Let’s be blunt: if your product messaging isn’t hitting your ideal customer’s pain points—precisely—you’re wasting time and money. Spray-and-pray approaches to marketing are dead, especially in the competitive tech startup space. More isn’t better. It’s just more noise.
Startups are notorious for broad messaging that tries to be “all things to all people,” and it’s the fastest way to ensure no one cares. When your messaging lacks focus, you blend into the background, and the very customers you’re trying to reach will scroll right past you.
What’s the Real Problem? Your potential customers aren’t interested in your product because you’re interested in it. They care because it solves a pressing issue that’s costing them money, time, or aggravation—quantifiable pain points that keep them up at night. If you’re not speaking directly to that pain, in no uncertain terms, they’ll look elsewhere.
Marketing Hack #1: Diagnose the Pain in Dollars and Hours Here’s the first thing you need to do: Get hyper-specific about what’s hurting your customers. For every marketing message you create, ask yourself:
- How much money does this problem cost them every day it goes unsolved?
- How much time are they wasting on inefficient processes that your product could automate or streamline?
- How much aggravation is the problem causing within their team or organization?
Once you’ve answered these questions, write your messaging to hit these exact points. The more clearly you quantify the pain, the more motivated they’ll be to engage with you.
Marketing Hack #2: Execution Over Perfection There’s a famous saying in the startup world: “Data is great, but execution is golden.” Don’t waste months crafting the perfect message—especially if that message still won’t resonate with your ICP. Get something actionable out there fast, see how it performs, then tweak it along the way. Action will always outperform over-analysis.
Marketing Hack #3: Frame Their Problem as the Hero Remember, your product isn’t the hero—their problem is. Show them how your solution directly addresses the issue they’re facing. The more you can mirror their frustrations and reflect them back in your messaging, the more likely they’ll see you as the answer.
Don’t become the Shopsmith of your industry.
You Don’t Have Time to Wait You can’t afford to be vague. You can’t afford to target “everyone.” Time is the enemy for startups, and if your messaging isn’t working, you need to fix it now. Focus on quantifying the pain and delivering quick, actionable solutions to your customer’s most pressing challenges.
Want help getting it right? Let’s talk. Book a free consultation today—absolutely no strings attached—and let’s get your messaging dialed in for real results.
