Is your messaging “internal coded”?

Recently, a CMO I know shared her frustration about her company’s brand messaging. 

Every customer or prospect she met had the same struggle: differentiate from their competitors. But her team's language focused on the product’s specific features and benefits. This “internal-coded language”, she explained, didn’t land. 

This is the kind of culture clash we see all the time. Internal teams, hyped up on their products, craft messaging that makes complete sense to them. But their customers— especially prospects or newer customers who haven’t yet been introduced to the brand—don’t get it.

For example, we recently worked with a company that provides health insurance for member organizations. Their messaging read like a laundry list of benefits, yet they still struggled to communicate their value. Not surprisingly, members were opting out. 

We helped them align their messaging with what their customers care most about: a partner whose interests actually match their own. The story was much simpler, but also way more resonant. 

As Joanna Wiebe, a voice-of-the-customer expert, explains,  “the objective is…to help people recognize themselves in the brand.” 

Have you seen any examples of this? Let us know in the comments.