Someone asks what you do.
Easy question, right?
Except suddenly your brain decides this is the perfect time to open 47 tabs at once.
“Well, I help small business owners with their marketing, but it’s really more than marketing because we also work on strategy and messaging and visibility and content, depending on what they need, because every business is different…”
Meanwhile, the person who asked has that polite little smile on their face.
You know the one.
The smile that says, “I’m trying very hard to follow this, but I may have mentally wandered off somewhere around ‘visibility and content.’”
Here’s the problem.
If people don’t quickly understand what you do, who you help, and why it matters, more marketing probably won’t fix it.
Clear business messaging will.
But there’s another piece of this that most small business owners miss.
Even if you can clearly explain what you do, you may still be talking to your potential customers at the wrong stage of their buying journey.
In fact, this is one of the biggest messaging mistakes I see.
Business owners create marketing for people who are already ready to buy.
They talk about the product.
The service.
The package.
The features.
The benefits.
The offer.
Meanwhile, a huge portion of their potential customers are standing several steps behind that conversation thinking:
“Wait. I’m not even sure I understand what my problem is yet.”
That’s why clear messaging beats clever marketing.
And it’s why understanding your customer’s buyer awareness level can completely change the way you create content.
Why Is Business Messaging So Important?
Business messaging is the clear, consistent language you use to explain who you help, what problem you solve, how you solve it, and why someone should choose to work with you.
In simpler terms?
It helps people “get it.”
And that matters because your potential customers are busy.
They’re scrolling.
Comparing.
Researching.
Opening six browser tabs and promising themselves they’ll come back to three of them later.
Spoiler alert: they probably won’t.
When someone lands on your website, sees your social media post, reads your email, or meets you at a networking event, they’re trying to answer a few basic questions:
What do you do?
Is this for someone like me?
Do you understand what I’m dealing with?
Can you help me?
What should I do next?
If your messaging makes people work too hard to find those answers, they usually don’t work harder.
They leave.
But there’s an important difference between clear messaging and simply explaining your product.
Your customer needs to recognize themselves in your message before they’re going to care very much about what you sell.
And that’s where buyer awareness comes in.
The Biggest Business Messaging Mistake I See
One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is talking almost exclusively to their most-aware customers.
These are the people who already know:
They have a problem.
Solutions exist.
Your type of product or service could help.
They may even know about your specific business.
They’re close to making a decision.
These customers are important.
Of course you should create messaging for them.
The problem is when that’s the only person your marketing talks to.
Let’s use a wellness product as an example.
Imagine you sell glutathione.
Your marketing says:
“Feeling sluggish? You need glutathione!”
Here’s the problem.
That message assumes the person already knows what glutathione is.
They understand what it does.
They know why they might need it.
They’re already looking for a product.
In other words, you’re talking to someone much further along in the buyer awareness journey.
But what about the person who wakes up after eight hours of sleep feeling like they slept for approximately five minutes?
They drag themselves to the coffee maker.
They hit the afternoon slump and start looking for another caffeine fix.
By the time they get home, they don’t want to cook dinner, work out, tackle the laundry mountain, or do anything except crawl back into bed.
They aren’t thinking:
“You know what I need? Glutathione.”
They’re thinking:
“Why am I so tired all the time?”
That’s the conversation your messaging needs to enter.
Not the product conversation.
The person conversation.
When I work with business owners on their messaging and content strategy, this is often the biggest aha moment.
They realize:
“I’ve been talking to my potential clients like they’re already ready to buy.”
And suddenly, it makes sense why their content isn’t connecting.
The 10-Second Business Messaging Test
Before you can create content for different buyer awareness levels, you need to be able to clearly explain what your business does.
Try this.
Imagine someone asks:
“So, what do you do?”
Can you answer in about 10 seconds?
Not with your official job title.
Not with a list of every service you provide.
Not with the entire story of how you started your business after a particularly stressful Tuesday and a life-changing cup of coffee.
Can you clearly explain:
Who you help + what problem you help solve + what outcome you help them work toward?
For example:
“I help small business owners clarify their messaging and content strategy so they can connect with the right customers instead of constantly guessing what to say.”
Is that the only possible version?
Of course not.
But it’s clear.
You know who it’s for.
You know the problem.
You understand the desired outcome.
Most importantly, it gives the other person somewhere to go next.
They can say:
“Oh, I need that.”
Or:
“I struggle with knowing what to post.”
Or:
“How do you help people do that?”
Good business messaging creates clarity and conversation.
Confusing messaging creates polite nodding.
Why Business Owners Struggle to Explain What They Do
You would think the person who knows the business best would be the best person to explain it.
Unfortunately, that’s often the problem.
You know too much.
You know every service.
Every process.
Every feature.
Every client scenario.
Every exception to the rule.
Every behind-the-scenes detail.
And because all of those things matter to you, it can feel like they all need to be included in your messaging.
They don’t.
Imagine asking someone for directions to the grocery store and hearing:
“Okay, so technically there are three routes, although one has construction sometimes, and years ago there used to be a gas station on the corner, and depending on traffic you could also take the highway…”
Friend.
I just need milk.
Your potential customers often feel the same way.
They don’t need everything you know.
They need enough information to understand:
You see their problem.
You understand what they’re experiencing.
You can help them figure out the next step.
That’s the difference between explaining your business and communicating your value.
Clear Messaging Starts With Your Person, Not Your Product
One of the first things I work on with business owners through 906 Marketing is getting clear about the person on the other side of the message.
Because if you don’t understand who you’re talking to, creating content becomes one giant guessing game.
What should I post?
What should my website say?
What should I email?
What should my headline be?
Should I make a Reel?
Do I need to dance?
Please tell me I don’t need to dance.
The problem usually isn’t a lack of content ideas.
It’s a lack of messaging clarity.
Once you understand who you’re talking to and what they need to hear, your copy can do more than sound good—it can connect your message to the people you actually want to reach.
Effective business messaging starts by understanding:
Who is your person?
What are they dealing with right now?
What are they frustrated by?
What have they already tried?
What do they want instead?
What are they worried about?
What questions are they asking?
What do they understand about their problem right now?
That last question matters more than most business owners realize.
Because you can have the right audience and the right offer and still create messaging that misses the mark if you’re talking to them at the wrong stage of awareness.
What Are the Five Stages of Buyer Awareness?
When I help business owners build their messaging and content strategy, I walk them through the five stages of buyer awareness.
Understanding these stages helps you stop creating every piece of content for someone who is already standing at the checkout counter with their credit card out.
Stage 1: Unaware
The unaware person doesn’t fully recognize that they have a problem yet.
Something feels off.
Something is frustrating.
Something isn’t working.
But they haven’t identified the actual problem.
For example, a business owner might be thinking:
“Why is creating content so difficult for me?”
They don’t know they have a messaging problem.
They just know they sit down to create a post and suddenly cleaning the junk drawer feels like a fantastic use of their time.
Content for this person should help them recognize and understand what they’re experiencing.
Stage 2: Problem Aware
Now they know there’s a problem.
Our business owner might realize:
“I don’t know what to say in my marketing.”
They recognize the struggle.
But they may not understand why it’s happening or what kind of solution they need.
This is where pain-point messaging becomes incredibly important.
Talk about what the problem looks like in their actual life and business.
Staring at a blank content calendar.
Rewriting the homepage for the 14th time.
Posting consistently but attracting the wrong people.
Having three different answers to the question, “What do you do?”
This is where your person starts thinking:
“Wait. That’s me.”
Stage 3: Solution Aware
Now your person knows solutions exist.
They may be searching for:
Messaging help.
Content strategy.
Marketing consulting.
Brand strategy.
A better way to communicate what they do.
At this stage, your content can begin explaining approaches, strategies, and possible solutions.
You’re helping them understand what they need to solve the problem.
Stage 4: Product Aware
Now they know about businesses like yours.
They may know about your specific services.
They’re comparing.
Researching.
Reading testimonials.
Looking at websites.
Trying to decide which option feels right.
Your messaging at this stage should help them understand your process, your approach, and why working with you is different from choosing another solution.
Stage 5: Most Aware
This person knows you.
They know what you offer.
They understand the problem.
They understand the solution.
They may simply need the right reason or opportunity to take action.
This is where direct offer messaging makes sense.
Book the call.
Schedule the consultation.
Choose the package.
Get started.
The problem?
Many businesses create almost all of their content for Stage 5.
Then they wonder why people aren’t buying.
Your Customer May Not Be Ready for the Conversation You’re Having
Imagine walking into a doctor’s office and saying:
“I don’t feel right.”
And the doctor immediately responds:
“Great. Here’s your prescription.”
Umm.
Could we maybe talk about what’s happening first?
That’s what product-first messaging can feel like.
Your potential customer is experiencing symptoms.
Frustrations.
Questions.
Problems.
But your marketing jumps straight to:
BUY THIS.
BOOK THIS.
JOIN THIS.
YOU NEED THIS.
Maybe they do need it.
But they haven’t gotten there yet.
Good messaging meets people where they are and helps them take the next step.
That doesn’t mean manipulating people through a sales funnel.
It means communicating like an actual human being.
First, help me understand my problem.
Then help me understand what might solve it.
Then show me why your approach might be the right solution.
That’s how trust is built.
How Pain-Point Messaging Helps People Recognize Themselves
Let’s go back to our glutathione example.
Product-first messaging says:
“Feeling sluggish? Try glutathione.”
Pain-point messaging says:
“Are you waking up feeling like you barely slept, reaching for caffeine all day just to keep going, and still wanting to crawl back into bed by dinner?”
Feel the difference?
The first talks about the product.
The second talks about the person.
One requires the customer to understand the solution.
The other helps them recognize their experience.
This same principle works in almost every industry.
Instead of:
“We offer bookkeeping services.”
Try:
“Are you avoiding your bookkeeping because every time you open your financial reports, you’re not quite sure what you’re looking at?”
Instead of:
“We create custom websites.”
Try:
“Are you sending people to your website and secretly hoping they don’t ask you why it still talks about a service you stopped offering two years ago?”
Instead of:
“We provide business messaging and content strategy.”
Try:
“Are you posting consistently but still struggling to attract the right customers because you’re never quite sure what your content should actually say?”
Talk about their world.
Their frustration.
Their questions.
Their Tuesday afternoon when they’ve spent 45 minutes trying to write an Instagram caption and somehow ended up reorganizing their Canva folders.
When people recognize themselves in your messaging, they pay attention.
How I Help Business Owners Get Clear About Their Messaging
At 906 Marketing, I help business owners step away from random content creation and get clear about the strategy underneath their marketing.
We start by looking at your person.
Not just demographics.
Not:
“She’s 42, drinks coffee, likes Target, and owns a Labrador.”
That information might be interesting.
But it doesn’t necessarily help you create better messaging.
We dig into what your person is actually experiencing.
Their pain points.
Their frustrations.
Their questions.
What they’ve tried.
What they believe about the problem.
What they need to understand before they’re ready to consider your solution.
Then we look at the five stages of buyer awareness.
Where is your person now?
What does someone at each stage need to hear?
What questions are they asking?
What kind of content will help them move forward?
From there, we can create a messaging and content strategy that gives your marketing direction.
Instead of sitting down every week thinking:
“What in the world am I supposed to post?”
You have a strategy.
From there, a strategic social media calendar can help you turn that messaging clarity into consistent, purposeful content instead of scrambling for something to post at the last minute.
You know who you’re talking to.
You know what they care about.
You understand their level of awareness.
And you can create content that meets them there.
That’s the difference between simply producing content and creating content with a purpose.
The “So What?” Test Can Fix Weak Messaging Fast
Here’s one of the simplest ways to improve your business messaging.
Read a sentence from your website or marketing materials.
Then ask:
“So what?”
For example:
“We offer customized marketing strategies.”
So what?
“They’re designed around each client’s goals.”
So what?
“So small business owners can stop wasting time guessing what to say and create marketing that connects with the people they actually want to reach.”
There it is.
That’s the part your customer cares about.
Try the same thing with common phrases:
“We have 20 years of experience.”
So what?
“We provide personalized solutions.”
So what?
“We use an innovative process.”
So what?
Keep asking until you reach the part that matters to your customer.
That’s often where your strongest messaging is hiding.
Signs Your Business Messaging Needs Work
You may have a messaging problem if:
- People regularly ask what your business actually does.
- You give a different explanation every time someone asks.
- Your website headline could apply to 500 other businesses.
- Your content talks mostly about your products and services.
- You only create promotional content when you need sales.
- You struggle to come up with content ideas.
- Your potential customers frequently misunderstand what you offer.
- You’re attracting people who aren’t the right fit.
- You feel like your marketing should be working better than it is.
- You’re creating most of your content for people who are already ready to buy.
None of these automatically mean your business is failing.
They may simply mean the foundation needs work.
And that’s good news.
Because once your message becomes clearer, every other part of your marketing becomes easier to evaluate and improve.
What Happens When Your Business Messaging Becomes Clear?
You stop rewriting your social media bio every three weeks.
You stop staring at the blinking cursor when it’s time to create content.
You stop wondering what your website headline should say.
You stop talking about your product to people who haven’t even identified their problem yet.
Instead, you start understanding the conversation happening inside your customer’s head.
You know what they’re frustrated by.
You know what questions they’re asking.
You know what they need to understand next.
And you create content that helps them move forward.
Your marketing starts connecting.
Your website reinforces your social media.
Your emails reinforce your website.
Your sales conversations reinforce your content.
Instead of creating random marketing pieces, you start building a recognizable message and a strategic path for your potential customers.
And once that strategy is in place, you can use your marketing data to see what’s actually working—which messages are connecting, where people are finding you, and what content is helping them take the next step.
And that’s when marketing starts feeling a whole lot less like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Business Messaging
What is business messaging?
Business messaging is the language a company uses to clearly communicate who it helps, what problems it solves, the outcomes it supports, and why customers should choose its approach. Strong messaging creates consistency across websites, social media, emails, content, and sales conversations.
What are the five stages of buyer awareness?
The five stages of buyer awareness are unaware, problem aware, solution aware, product aware, and most aware. Each stage represents how much a potential customer currently understands about their problem, possible solutions, and your specific offer.
Why does buyer awareness matter in marketing?
Buyer awareness matters because people need different information depending on where they are in their decision-making process. Someone who is just beginning to recognize a problem needs different messaging than someone who already knows your business and is deciding whether to buy.
What is pain-point messaging?
Pain-point messaging describes the real problems, frustrations, questions, and experiences your potential customers are dealing with. Instead of immediately promoting a product or service, it helps customers recognize themselves and their situation in your message.
How do I know if I’m only marketing to most-aware customers?
Look at your recent content. If most of it focuses on your products, services, offers, promotions, prices, or direct calls to buy, you may be creating primarily for most-aware customers. A stronger content strategy includes messaging for people throughout the five stages of buyer awareness.
How can a messaging and content strategy help my business?
A messaging and content strategy helps clarify who you’re talking to, what problems matter to them, where they are in the buyer awareness journey, and what content will help move the conversation forward. This makes content creation more focused, consistent, and purposeful.
Clear Beats Clever Every Time
You don’t need a fancier tagline.
You don’t need more marketing jargon.
And you definitely don’t need to sound like every sentence was written during a corporate brainstorming session where someone said:
“Can we make this more innovative?”
You need people to understand you.
But more importantly?
You need to understand them.
Who is your person?
What are they dealing with?
What questions are they asking?
What do they understand about their problem right now?
What do they need to hear before they’re ready for the next conversation?
Because your job isn’t to stand at Stage 5 yelling about your product and hoping everyone catches up.
Your job is to meet your person where they are.
Talk about the problem they recognize.
Help them understand what’s happening.
Show them what’s possible.
And give them a clear next step when they’re ready.
That’s the foundation of strong business messaging.
And when you build your content around that foundation, marketing stops being a constant guessing game.
If you’re tired of staring at a blank content calendar, wondering what to say, or creating marketing that doesn’t seem to connect with the right people, 906 Marketing can help you build a messaging and content strategy around your person, their pain points, and the conversations they actually need to hear.