Do you sound like everyone else?

Does this sound familiar?

• A competitor could put their name on your homepage and it would still read true.

• Prospects ask "So what makes you different?" and the answer takes a while.

• You describe what you do in your terms. Customers describe their problem in theirs.

• You lose work to competitors you know you're better than.

The short answer

Buyers do most of their checking without you. Gartner found buyers spend only 17% of their buying time meeting with possible suppliers (2022). Your website, posts and reviews have to make the case on their own. When they describe features in your own words, buyers can't tell you apart and fall back on the safest or cheapest option.

The fix starts with your customers' words, not a new tagline. Find the problem they say you solve and what frustrates them about the alternatives, then say that plainly, with proof.

Do it yourself

1. Run the name-swap test. Put a competitor's name on your homepage headline and first paragraph. If it still reads true, that copy needs rewriting.

2. Collect your customers' words. Gather 5 to 10 reviews, emails, testimonials or notes from sales conversations. Copy exact phrases about what was going wrong before they found you and what changed.

3. Read your competitors' customers. Pick two competitors and read their 50 most recent reviews, especially the 3- and 4-star ones. Tag each by theme (onboarding, support, pricing, flexibility, missing features) and copy the exact phrases.

4. Apply the "So what?" test. For each claim on your homepage, ask "So what?" until you reach something a customer cares about: time saved, money, risk or speed.

5. Write one sentence. Who you help, the problem in their words, and what's different about how you solve it. Back it with one specific, checkable fact.

6. Use the same words everywhere. Homepage, LinkedIn, proposals and how you introduce yourself should all say the same thing.

7. Make each piece of content help a decision. After each main point, add two to four sentences on what it means for the reader. Replace "Learn more" with a specific next step.

How you'll know it's working

• Your homepage fails the name-swap test for every competitor.

• Prospects repeat your words back to you on calls.

• You hear "What makes you different?" less often, and explaining takes less time.

• More homepage visitors take the next step. Note the rate before and after the change.

• You start winning against competitors you used to lose to. Keep a simple log of why you win and lose.

Go deeper

• Your Value Proposition Sounds Like Everyone Else's Why sameness costs you, and the "So what?" test.

• Your Messaging Is Losing You Deals You Don't Know You're Losing Feature words versus outcome words.

• The Market Education Tactics That Actually Backfire Writing from the buyer's side.

• 4 Content Strategy Quick Wins: Create Content That Converts Turning content into decisions.

• Your Competitors' Customers Are Telling You Exactly How to Beat Them The full review method.

• Competitive Positioning Assessment. Free. A win/loss interview script, positioning statement template and competitor map. Get it just below.

Want help getting this done?

You can do all of this yourself. If you'd rather move faster, or you know it needs doing but don't have the time or in-house skills, we can build the plan with you and hand it off, so a local or lower-cost team can run it.

• One Practical Fix a Week. A free weekly email with one practical idea. Sign up at the bottom of this page.

• Marketing Reality Check (free version available). How your business looks to buyers online, and the biggest gap.

• Marketing Disconnect Diagnostic ($350, 3 business days). Scores the gap between how you describe your business and how customers describe it, with before-and-after copy fixes.

• Value Translation Workshop ($500, 3 business days). Builds your message from your customers' own words, ready to use on your website, slides and emails.

• Competitive Intelligence Snapshot ($500, 3 business days). Analyzes competitors' reviews and gives you where to win and how to defend, with wording to use.

• Free consultation. 30 minutes on your situation.