The Simple Way to Sell "Beer Cheese Potato Sausage"
Description: Explore the importance of clarity in communication with a funny, relatable story that illustrates the impact on marketing and branding. Gain insights on how to effectively state the problem your brand solves. Enhance your messaging strategy and audience connection with 2 valuable messaging tips.
I'm eating alone at an empty tavern at 2:00 PM on a Tuesday. It's that combination of wood paneling and dim yellow lighting that, somehow, has never gone out of style.
There's one server leaning on the bar, swiping through TikToks on her phone. Or maybe Tinder? I can't tell.
The door swings open and we get a blast of cold, March Minnesota air. One man in his 70s shuffles in and seats himself at a hightop table.
The server puts her phone away and approaches.
"Thanks for coming. Would you like to hear the specials?"
He nods enthusiastically.
"We've got a great soup on the menu today. It's beer cheese potato sausage."
I look up from my meal. Did I hear that right? Maybe it's a Minnesota thing. But when I look at him, his face looks just as confused as mine.
"Can you repeat that?" he asks.
"It's beer cheese potato sausage."
Those exact words, in that order, again.
"I'm sorry," he says, adjusting his hearing aid. "I don't understand."
She explains, "It’s like a cheesy potato soup with a hint of beer."
"Oh!" he exclaims. "That sounds great. I'll have that."
And there it is: People don't buy until they understand what they're buying.
Just say the thing: leveraging clarity to earn attention
Listen, just because the words make sense and your sentence works grammatically, it doesn't necessarily mean you're effectively communicating the idea. Your audience, pressed for time, is vigilant about engaging with only the clearest messages.
If they can't immediately understand what you do, who it's for, or why it matters, they're going to tune you out.
Never sacrifice clarity for cleverness.
Can your marketing be creative, interesting, or even poetic? Of course! But never sacrifice clarity to get there.
Applying Clarity to Your Messaging Strategy
What does this mean for you?
If you're a new brand or building a business for the first time, do not spend time, energy, or money worrying about "branding" - logo, colors, fonts, catchphrases, taglines, etc.
Nobody buys the branding. They buy a solution to their problem.
Here are two steps to get you started:
1. State the Problem
So first, establish the problem that your product, service, or idea solves. State it clearly, in plain language, that anyone could understand, even if they knew nothing about your work or your world.
For example, our client Sneha Mandala is a speaker and consultant on work culture, engagement, and peak performance.
After coaching her through the process of delivering her talk "How to make work feel more effortless" at TEDxReno, we got to work on building her personal brand, which always starts with core messaging.
We spent the first few sessions digging into the specific problem that she solves. Here's how it is now stated on her website:
"It shouldn't be this hard to get smart and skilled employees to consistently produce great work together."
If you're a leader at an organization checking out her website, you know exactly what problem she solves. Nothing clever, no guessing.
2. Establish the Symptoms
Second, how would your audience recognize in their day-to-day life that they have that problem? Just like medical patients present with symptoms that doctors use to diagnose a condition, you need to help your audience realize they have this problem.
On Sneha's website, it looks like this:
Does your team struggle with...
Low Engagement Scores
Reduced Productivity
Constant Organizational Change
Weak Collaboration
Wasted potential
High Turnover
No matter what kind of organization you work for in a leadership position, you now realize that if you have one of these symptoms, then Sneha solves the problem you have.
They can't buy unless they understand what you're selling. And that means spending most of your time and energy simplifying and clarifying your messaging.
Getting it Done
When your ideal audience looks at the metaphorical menu of solutions to their problem, you don't want to be the "beer cheese potato sausage."
You want to be "a cheesy potato soup with a hint of beer."
It's a subtle but critical difference that will literally make or break your brand, company, or mission in the age of distraction.
Start by clearly articulating the problem you solve, then establishing the symptoms someone who recognize in their day-to-day.
Of course, that's just the first step- to get their attention. After that you've got to engage them deeply, and eventually move them to action - buy your thing or adopt your idea.
At Clarity Up, we work with mission-driven organizations and individuals who want to clarify their communication, drive action, and make a dent in the universe.
Whether you need help with the copy on your website, delivering powerful presentations, pitches, or speeches, or massively up-leveling the effectiveness of your communication, we've got you covered.
Schedule a Consultation to get a personalized plan for making your dent.
