Messaging Fails Often Target Wrong Audience
▼ Summary
– B2B companies often fail with messaging by trying to speak to everyone, which results in resonating with no one.
– Identify your primary revenue-driving audience through data, even if it’s not the largest or most obvious group.
– Effective messaging uses concrete language, avoids jargon, and is tailored specifically to that primary audience.
– Place this clear message and a direct call-to-action prominently above the fold on your homepage.
– Companies like Squarespace and Mindbody successfully focus their core messaging on the small business segment that generates most of their revenue.
Effective company messaging is a cornerstone of business success, yet many B2B organizations dilute their impact by trying to speak to everyone simultaneously. A message crafted for a broad audience often fails to connect with anyone in particular. The solution lies in a disciplined focus on your primary audience, the specific group that sustains your revenue and growth.
Identifying this core group requires moving beyond assumptions and examining the data that supports your business objectives. Leadership may have one perception, but the numbers reveal the truth. Analyze who purchases your products most frequently and which segment contributes the highest spending. For instance, a single enterprise client paying $10,000 monthly might seem significant, but if 100 small to medium-sized businesses each contribute $1,000, your true audience is SMBs. Even with a million individual users on a free plan, the revenue-driving SMB segment remains the priority. The right audience isn’t necessarily the largest or most glamorous, it’s the one that fuels your financial engine.
Consider the approach of Squarespace. The company generates 94% of its revenue from subscriptions, largely from very small businesses paying between $16 and $99 per month. Consequently, its messaging is meticulously crafted for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small business owners. The tagline “A website makes it real” uses concrete language to resonate with their core customer’s desire to establish a legitimate, visible venture. While Squarespace serves enterprise clients, the messaging tailored for small businesses also appeals to larger organizations seeking a modern web presence. Their homepage design is sleek and intuitive, appealing to non-technical users, and prominently features a call to action encouraging visitors to start building a free site immediately. This strategy recognizes that allowing the audience to experience the product’s ease firsthand significantly increases conversion likelihood.
Once your primary audience is defined, your messaging must articulate a clear value proposition in terms they understand. A common pitfall, especially as companies scale, is the use of jargon in an attempt to sound sophisticated. This only creates confusion. Effective communication demands simplicity. Review your homepage as if you know nothing about your company. Does it immediately explain what you do in plain language? Contrast concrete messaging like “HVAC maintenance and repair” with the jargon-filled alternative “environmental comfort professionals.” After a clear description, explain what sets your company apart, again using language tailored for your primary audience.
Mindbody exemplifies this principle by focusing its homepage squarely on fitness small businesses, its revenue-driving segment. The visual hierarchy leads the eye to a powerful, concise headline: “More revenue. More clients. More growth.” Directly below, the supporting line “Run your business with confidence” is followed by a prominent “Get a demo” button. In seconds, visitors understand the benefit, the outcome, and the next step. Mindbody likely sees more consumer traffic, but its messaging intentionally courts the business customers who generate its income. It elegantly serves secondary audiences, like consumers, with clear navigation options without diluting its primary message.
Targeted copy is ineffective if buried on the page. Successful examples consistently place their core message above the fold in the hero section and pair it with a direct, relevant CTA. When you prioritize the right message and the logical next action, you create a sense of ease that customers often attribute to the quality of the product itself. This streamlined experience feels intuitive and builds positive brand associations.
Adobe masterfully connects messaging to action. Its homepage hero line, “Everything you need to make anything,” speaks broadly to creators, from individual artists to business professionals. Adobe leverages its established brand recognition; it doesn’t need to explain what it does. Instead, the primary CTA efficiently addresses what visitors likely seek next, taking them directly to the “pricing and plans” page. This demonstrates a keen understanding of the buyer’s journey. By enabling visitors to self-select into the appropriate product vertical in just two clicks, Adobe has shortened the path to purchase, removing friction and likely boosting sales.
A clear message directed at the right audience with a purposeful CTA makes people feel understood and smart. These feelings of ease and simplicity foster positive emotional connections with your brand, which are fundamental to building lasting brand allegiance and driving sustainable revenue. In a crowded market, strategic clarity in your messaging is not just a communications tactic, it is a critical business advantage.
(Source: MarTech)
