Is Your Startup's Marketing Messaging Clear or Confusing? Here's How to Tell!

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Most of us have probably seen the film, and if not, simply going off the fact that the it has now reportedly grossed over $244 million worldwide, it’s safe to surmise that you’ve certainly at least heard a line or two from the classic American buddy cop action film, Rush Hour, before.

Perhaps the most memorable, and easily one of the most hysterical lines from the film, is when Detective Carter (played by Chris Tucker) hilariously asks Lee (played by Jackie Chan) who had just arrived in the US from China, Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?

Having seen the film, you’re already aware that Lee totally understood what Carter was saying and that was only pretending as if he could not comprehend English in order to fool Carter. Unfortunately, when it comes to a startup’s unclear marketing messaging, consumers won't pretend to not understand it; they'll simply turn to your competitors.

And if the consumer cannot clearly understand how they'd stand to benefit from what your startup has to offer, you could forget about securing a sell. Here are a few ways to tell if your marketing messaging is actually clear to consumers—or confusing them. 

Your brand slogan resonates with consumers

There’s a stark difference between marketing messaging that clearly conveys to consumers precisely what a brand and its products or services has to offer—and marketing messaging that does not.

Take great brand slogans for example. As a brand strategist (and admitted marketing fanatic), I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time studying brand slogans.

What I discovered is that one thing that all of the greatest brand slogans and taglines have in common—is that they convey a clear message about what their brand, and their products or services have to offer consumers.

For instance, let's explore a few all-time great brand slogans:

• BMW: “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”

• Disneyland: “The Happiest Place on Earth.”

• Target: “Expect more. Pay less.”

• Wheaties: “Breakfast of Champion.”

You may have noticed, something that each of those slogans have in common, is that they all convey a key benefit to consumers.

Without question, your startup’s brand slogan is one of the most important messages that your brand will express to its audience. If that message expresses a key benefit that your brand offers to consumers—it’s a great sign that your marketing messaging is clear. 

Consumers ask less questions about your offerings

From your company’s website meta description on search engines, to your website’s copy, even down to your company’s email signature, companies now have a tremendous amount of opportunities to express to customers precisely how they could improve their lives through their offerings.

Even so, customers will always have questions around how your business could potentially solve their problems and help them win the day. Which is to be expected if your brand successfully sparks their interest.

Nevertheless, a key blunder made by numerous startups today is that instead of emphasizing how their products or services will help solve a specific problem for customers—they go about explaining how those products or services work.

“You should enlighten your customers about how your product works to solve their problem.” Says Donald Miller and Dr. J.J. Peterson, authors of the book, Marketing Made Simple. “Never forget, we are not talking about our products, we are inviting customers on a journey in which their lives are made better through the use of our products."

Clear marketing communications convey solutions at every touchpoint. And as crazy as this may sound, a good sign that your marketing messaging is comprehensible and not convoluted—is if consumers ask less questions about what they would stand to benefit by buying it. 

Final thoughts

If your startup’s marketing messaging confuses consumers, you’ll be doing your competitors a tremendous favor. Which is why it is so imperative that for the sake of clarity, every aspect of your marketing messaging clearly conveys to consumers what’s most important to them; which is how your brand could significantly improve their lives.

Want further help with your startup’s marketing messaging? Contact us and schedule a complimentary client consultation and we’ll help clearly communicate to consumers precisely how your startup’s offerings will solve their problems and improve their lives!