Are your marketing assumptions costing you deals?

🔥 Hot Take: Nearly every agency operates on assumptions about their clients rather than real data.

After working with tons of agencies on vertical specialization, I've noticed a pattern: They create messaging based on what they THINK their buyers care about, rather than what they actually care about.

The reality? Your best clients will tell you exactly what you need to know:

• How they managed before they found you

• What finally made them take action

• Why they trusted you

• What made them comfortable choosing you

One agency I work with just focused on substance abuse treatment centers. Instead of guessing what these centers wanted, they interviewed their best clients.

The result? Their messaging shifted from generic agency speak to language that made prospects say "they get me."

Even better - they now have confidence their marketing investments will land, because they're built on real buyer insights rather than assumptions.

Questions to ponder:

• When was the last time you spoke to your best client about why they actually chose you?

• Look at your website's main headline right now. Do you have data from actual buyers that proves those are the words they care about?

• Think about your last lost deal - was it really about price/timing, or did you miss something fundamental about what that buyer truly valued?

CQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do so many agencies build messaging on assumptions instead of real data?

Because it's easier to guess at what buyers care about than to go ask them directly. That shortcut leads to generic messaging that sounds plausible but doesn't actually reflect what clients think.

What kind of information can best clients actually reveal?

How they managed before finding the agency, what finally made them take action, why they trusted the agency, and what made them comfortable choosing it over alternatives. These are things assumptions can't reliably guess.

What changed when one agency interviewed their best clients in substance abuse treatment?

Messaging shifted from generic agency speak to language specific enough that prospects said "they get me." That shift came directly from real buyer insight, not internal guessing.

Why does building messaging on real data create more confidence in marketing investments?

Because it removes the uncertainty of guessing whether the words used will actually resonate. Messaging built on real buyer language is more likely to land than messaging based on assumptions.

How do I check if my current headline reflects real buyer priorities?

Ask whether there's actual data from buyers proving those are the words they care about. If the headline was written from internal assumptions rather than buyer interviews, it's worth testing against what real clients would say.