say it consistently.
If you’re tired of second guessing how to talk about what you do, this is where to start.
Inside a BrandScript Planning Session, we’ll clarify your offer, define a consistent way to talk about it, and give you a message you can use across your website, content, and sales conversations.
Schedule a call with me and let’s get your message clear.
