Is a Weak Brand Message Killing Your Business?
Your brand message is the reason someone chooses you over the other guy.
Or, more likely, it's the reason they don't.
Most businesses I see have a vague, self-obsessed, and utterly forgettable message. They’re burning money on advertising, websites, and social media, all to amplify a signal that no one can tune into. It’s like shouting into a hurricane.
This isn't about being clever. It's about being clear. And clarity, frankly, is where the money is.
- Your brand message distinguishes you from competitors and should cater to customer needs, not corporate jargon.
- A strong brand message addresses what problem you solve, your uniqueness, and why customers should trust you.
- Focus on the benefits of your offering, not just features; customers buy outcomes, not products.
- Your message must be consistent across all interactions; inconsistency erodes trust and dilutes brand identity.
- Crafting your message is a strategic act; clarity, focus, and authenticity are essential for effective communication.
What a Brand Message Actually Is (And What It Isn't)
If you think your brand message is your slogan or your tagline, stop reading now and save yourself some time. You’re already on the wrong track.
It’s Not Your Slogan. It’s Not Your Logo. It's Not a Clever Quip.
A slogan is a hook. A logo is a symbol. A clever bit of copy is just that: copy. These are artefacts. They are expressions of the message, not the message itself.
People get obsessed with crafting the perfect, witty tagline. They spend weeks on it. It’s a classic case of polishing a car's bonnet with no engine.
Your brand message is the engine.
It’s the Core Truth of Your Business, Distilled.
Your brand message is the simple, central idea that answers three questions for a potential customer:
- What problem do you solve for me?
- How are you different from everyone else?
- Why should I believe you?
The unwavering core dictates every word you write, product you launch, and customer interaction with you. It’s the truth of what you offer, to whom, and why it matters.
A Quick Litmus Test for a Weak Message
Does your website discuss being a “leading provider of innovative solutions”? Do you “leverage synergies to create value-added results”?
You don't have a message if you're using this kind of empty corporate jargon. You have a smokescreen.
A strong message can be understood by a 12-year-old. It uses simple words. It feels honest. A weak message hides behind complexity and sounds like a committee of robots wrote it.
Why Most Brand Messages Are Utterly Forgettable
The default state for a brand message is failure. It's not because business owners are stupid. It's because they're human, and they fall into the same traps over and over again.
The Disease of “We-We-We” Thinking
Go and read your company's “About Us” page. I'll wait.
Odds are, it's a festival of self-obsession. “We were founded in 1998…”, “We believe in excellence…”, “Our dedicated team…”.
Here's the brutal truth: nobody cares.
Customers don't care about your history, team, or passion. They care about themselves. They have a problem that needs solving. Your message must be a mirror that reflects their problem and your solution, not a portrait of your company.
Trying to Be Everything to Everyone (And Ending Up as Nothing)
Fear drives weak messaging. It's the fear of putting a stake in the ground. The fear of excluding someone.
So, what do you get? A message so broad and generic that it becomes invisible. “Quality products for everyone.” It’s the business equivalent of beige. It’s safe, boring, and nobody has ever felt a spark of passion for the colour beige.
A strong message is polarising. It actively repels the people you don't want as customers and magnetically attracts the ones you do. Specificity is a superpower.
The Fatal Confusion Between Features and Benefits
I once sat with a client who made high-spec drills. He was obsessed. He talked endlessly about the brushless motor, the torque rating, and the lithium-ion battery life.
I stopped him and asked, “What do you sell?”
“I sell drills,” he said, looking at me like an idiot.
“No, you don't,” I replied. “You sell holes in the wall. You sell the shelf a dad can finally put up for his family. You sell the feeling of a job well done.”
He was selling the features. His customers were buying the benefit.
Your message must live in the world of benefits. Stop talking about what your product is. Start talking about what it does for the customer. What does it make them feel? What problem does it make disappear?
The Three Pillars of a Message That Works
To fix a broken message, you need a framework. Thinking about it as a random creative act is where people go wrong. It’s not. It’s a strategic act built on three core pillars. Get these three right, and the message writes itself.
Pillar 1: Your Value Proposition (The ‘What’ and ‘For Whom')
This is the logical core. It's a simple statement of the tangible value you provide to a specific group of people.
It must be unique. If your value proposition is something any of your competitors could also claim, it's not a value proposition. It’s just a description of your industry.
To find it, ask:
- What is the number one result we deliver for our customers?
- Who, specifically, is our ideal customer? (Not “small businesses,” but “UK-based ecommerce startups with 5-10 employees.”)
- What makes our way of delivering that result different or better?
Pillar 2: Your Brand Personality (The ‘How’)
This is the emotional layer. If your brand walked into a pub, who would it be? The sharp-witted intellectual with a dry sense of humour? The warm, dependable friend who always has your back? The rebellious artist who challenges every convention?
Your personality dictates your tone of voice. It's the difference between Innocent Drinks sounding like your cheerful mate and a bank sounding like a stern principal.
This isn't just about sounding “fun.” It’s about being authentic and consistent. Your personality must infuse every email, every error message, and every phone call.
Pillar 3: Your Brand Promise (The ‘Why’)
This is the gut-level connection. It’s your reason for existing beyond making a profit. It's what people buy into on a deeper level. As Simon Sinek famously said, people don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
Your promise is the implicit guarantee you make to your customers. For Volvo, the promise is safety. For Amazon, it's convenience. For Patagonia, it's a commitment to the planet.
This promise must be true. If you promise simplicity, your website better not be a nightmare. The quickest way to destroy trust is to make a promise you can't keep.
A Practical Framework for Forging Your Message
Enough theory. Here's a four-step process. No brainstorming sessions with beanbags required. Just hard questions and honest answers.
Step 1: Stop Guessing. Define Your Ideal Customer. Ruthlessly.
Get a piece of paper. Write down who you are not for. Be brutal. The budget shoppers? The tyre-kickers? The corporate giants who will crush your soul? Write them all down and cross them out.
Now, describe the person who is left. Not their demographics. Their psychographics. What do they worry about at 3 a.m.? What newsletters do they read? What do they value most? Give them a name. This is your target. You speak only to them.
Step 2: Find Their Real Problem (Not the One You Think They Have)
Your customers don't have a “need for a new website.” They have a problem: “Our sales are flat, and we're invisible online.”
They don't have a “need for an accountant.” They have a problem: “I'm terrified of getting a tax bill I can't pay, and I have no idea where my money is going.”
Talk to your customers. Listen more than you speak. Find the emotional pain point that sits underneath the practical need. Your message must talk directly to that pain.
Step 3: Articulate Your “Only We…” Statement
This is a simple sentence that forces clarity. Fill in the blanks:
“Only we [Your Company Name] provide [Your Core Offering] for [Your Ideal Customer] so they can [The Ultimate Benefit/Problem Solved] because we [Your Unique Differentiator/Promise].”
It’s clunky. It's not a marketing line. It's an internal tool. But you don't have a clear message if you can't fill this in honestly and specifically.
Step 4: Choose a Voice and Stick to It
How should you sound based on your ideal customer and your brand's core truth, Authoritative? Playful? Minimalist? Empathetic?
Choose one. Write down five words that describe this voice (e.g., “Direct, witty, insightful, no-nonsense, confident”). Now, use this as a filter for everything you write. Does this sound like us? If not, rewrite it.
Case Studies in Clarity: Who’s Getting It Right?
Examples cut through the noise. Let’s look at a few.
The Obvious Giants: Why Apple and Nike Still Work
It's almost a cliché to mention them, but there's a reason.
Apple's message isn't “we sell computers with fast processors.” It's “we provide tools for creative minds to think differently.” The message is about empowerment and simplicity, aimed at people who see themselves as outside the boring mainstream. Their products, stores, and advertising all flow from this central idea.
Nike's message isn't “we sell high-performance trainers.” It's “we empower the athlete in everyone.” The “Just Do It” slogan is the famous artefact, but the message is about overcoming mental and physical barriers. They sell determination, not shoes.
The Quietly Brilliant: Patagonia’s Activist Heart
Patagonia's message is a masterclass in living your promise. Their core message is, “We're in business to save our home planet.”
These aren't just words on a website. It dictates everything. They make durable products to reduce consumption. They run campaigns telling you not to buy their jackets. They sue governments to protect land. Their message is their actions. The result? Insane brand loyalty from customers who share their values.
A Sharper Example for the Rest of Us: Hiut Denim
A small company in Wales. Their message? “We make one thing well. We make jeans. That's it.” They have a sub-message: “We want to bring 400 people their jobs back.”
This is incredibly powerful. It’s specific. It’s honest. It tells a story. It instantly filters out anyone looking for cheap, fast fashion. It attracts people who value craftsmanship, durability, and a human story. Their entire brand is built on this simple, focused truth.
The Silent Killer of Great Messaging: Inconsistency
So you do all this work. You craft a perfect, powerful message. And then, six months later, the real danger kicks in.
Getting Bored of Your Brilliance
You will get tired of your message long before your market fully understands it.
This is the point where entrepreneurs get twitchy. “Let's refresh the brand!” “Let's try a new angle!” They mistake their boredom for market fatigue.
The legendary ad man David Ogilvy said it best: “Using a different advertising story each year is a mistake. This is a common mistake made by advertisers who are bored with their advertising. The customer is not bored.”
Resist the urge to tinker. Consistency creates trust. Consistency builds recognition. Consistency is boringly, brutally effective.
Straight Talk: Your Team Must Live and Breathe the Message
Your brand message isn't the marketing department's job. It's everyone's job.
If your message is about “world-class, responsive service” and your accounts department takes three weeks to answer an email, your message is a lie. If your message is about “simplicity and clarity” and your sales team sends jargon-filled proposals, your message is a lie.
Every employee is a living, breathing embodiment of your brand message. A strong internal culture that understands and believes in the message is your only defence against the hypocrisy that kills customer trust. Building that consistent experience is the core of a powerful brand identity.
- Hardcover Book
- Miller, Donald (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
So, You've Got a Message. Now What?
A brand message isn’t a fixed monument. It’s a tool.
It's a Compass, Not a Cage
Your message should guide every decision. When thinking of a new product, ask: “Is this aligned with our message?” When writing a social media post, ask: “Does this sound like us?”
It's a compass that keeps you pointing in the right direction. It's not a cage that prevents you from evolving. You can update the execution—the ads, the website copy, the photography—but the core message, the fundamental truth, should remain constant for years.
How to Test It in the Wild Without Spending a Fortune
You don't need a focus group. Just listen.
- Use your new message in conversations with potential clients. Do their eyes light up? Do they lean in and say, “That's exactly my problem”?
- Change the headline on your website's homepage. Does your conversion rate nudge upwards?
- Look at the questions people ask you. Your message isn't clear enough if they're constantly confused about what you do.
The market will give you feedback, for free. You just have to be willing to hear it.
A Final, Sharp Observation
Your brand message isn't a marketing task you check off a list. It’s a fundamental business decision about who you are, what you stand for, and why anyone should give a damn.
Get it right, and everything else gets easier. Your marketing works better. Your sales team has more confidence. Your ideal customers find you.
Get it wrong… well, you’re probably already seeing what happens. You're just paying for it every single day.
Is your brand message holding you back? It might be time for an outside perspective. We help businesses build clear, powerful brand identities from the ground up.
Explore our branding services to see how we apply this thinking, or if you're ready to have a direct conversation, request a quote today.
Frequently Asked Questions about Brand Message
What is the difference between a brand message, a mission statement, and a vision statement?
A brand message is external; it’s what you communicate to your customers about the value you offer them. A mission statement is internal; it defines what your company does, who it does it for, and how it does it. A vision statement is also internal and future-focused; it describes the world you are trying to create. Your brand message should be aligned with your mission and vision, but it's a distinct, customer-facing tool.
How long should a brand message be?
The core brand message isn't a single sentence of a specific length. You then use a core idea or a concise internal document (like the “Only We…” statement) to generate all your marketing copy. Your external messaging, like a headline or value proposition on your website, should be as short and straightforward as possible—often just a single, powerful sentence.
How often should I change my brand message?
Rarely. You should only consider changing your core message if your business undergoes a fundamental pivot, like changing its core product or target audience entirely. You can and should refresh your marketing campaigns and copy, but the underlying message should remain consistent to build brand equity.
Can a company have more than one brand message?
A company should have one single, overarching brand message. However, you can have different messaging points or variations tailored for different audience segments or products, as long as they all stem from and reinforce the same core brand message.
How do I know if my brand message is compelling?
The ultimate test is business results. An effective message leads to higher quality leads, better conversion rates, and increased customer loyalty. You'll also notice qualitative signs: customers “get” what you do instantly, your marketing feels easier to create, and your team can explain what the company stands for clearly and consistently.
Do I need a big budget to develop a strong brand message?
Absolutely not. Developing a brand message is an exercise in clarity, not expenditure. It requires deep thinking, honest self-assessment, and talking to your customers—all of which cost time and effort, but not necessarily a lot of money.
My business sells many different products. How do I create one message?
Look for the common thread. What is the core problem you solve or the core value you provide across all your products? Is it convenience? Expertise? Affordability? Innovation? Your brand message should be about that unifying theme, not about any single product.
Is “brand voice” the same as “brand message”?
No, but they are critically linked. The brand message is what you say (your value, your promise). The brand voice (or tone) is how you say it (your personality, your style). A strong brand perfectly aligns the ‘what' and the ‘how'.
Can I just copy a competitor's brand message?
That's the fastest way to become invisible. The entire point of a brand message is to differentiate your business and articulate what makes you unique. Copying a competitor ensures you will always be seen as a “me-too” option and never a market leader.
What's the first step if I feel my message is weak?
Talk to five of your best customers. In their own words, ask them why they chose you and what problem you solve for them. The answer is often right there; you just have to listen.
Last update on 2025-07-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
