One of the things I’ve learned from working with businesses over the years is that what we think matters to our customers isn’t always what actually matters to them.

And sometimes the difference is quite surprising.

Take somebody looking for a builder to renovate their home.

You might assume they’re interested in getting the best price, finding somebody with plenty of experience or seeing examples of beautiful finished projects.

And they might be.

But perhaps their biggest concern is whether the builder will actually turn up when they say they will.

Perhaps they’ve heard horror stories about projects taking twice as long as expected.

Or perhaps they’re worried about having their house turned upside down for three months and not knowing what’s happening from one week to the next.

Suddenly, the thing that matters most isn’t necessarily the price or the quality of the finished kitchen.

It’s knowing they can trust somebody to do what they’ve promised.

The interesting thing is how rarely businesses talk about these concerns in their marketing.

We’re very good at telling people what we think they should care about.

Our experience. Our qualifications. Our technology. Our processes. Our awards.

All perfectly valid things to talk about.

But how often do we stop and ask customers what actually made them choose us?

I’ve had conversations with clients over the years where I’ve asked why somebody decided to work with us.

Occasionally, the answer isn’t what I expected.

It might be something as simple as the fact that we explained things clearly, took the time to understand their business or actually followed up when we said we would.

Things that don’t necessarily sound particularly impressive when you’re writing a marketing strategy.

But clearly mattered to the person making the decision.

Your customers don’t always buy for the reasons you think they do.

Understanding their frustrations, concerns and motivations can completely change the way you communicate with them.

Your website, your Google Ads, your social media, your emails. Even the questions you answer in your blogs and videos.

Because once you understand what’s genuinely bothering somebody, you can stop guessing what to say to them.

And there’s a remarkably simple way to find out.

Ask them.

Not just whether they’re happy with your service.

Ask what was frustrating them before they found you.

Ask what nearly stopped them getting in touch.

Ask what made them choose you.

And ask what they value most now that they’re working with you.

You might be surprised by the answers.

You might even discover that something you’ve barely mentioned in your marketing is one of the biggest reasons people buy from you.

So before you spend another afternoon rewriting your homepage or coming up with a clever new advertising message, perhaps have a conversation with a couple of customers.

You might find they’ve already written half your marketing strategy for you.

They just didn’t realise it.