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I was talking to a friend this week who is the CMO of a software company doing roughly $10 million a year in revenue. The company is successful by almost any definition. They have a great product, happy customers, and are valued at roughly $200 million.

During our conversation, he told me his founder had just texted him after seeing that another company in their space had been acquired for more than $1 billion. The surprising part wasn't the acquisition price. It was that the company being acquired was only doing around $30 million in annual revenue.

The founder's question to my friend was simple:

"We've been around three times longer than they have. Why are they doing $30 million while we're doing $10 million?"

My friend didn't talk about product quality. He didn't talk about pricing. He didn't talk about features. He said one thing:

The funny part is that my friend's company actually has a better product. It's easier to use, less expensive, and arguably delivers more value to customers. But there is one problem they run into constantly on sales calls, in marketing campaigns, and even with leads that come through their No Lead Lost widget on their site.

Prospects understand what the product does.

They just don't understand why they need it.

That's the difference.

The company that sold for $1 billion isn't marketing software. They're marketing protection from a problem. They've built their entire positioning around an enemy that customers already know they need to defeat.

Think about some of the biggest companies in the world.

1️⃣ Cybersecurity companies don't really sell software. They sell protection from hackers.

2️⃣ Insurance companies don't really sell policies. They sell protection from disasters.

3️⃣ Marketing juggernauts like HubSpot don’t become a giant by talking about CRM features. They spent years talking about the problems with interruptive marketing, cold calling, spam, and buying lists.

Tesla wasn't just selling electric vehicles. They declared the traditional auto industry the enemy for ruining our planet, in turn giving customers something to rally behind.

Even Nike's marketing rarely focuses on shoes. Their enemy is complacency, laziness, and the little voice in your head telling you to quit.

The best brands understand that customers don't buy products.

Imagine two companies selling identical mousetraps.

The first company says:

"Our mousetrap is stronger, lighter, and 10% cheaper."

The second company says:

"Rats are destroying your home, contaminating your food, and costing you thousands of dollars every year. Millions of homeowners protect their families from rat infestation with us, you shuold too!"

Which company is going to sell more mousetraps?

The second company, every single time.

Why?

Because they sold the enemy before they sold the solution.

Step 1: Identify the painful thing happening before customers buy your product.

Most companies start by listing features. Instead, start by identifying the frustrating thing your customers are dealing with right now. Before Slack, it was endless email chains. Before Zoom, it was painful conference calls. Before Shopify, it was the complexity of launching an online store.

Your enemy usually exists long before your product does.

Step 2: Give that enemy a name.

The best marketers package problems into ideas that are easy to remember and easy to repeat. HubSpot gave marketers a villain called "interruptive marketing." Many cybersecurity companies create names for vulnerabilities and attack methods because named problems feel bigger, more real, and easier to discuss.

If customers can't easily explain the enemy to someone else, your message won't spread.

Step 3: Make the enemy the star of your marketing.

Most companies spend 90% of their marketing talking about themselves.

The better strategy is to spend 90% of your marketing talking about the problem.

Talk about it on your homepage.

Talk about it in your sales deck.

Talk about it in your webinars.

Talk about it in your ads.

Talk about it in your content.

When customers feel like you understand their frustrations better than anyone else, they're far more likely to believe your solution is the right one.

That's why some companies grow from $10 million to $30 million in revenue while others stay stuck.

It's rare because their software is three times better.

Often it's because their story is.

This week's Growth Hack is simple:

Spend 30 minutes this week identifying the enemy your customers are fighting every day. Then update your website, ads, sales deck, and email campaigns to show how your product/solution helps them beat their enemy.

Are you spending more time talking about your product?

Or the thing your customers desperately want to defeat?

Because the companies with the biggest enemies often end up building the biggest businesses.

See you next week,
MarketingMax

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That’s it for this week!​

Thanks for being a part of my journey :)

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