Most local businesses are not truly identical to their competitors. The problem is that many of them sound identical when they explain what they do.

“Great service.” “Quality work.” “Competitive prices.” “We care about our customers.”

Those things may all be true, but they do not give a potential customer a clear reason to remember or choose your business.

A stronger message starts by getting clear on five simple questions.

1. Who do you serve?

Start with the customer you are trying to help.

You do not need to exclude everyone else, but your message becomes much clearer when the right person can immediately recognise that you are talking to them.

For example:

• homeowners in the St George area
• busy parents who need a reliable local cleaner
• small businesses that need more enquiries
• people looking for a specialist rather than a general provider

Ask: Who is the person we most want to attract?

2. What problem do you solve?

Customers usually care more about the problem being solved than the service itself.

A plumber may sell plumbing, but the customer wants the leak stopped. A web designer may build websites, but the business owner wants more calls and enquiries.

Try to describe the problem in the customer’s language rather than industry jargon.

Ask: What is happening in their life or business that makes them look for us?

3. How do you solve it?

Now explain what you actually do.

This is where the service, product or process comes in, but keep it simple. The customer should be able to understand it without needing specialist knowledge.

For Bizi Media, one answer is that we build Local Lead Websites designed to turn local searchers into calls and enquiries.

Ask: What do we provide that gets the customer from the problem to the result?

4. What makes you different?

This is where many businesses get stuck.

Your difference does not need to be something nobody else on Earth can claim. It needs to be something meaningful, specific and useful to the customer.

It might be:

• a faster process
• specialist experience
• clear fixed pricing
• personal one-to-one service
• a particular method or system
• better communication
• a guarantee
• the way you package several services together

A useful way to find your difference is to think about the frustrations customers often have with businesses in your industry and how you remove them.

Ask: Why might someone choose us instead of the obvious alternative?

5. Why does that difference matter?

This is the part businesses often miss.

A feature or difference is not enough on its own. Explain the benefit.

For example:

Difference: We use fixed pricing.
Why it matters: You know what the job will cost before we begin.

Difference: We specialise in one type of service.
Why it matters: You are dealing with someone who regularly solves the exact problem you have.

Difference: We handle the website strategy, copy, design and technical setup.
Why it matters: The business owner does not have to work out how to put everything together themselves.

Ask: So what does our difference actually do for the customer?

Put the five answers together

Once you have answered the five questions, turn them into a simple message:

We help [who you serve] to [solve the problem] with [how you solve it]. What makes us different is [your difference], which means [the customer benefit].

It does not need to appear word-for-word on your website. Think of it as the raw material for your headline, offer, sales conversation and marketing.

Example

Here is a simple Bizi Media example:

We help local businesses get more enquiries with websites designed around the customer journey. We take care of the strategy, copy, design and technical setup, which means the business owner gets a clear, professional website without having to piece everything together themselves.

From there, the message can be shortened and adapted depending on where it appears.

Do not try to sound impressive. Try to be clear.

The strongest business message is usually not the cleverest one.

It is the one that helps the right customer quickly understand:

• this is for me
• they understand my problem
• they can solve it
• there is a reason to choose them
• that reason benefits me

Use this before you build the website

This exercise is especially useful before writing a homepage or conversion page because the answers shape the headline, offer, proof and call to action.

It fits directly into the Get Chosen part of our Get Found → Get Chosen → Get More Customers framework.

If your website is getting visitors but not enough enquiries, you may also find 3 Ways to Turn More Website Visitors Into Enquiries useful.

By Michael Harwood
Bizi Media