Wouldn’t it be nice if your customers did more of your marketing for you?
Not by handing out flyers. Or posting on social media every day.
I mean by doing something much more powerful.
Telling other people about you.
Here’s the catch, though.
People can’t easily recommend you if they don’t know what to say.
And if your customers don’t know how to describe what makes you different, they’ll usually fall back on the easiest thing they can think of.
“Yeah…they’re pretty good.”
“They’re really nice.”
“They’re affordable.”
Ouch.
None of those are reasons someone chooses you over everyone else.
So how do you make your marketing easier?
You make yourself easier to talk about.
Start with one simple question
Imagine one of your best customers is talking to a friend.
Can they easily finish this sentence?
“The reason I always recommend them is because…”
If the answer is obvious, you’re in good shape.
If it’s fuzzy, your marketing is probably working a lot harder than it needs to.
Don’t start with what you sell
Here’s where a lot of businesses get stuck.
They start by listing everything they do.
Websites.
Email marketing.
Consulting.
Landscaping.
Accounting.
Photography.
But your customers rarely remember businesses because of a long list of services.
They remember the outcome.
The feeling.
The experience.
The thing that makes them say, “That’s why I keep going back.”
So instead of making a list of your services, make a list of the outcomes you want to create for your best customers.
Maybe it’s helping them feel confident.
Maybe it’s saving them time.
Maybe it’s making marketing feel less overwhelming.
Maybe it’s creating the best cup of coffee in town.
Whatever it is, write them all down.
Now start crossing them off until you’re left with one.
Yes.
One thing.
But we’re about more than one thing…
I know.
Most businesses are.
You’re good at lots of things. You solve different problems. You serve different kinds of customers.
Keep doing all of that.
This isn’t about limiting your business.
It’s about giving people an easy way to remember you.
Think of it as the front door to your business.
Once people walk through it, you can show them every other room in the house.
But first, they have to know why they should come inside.
Here’s the part most businesses miss
Don’t choose your “one thing” based only on what you want to be known for.
Look for the overlap between what you want to be known for and what your best customers already rave about.
Those aren’t always the same thing.
Sometimes the thing you think makes you special isn’t what customers talk about at all.
Other times, they keep mentioning something you’ve been taking for granted for years.
That’s the sweet spot.
Because your best positioning isn’t invented.
It’s discovered.
A great example
When I lived in New York, one of my favorite theater companies was the NY Neo-Futurists.
There were a lot of reasons I enjoyed their shows.
They’re funny.
They’re interactive.
They’re creative.
The audience becomes part of the performance.
But if someone asked me why they should go, I’d say one thing.
“It’s never the same show twice.”
How do I know that?
Because that’s exactly what they tell me.
At the time their newsletter described the show like this:
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind… is NEVER THE SAME SHOW TWICE!
That’s a message that’s easy to remember.
Easy to repeat.
Easy to recommend.
That’s exactly what you want for your business.
Put it into practice
Grab a piece of paper.
Write down five reasons customers choose you.
Now ask yourself three questions:
Which one brings customers back?
Which one would a customer naturally tell a friend?
Which one would I love to become known for?
If all three point to the same answer…
You may have just found your one thing.
AI can help
One of the easiest ways to uncover your “one thing” is to stop guessing and let your customers tell you.
Gather a handful of Google reviews, testimonials, survey responses, or emails from happy customers.
Then ask AI:
Analyze these customer reviews and testimonials. Tell me:
What do customers consistently praise?
What words or phrases do they naturally repeat?
What makes us different based on customer language?
Finish this sentence using only evidence from these reviews:
“Customers recommend us because ________.”Don’t make anything up. Base your answer only on the feedback provided.
You might discover that the thing your customers love most isn’t the thing you’ve been talking about.
And that’s a pretty valuable discovery.
Marketing gets easier when people know what to say
The easier you make it for customers to explain why they choose you…
The easier it becomes for them to recommend you.
And that’s when marketing starts working a little harder on your behalf.
[…] important because once you decide what it is you’re going to do for your audience, your personality is what sets you apart from everyone else. It’s what makes you […]