Practical Sales Training™ > How To Lose The Sale > Mystery Business
Mystery Business: Stop Making Buyers Guess What You Do
Picture a plain white van driving past you. No logo, no number, no hint of what’s inside. You’d never call that company, even if you needed exactly what they sell.
But plenty of businesses do the exact same thing with their name and branding, without ever noticing.
What Is It
A mystery business is one where the name doesn’t explain what you do. Or where it’s not obvious how to actually buy from you. Abstract names fall into this trap constantly, and so do vans, shopfronts, and websites with no real signage.
A buyer can be standing right in front of you and still have no idea what you sell.
Why Does It Work
It works against you because buyers are lazy, in the ordinary human sense of the word. If what you offer isn’t obvious, they have to invest real time and attention just to work it out.
Most people won’t bother. So the mystery doesn’t intrigue them. It just loses them, quietly, before you ever get the chance to explain.
How Can You Use It
Solving this always comes back to making yourself easier to buy from.
Choose A Domain That Does The Explaining
If your business name is abstract, promote a clearer domain name instead of the name itself. So let the web address do the job your name never could.
Consider Renaming Around The Problem You Solve
Sometimes the real fix is a new name entirely. One that names the problem you solve, rather than something clever or personal. It’s a bigger step, but it removes the mystery at the root.
Say The Problem And The Way To Buy Out Loud
Talk openly about the problem you solve, and tell people plainly where to buy from you. Neither costs much, and both remove guesswork a buyer would otherwise have to do alone.
When It Works Best
This costs you least when your buyer already knows what they’re looking for. They can recognise it despite the confusion. But that’s rare. Most buyers are only half looking. So a mystery business asks too much of someone who was never fully committed to finding you.
When It Becomes Dangerous
It becomes dangerous the moment your branding wins awards but loses customers. A polished, professional look means nothing if nobody can tell what you actually offer underneath it.
It’s also dangerous in the long run. Word of mouth relies on people being able to explain you in one sentence. Nobody recommends a business they can’t describe.
Common Mistakes
Choosing Clever Over Clear
So an abstract name might win a design award. But it rarely wins a customer who’s scrolling past in three seconds flat.
Assuming Familiarity You Don’t Actually Have
You know exactly what your business does, so it’s easy to assume everyone else does too. But a stranger has none of that context and needs it spelled out.
Hiding The One Clue That Explains Everything
A single small detail, tucked into a corner, is not the same as being clear. If the explanation only works once someone’s already found it, it isn’t doing its job.
Mystery Business – An Example
The Practice With No Obvious Practice
This company’s branding is actually professional. The design looks great, the colours work well together, and nothing about it looks cheap. But nothing about it tells you what the business actually does either.
Look closer, though, and there’s a small neon sign in the corner of the space. So that sign is the only clue that this is a dentist. Everything else in the branding could belong to almost any business at all.
See Also
