Two questions that drive differentiation

There are two quick questions that can help make your messages even stronger:

• Am I giving the people what they want?
• Am I doing that in a way they don't expect?

It's a good test, especially when your message or copy is short, like on a website or tagline. In fact, that's the test I used throughout my review of Loudmouse.com's home page on this episode of "What's Missing From this Message?"

Loudmouse is a brand strategy firm that works with people "in the relentless pursuit of something bigger." They do a great job on their site with defining outcomes and processes, all with beautifully crisp, clean, and clear copy and design.

Since all of that is so strong, there's an opportunity to differentiate themselves even more by asking those two questions I mention above. That's because those two questions do two important things:

• They anchor your message in what people actually want to buy (which means you can help them)
• They force you to be specific about what you do, why, and how (which shows how you can help them better than anyone else)

Give the video a quick watch and see if you see what I saw... and if you see the same opportunities for making your message even stronger.