Clearly that message was not clear

There I stood, sheepishly taking my groceries from the red-faced teen. All eyes on me. And a big, proud smile on my kid's face.

My son was two and a half. He was in a stage where he repeated everything over and over until someone acknowledged his profound insight.

We were checking out at the grocery store, and he yelled excitedly, “A clock, mommy. A clock. Look at the clock! It's a clock, mommy. Look, a clock!”

Unfortunately, he couldn't pronounce his L's yet.

There were quite a few stares (and a very flustered cashier) before I understood and said, “Yes, buddy, it is a 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬.”

He knew what he meant, obvs.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

Here are 5 tips for creating clarity in a brand message:

👉 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞

Leave out the jargon. No explanations should be necessary. It should immediately be understood.

👉 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫

Use a conversational tone (talk to “you”) and address your customer's pain points.

👉 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Do your research. Be certain who you are directing your message to.

👉 𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

Set communication guidelines so all your branding materials are aligned with your core message. Keep the same tone of voice.

👉 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

What do you do? Why are you different? How do you solve your customer's problem?

What's your litmus test for creating a clear message?

#messaging #copywriting #communication #clearoverclever