Custom-made marketing — Kelford Labs Weekly

I’ve always been a little frustrated with something my clients and friends often compliment me about:

I can write fast. Not as fast as an LLM like ChatGPT, of course, but pretty darn quick.

And for years I not-so-secretly resented the compliment because I don’t want to be fast, I want to be great.

Then, one day, I realized that all entrepreneurs have a compliment or testimonial they tend to get that makes them flinch or grimace. I call these “Heartbreaking Compliments”.

Things like: “You’re so easy to work with.”

Or, “You’re surprisingly affordable.”

Or, “You’re so organized.”

When what we really want to hear is: “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

But my clients do think I’m great at what I do, that’s why they work with me. It’s just that that part was assumed, otherwise they wouldn’t be my clients.

What wasn’t assumed was that I’d also be surprisingly fast. That I could also come up with marketing messages in the moment, or at a moment’s notice.

I once gave a speech in Buenos Aires, representing a client’s industry to a hotel ballroom full of potential customers, with about 30 minutes’ notice.

The previous year I was accompanying a client at a major industry conference in Madrid. But just hours before her keynote speech, she informed me she wasn’t comfortable with the remarks she’d prepared, so could I rewrite her speech and present it with her?

I could, I did, and we were the hit of the conference.

As much as I want to be known as the best, I have to admit that part of what makes me great is that I’m the fastest.

And I bet the same is true about your “Heartbreaking Compliment,” whatever that is.

I bet that your clients think you’re great, but they assume you already know that. And they want to share what surprised them about how you work.

So they tell you the thing you’re sick of hearing and don’t tell you the thing you desperately want them to say.

But if you remember from last week’s newsletter, these types of compliments or testimonials are one of the “measurements” we need to craft tailor-made marketing.

Marketing that’s custom for us, so it fits and helps us stand out, at a moment’s notice or in our most-noticed moments.

Last week, I asked you three questions:

• Measurement 1: Of all the services or products you make or provide, which single one, if removed, would eliminate most of your ability to deliver value? What’s the one thing your customers benefit from most?
• Measurement 2: If a customer works with or buys from another provider, and then works with or buys from you, what would surprise them most about your approach? What don’t you do that everyone else does?
• Measurement 3: Which compliments or testimonials do you regularly get that you don’t appreciate, or feel don’t fully capture what makes you special? What do your clients notice most about your business?

If you haven’t had a chance yet, take a moment now to think of your answers.

Because the answer to Measurement 1 tells you what your marketing messages should focus on. That’s where your primary value is for your clients, and it’s what your marketing should amplify and promote.

The answer to Measurement 2 tells you how you provide that value, by identifying a specific tradeoff you’ve made to be particularly credible and qualified. Your marketing messages should make reference to what you don’t do that allows you to do what you do best.

And the answer to Measurement 3 tells you what your clients notice most about your work, and what they’re likely to tell others about their experience. Your marketing messages should reinforce this capability and make it even more clear and visible.

Is this every measurement you could possibly need? Absolutely not, but it’s a perfect place to start getting used to making marketing messages at a moment’s notice, or in your most-noticed moments.

Here’s how it works. My own answers to those questions would be:

1. Giving our clients the actual words to say to demonstrate their value at a distance, instead of just giving them a strategy or directional advice.
2. We don’t do fancy pitches or presentations of our work, we provide the work ahead of time so our clients can read, digest, and even sleep on it before we talk through it with them.
3. We can work fast because our process has been polished and perfected to give us the answers we need to find the words quickly. 

So if I was put on the spot at a networking event and asked what I do, based on my above answers, I might say:

“At Kelford Inc., we create custom marketing messages for experts, so they always know what to say in any situation.

What’s different about us, though, is we don’t do some fancy presentation to convince you to use the words we wrote. We let you feel the fit and get comfortable with them before you have to say yes or no.

And because we do custom work based on what’s unique about our clients, we can show them what to say at a moment’s notice, because we get to know their ‘measurements,’ and what will get them noticed.”

Or, if I needed to write a simple message for an ad, I might say:

“Custom-made marketing at a moment’s notice. For your most-noticed moments.”

Are these the most earth-shattering marketing messages anyone’s ever read or written? I hope not! But what they are is simple, easy, and fast.

Because instead of starting with a blank page, we started with a fill-in-the-blanks exercise.

We started by taking measurements.

And then we crafted custom messages based on those measurements that are unique and specific to us.

Because when you know your measurements, you can get work done quickly. Without worrying about whether it will fit, or whether you’ll be comfortable saying it.

You’ll know it fits, because you know it’s based on what sets you apart and helps you stand out.

At a moment’s notice, or in your most-noticed moments.

Kelford Inc. shows experts the way to always knowing what to say.