Here’s a Founder’s misstep that I see time and time again
- Their website is full of the language they understand
- Their pitch deck explains what they do
But none of it makes the customer feel like “This person gets me. They understand my problem. I trust they can fix it.” And that’s the moment that matters. That’s what creates a sale, not just interest.
You’re Not Wrong. You’re Just Speaking the Wrong Language
- It’s not that your product isn’t valuable
- It’s not that your messaging is technically incorrect
- It’s that your customer doesn’t talk like you do.
Here’s a real example:
We recently spoke with a founder who offers engineering services to help small businesses connect their tools and build reporting systems across their existing tech stack.
What he’s building is genuinely useful but on his website, the language was full of terms like “systems integration,” “data unification,” and “workflow automation architecture.” His language was great for engineers, but totally unhelpful for a small business owner.
What the average small business owner actually wants to know is:
- Where am I leaking money without knowing it?
- How much does it really cost me to serve each customer?
- Is my team productive or just busy?
This Is Why Brand Matters
Before you jump into marketing tactics, before you spend money trying to get attention, you need to know what your brand stands for and how to state its value in a way that your audience understands, as it applies to their businesses and their lives.
A clear brand is more than a logo or tagline. It’s a foundation.
- A Vision that shows people how you are going to change the world
- A Mission that states your works value in the here and now
- Values that signal the stuff you are made of
When you have that clarity, your messaging stops trying to speak to everyone and starts resonating with the right people — the ones ready to listen, trust, and buy.
A clear brand helps you:
- Speak in a voice that connects, instead of confusing
- Stay consistent across every touchpoint
- Cut through the noise and show up with confidence
Without it, even most innovative campaign will fall flat. With it, every word you say hits harder and deeper.
Translate Before You Broadcast
We’re not the kind of marketing team that blasts content across a bunch of channels and hopes something sticks. That approach wastes money and attracts the wrong people. I’m talking about customers who bounce, don’t buy, or don’t stay.
At York Effect, we help founders say the right thing to the right people.
- Understand and define a clear, differentiated brand
- Translate what you do into the outcomes your customer cares about
- Build messaging that shows them you understand their pain and can solve for it
Because when you speak the same language as your customer, it stops being a pitch and starts being a solution.
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- Are you talking like your customer, or like a founder?
- Can someone land on your site and immediately think, “Yes. That’s me!”?
- Does your messaging answer the question they’re already have in their head?
If not, good news. This is fixable. And fixing it can change everything.
Let’s make your message feel like a conversation, not a pitch. When you speak the same language, your customer will lean in, believe, and buy.