How many tennis balls can you catch – at the same time? One? Two?

If I throw one, you’ll probably catch it.
If I through two, you might catch one – maybe both
If I throw three, you’ll definitely miss one, possibly all three.

More than three?
The more I throw, the more you will miss.

I was talking to a chief executive recently. They are concerned about their communication.

Too much information.
Too many services.

Too confusing.
Too overwhelming.

Potential customers aren’t clear what the company does.
And certainly not what their strengths are.

Too many tennis balls.
They’re not getting caught.

As a result, the chief executive thinks the company are missing opportunities.
Confused customers are going elsewhere.
Choosing competitors.

The company are losing sales.

Our solution? Less information.

Give customers fewer choices.
Fewer opportunities.

Fewer tennis balls.
One at a time.

Don’t overwhelm customers.
Don’t confuse them.

But for a company that wants to increase sales, fewer opportunities can seem like a bad idea.

They need more.
Not less.

But remember the tennis balls.
Catching one is easy.

Imagine your marketing messages are tennis balls.
It’s better for customers to catch one,
rather than drop five.

So keep things simple.
Make it easy.
One message.

Which message is strongest?
What’s your customers biggest problem?
What’s your customers biggest opportunity?

Pick one.
Talk about that.

One tennis ball.
Easy to catch.