Remember: people think about solutions, not titles and tactics. 

It's rare for someone to think "Hmm, I need a hypnotherapist." Outside of the obvious needs, like hiring a plumber to fix a broken toilet, we can often get stuck on knowing what the solution is to our problem.

All we know is what we want fixed.

"I need to overcome my fear of public speaking so I can deliver presentations at work."

"I need more clients."

"I need to calm my mind so I'm not up half the night worrying."

It's then your job to make your marketing communicate that you can help with these problems.

The cold reality is this: if your messaging isn't explicitly making it clear how you can help someone, you're a needle in a haystack.

But here's the good news: most people get this wrong. That means your competitors are likely getting it wrong, and have left a big opportunity for you to swoop in and reap the rewards.

While everyone else is putting out marketing material that says what they do and what their qualifications are, you can utilise marketing that clearly highlights what you can do to help. 

Talking about what you do actually makes life harder for your prospects. They need an understanding of what that service entails, or they're required to go and learn about it. As an example, if you're a hypnotherapist who simply says "I do hypnotherapy" people have to then ask questions or research what exactly hypnotherapy is. On the other hand, if you focus on the results and benefits you provide by using hypnotherapy, you've made their lives easier and given them hope.

Suddenly, you're the person they want to work with, because you've put them and their needs at the heart of your messaging.

That's why messaging is critical - it gets people's attention first, then you can wow them with your experience and testimonials.

But it wasn’t always that way. It seems inconceivable now, but Marlboro was originally created as a brand for women. They even had a red filter to hide any lipstick stains. But this new brand didn’t get any traction with the intended market.

So, the execs put an orange filter on instead, changed the imagery to a cowboy, and marketed it to men.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“Creative” marketing and getting the result you want from customer research

It’s a line still referred to today. And we see versions of it on modern adverts for such things as toothpaste.

“9 out of 10 doctors smoke Camels!”

Well if you’re a smoker, how do you not decide to smoke the same brand as the people who know health? 

Did 90% of smoking doctors choose Camels?

Nope. This was actually a stroke of genius from the marketing team.

Here’s how they did it:

Researcher 1 stood outside the main door of the medical building, and offered a pack of free Camels to the doctors as they left. The doctors would light one up on their way, and bump into Researcher 2 who was stationed just down the road and seemingly nothing to do with the guy who was giving these cigarettes out.

“Hey, what brand are you smoking there sir?”

“Oh, these are, um, oh, Camels.”

Get it? 9 out of 10 doctors smoke Camels because the Camel team had just given them a free pack. The “research” consisted of asking them what they happened to be smoking at that moment - not what their usual brand was.

And thus, one of the most recognisable and enduring ads of all time was born.

(And now you know to be at least a little bit sceptical when you see brands making the same claim today.)

Here's a short, brilliant clip demonstrating how your messaging, how you present something to people, hugely influences the outcome:

For example, if you’re a VA and want to work with high-level people, why position yourself as a “VA” when the term has become incredibly broad, vague, and non-specific? If you’ve got a defined audience, it’s incredibly important to speak their language. High-level people, particularly in the corporate world, might prefer a “remote executive.” Or an “invisible assistant.”

In accounting, what do you specialise in? Will you help 7-figure business owners lower their tax bill, or start-ups understand their P&L?

If you do email marketing, then “I increase the lifetime value of your customers, boosting revenue and saving costs, because it costs 5x more to get a new customer than retain an existing one” is infinitely more compelling.

This is how you can price your services without worrying about your competitors.

I want to share a real-world example with you. When it comes to this positioning and messaging, the best in the world are the premium brands. You don’t have to like these brand, use these brands, or copy these brands - but it pays to understand what’s going on.

Because this psychological process is happening to us, whether we realise it or not. You, I, and everyone around us are influenced by the subtleties, even if don’t consciously register them. Premium brands, for example, are masters of space. White space on web pages, minimalist designs, and open spaces in their physical shops.

They are also the masters when it comes to attention to detail - never use five words when 2 or 3 will suffice. And believe me, they put unbelievable due consideration into this.

Example: When Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple and formed a new company, he hired someone to design the logo. This guy refused to give Jobs options to review, and he refused to have client input. He said “I will solve your problem.” He charged $100,000 and he delivered the logo with a 100-page booklet explaining every detail within that logo. (Remember that, next time you say you’ll design a logo for £20.)

I use Apple quite a lot in these examples because in the mainstream items, they are the masters at it. (By mainstream, I mean they’re a brand people buy without being extremely rich, unlike Bentleys, yachts and £30,000 handbags.)

So with your messaging, the psychology is simple: people buy vision and emotion. We don’t buy features. We buy the version of ourselves using the item.

Take the Huawei MatePad Pro, and Apple’s new iPad Air:

At first glance, they look absolutely identical. But while Huawei focuses on the features (which few people will even understand), Apple explains what you’ll do with it.

Let's look at Huawei first:

“With the 90% screen-to-body ratio and bezels stripped back to 4.9 mm, the 10.8 inch HUAWEI FullView Display offers remarkable visual experiences, whether you are seeking inspirations or just catching up on some work. Every dark or bright detail looks vivid and clear with its DCI-P3 cinematic level colour gamut and 540nit brightness. Certified by TÜV Rheinland, this screen significantly reduces blue light to protect your eye health.”

There is no clear audience in this. “Whether you’re doing this or that” is a no-no for a defined audience. 90% screen-to-body ratio, DCI-P3 and 540nit brightness - would you buy that?

Now let's look at how Apple presents the iPad Air: