Hey there,
It is Matthew Larsen, back with my daily newsletter.
In this email, we will talk about how the specific words in your marketing decide which level of customer shows up.
Choosing the niche is not enough.
This is the part that screws most people up once they have an offer that is good in theory. They take that offer and try to sell it through ads, content, outreach, or whatever else they are doing, but their messaging attracts the wrong type of customer.
I am not talking about picking your target market or going after an industry with a higher LTV. This is a smaller, more tactical distinction.
It is about the type of company inside that target market that you are actually trying to sell to.
A lot of people inherently understand that there are many different levels of people in a B2C market or businesses in a B2B market. However, they do a terrible job of accounting for those differences when they actually start marketing.
Take roofing.
You could have a multi-state roofing company with a call center, dozens of sales representatives, and dozens of crews.
On the other hand, you could have a solo owner-operator who is essentially self-employed.
Both are technically "roofing companies," but they are completely different businesses in almost every other way.
They have entirely different problems, goals, resources, systems, and levels of sophistication.
They should not respond to the same messaging.
This becomes extremely important when you begin creating ads, publishing content, or doing outreach.
Two Types Of Roofing Messaging
Most people understand that broad messaging tends to get bad results, so they try to become more specific. The problem is that they become specific to the wrong level of person or company within their ICP.
This is almost always accidental. Nobody would do it wrong on purpose.
So let's put two versions side by side.
Roofing Messaging A
"Tired of losing jobs to that roofer down the street?"
"Tired of sitting around waiting for the phone to ring?"
"Don't know where your next job is coming from?"
"Do you need more clients?"
Roofing Messaging B
"Do you need more volume for your sales team?"
"Are you looking to diversify your traffic sources?"
"Are you about to miss your quarterly revenue projections?"
"Are you looking to sell to private equity in the next 24 months?"
Which message is more likely to attract beginners? Roofing Messaging A.
Which message is more likely to attract large roofing companies? Roofing Messaging B.
That is pretty obvious when you look at the two examples beside each other.
However, every hour of every day, people make this exact mistake with their messaging without realizing it.
They write ad copy that sounds like Roofing Messaging A and then wonder why they receive a bunch of terrible-quality, broke leads.
Let's think about this for a second.
If we are targeting huge, multi-state roofing companies that can pay us a lot, would they be tired of losing jobs to that roofer down the street? No. They probably would not even know that roofer exists.
Would they be sitting around waiting for the phone to ring? No. They probably have 200 spreadsheets, a CRM, and a call center. Their phone is probably ringing off the hook.
Would they have no idea where their next job is coming from? No. They probably have about 1,000 jobs happening at this very moment.
Do they simply "need more clients?" Not in the way Roofing Messaging A frames it.
They are not sitting around desperate for anyone to call. They may need more volume for an existing sales team, a more predictable source of opportunities, or another traffic source that helps them hit their revenue projections.
They are trying to manage and grow an existing operation. They are not trying to survive long enough to find their next job.
Again, this sounds easy when it is explained like this. However, you would be amazed by how many people make this exact mistake and then wonder why "nothing is working."
Now, let's look at the other side.
If a company needs more volume for its sales team, that implies it already has a sales team and is probably a larger company.
If the company is thinking about diversifying its traffic sources, understands what that means, and knows why it would be valuable, it is probably a larger and more sophisticated company.
If it has quarterly revenue projections, that implies it is an organized business with planning processes and systems.
If it is considering selling to private equity within the next 24 months, that is probably self-explanatory.
The words you use reveal the level of customer you are speaking to.
This is why you need to become crystal clear about exactly who you are targeting. Choosing the niche is not enough. You need to identify the specific level of person or company within that niche because it deeply affects your messaging.
How To Implement
Imagine that you are the exact type of person or company inside your ICP that you want to attract.
Do not imagine that you are just any roofing company. Imagine that you are running the specific type and level of roofing company you want as a customer.
Then, brainstorm every problem that type of company has.
Different levels of the same market have entirely different problems. The problems of a solo owner-operator will not be the same as the problems of a multi-state roofing company with a call center, dozens of sales representatives, and dozens of crews.
Build a list of at least 25 problems experienced by the exact level of customer you want to attract.
Once you have that list, you can start writing ads around those problems.
This is why industry expertise and research are so important. If you do not deeply understand the type of company you are targeting, you will identify the wrong problems, write the wrong messaging, and attract the wrong level of customer.
Hope this helps,
Matthew Larsen