That’s the advice an executive gave me 20+ years ago in response to my request for feedback on a website I had built to promote my marketing fledgling consultancy.

What this successful marketing and business development leader exposed is something we at Mindshare Advisors frequently see with technology companies: marketing-speak and techno-speak that doesn’t clearly communicate what the company does and what’s in it for prospective customers.

Recently, as part of a client project, we reviewed the websites of 500 companies and found an alarmingly high percent of them to be confusing because the content didn’t spell out who the intended audience is (the customer), what the audience’s problems are, and how the company’s solutions address those problems. Instead of focusing on the customer, these websites tended to prattle on about the company.

Be honest: does this sound like your website or marketing materials or even your elevator pitch? If so, engage us to help you take your business to the next level.

In the book, Building a Story Brand, the author, Donald Miller, observes, “The first mistake brands make is they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive” and, “The second mistake brands make it they cause their customers to burn too many calories in an effort to understand their offer.”

Guess what happens next? Chances are prospective customers tune out and moves on to somebody else.

Scott Gregory shared in a previous post, “In business today, making a connection with your customer is key to building mindshare, and your story is at the epicenter of the effort. Mindshare is simply not achievable without a good story.”

For starters, the story needs to be clear and easily understood. In the movie Margin Call, Jeremy Iron’s character, John Tuld, who is the CEO of an over-leveraged investment bank, instructs an associate trying to explain the problem the firm is facing, “Please, speak as you might to a young child or a Golden Retriever.”

The story must also focus on the customer which seems intuitive. Yet marketing at many companies – perhaps yours – puts the company along with its vision, mission, values, awards and employee beer pong outings front and center. According to Miller’s Building a Brand Story, “The customer is the hero of the story, not your brand.”

Additionally, the story has to drive action. Whether its buy, partner, donate, download, learn more, contact sales, stay in touch, or other outcomes, the story is the vehicle to solidify and progress the relationship with a customer.

Lastly, make the story engaging, memorable, repeatable, and pervasively told. All employees should know it, customers should know it, partners and other stakeholders should know it, and even competitors should know it. And it should appear in all marketing material including the website, social media, sales tools, press releases, trade show booths, and more.

In a world filled with marketing noise, leaders need to clarify or, as I was counseled, cut out the crap from their market story or risk friction which may prevent them from taking their business to the next level.

Need help? Engage us and we’ll equip your team with a killer story to win mindshare and build marketshare.