Riding the Why Train to Better Brand Messaging: The 5 Whys Framework
Brand messaging and offer messaging roam around my head all day. Part of that is because I’m a copywriter. Part of that is because I’m a person who exists in a world where brands and companies are always trying to sell to me.
(Hey, just like you).
The difference between a subpar messaging strategy and a throw-my-card-down-take-my-money-I’m-all-in-put-it-on-the-house messaging strategy?
Whether or not a brand seems to actually understand me and the actual problems I’m dealing with.
That’s the undersold but over-the-top element of messaging that makes or breaks the whole thing, whether a brand:
Gets a person’s root issues
Speaks to those root issues in a language they understand
As business owners who create things or sell services, we’re usually just way too dang close to our own stuff. We see things from our perspective, and then we expect and anticipate our people to see their problems through our lens, too.
But that’s never how it works.
And the ultimate goal here is to speak to our people where they’re at.
To really hit with our people, we need to understand their root problems, not what we think their root problems are.
And even though that’s a hard thing to do (I’m not being sarcastic, it is hard!), it’s well worth it in the end because that’s what connects.
Thankfully, there’s a pretty clever way to get yourself down to the root issues called The Five Whys.
LIL KEY TAKEAWAYS: THIS BLOG AT A GLANCE
Most brands speak from the top floor. Your people? They’re on the ground floor. You’ve gotta meet them where they actually are.
The Curse of Knowledge is real. Just because you know your offer inside-out doesn’t mean your people do. And they shouldn’t have to translate your message.
The 5 Whys Framework helps you dig deeper. Surface problems won’t sell. Root problems build trust and connection.
Getting to the root = messaging that hits. Skip the buzzwords and speak to the heart of what your audience is feeling, fearing, and fighting.
Even copywriters use this. (Hi, it’s me.) If you’re too close to your own stuff, this is how you back up, zoom out, and then zoom all the way back in (on what really matters).
The 5 Whys: Getting to Your People’s Root Issues
Imagine you’re on the top floor of a skyscraper. The people you most want to reach are on the ground floor. You want to level with them and talk directly to them, but their view is so much different from yours.
It’s hard to see what they’re looking at from way up here. And they definitely can’t relate to what you see from way down there.
You’re not clicking with them, they’re not clicking with you. And it’s a damn shame, because you really do have something that could change their lives; you just have no idea how to explain it to them.
So…how do you get on their level?
The Curse of Knowledge – A Plague We’ve All Caught
The reason you’re stuck at the top floor and can’t seem to find your way down to the bottom is due to something called The Curse of Knowledge. In other words, it’s the you’re-way-too-close-to-this plague.
The curse of knowledge is what happens when you know your stuff so well, you forget what it’s like not to know it, so you’re not communicating in ways that click with your people.
In one of my favorite books, Made to Stick, the authors explain how experts often skip context, overuse jargon, or assume too much, and that’s because their brains are running on Chapter 10 while everyone else is still flipping through the intro.
The result? Confused audiences and messages that don’t stick.
To break the curse, you’ve gotta:
Simplify your message
Ground things in real-world terms
Speak like a human, not a textbook.
That means talking about our people’s problems in their language, on their level.
The 5 Whys Framework
My absolute favorite way to cut through the Curse of Knowledge fluff is to use a method developed by Sakichi Toyoda in the 1930s.
I’ll make this short and sweet, but essentially, the 5 Whys wasn’t created in the boardroom; it was created for the factory.
He realized that workers at every level – especially the ones closest to the machines – needed help identifying the root problems instead of just the surface problems so they could prevent recurring issues and improve efficiency.
In other words, he was tired of quick band-aid fixes that never solved a problem and people rushing to fix problems without understanding what caused them.
He knew the real power was in getting to the root of an issue.
He started a new habit of asking “why” – but five times in a row. Each answer led to a deeper understanding of what was really going on. So, a Toyota-esque factory example would be something like:
The surface problem: The machine stopped.
Why 1? The fuse blew.
Why 2? The motor overheated.
Why 3? It wasn’t getting enough lubrication.
Why 4? The oil pump wasn’t circulating oil.
Why 5? The pump’s shaft was worn out.
The root problem: the shaft needs replacing, not just the fuse.
Toyoda believed that if you stopped at the first answer, you’d only ever apply Band-Aids. But if you kept digging, you could build a stronger, smarter system from the inside out.
That’s exactly how getting through to our people works. If you’re on the top floor with a surface issue but need to get down to a root problem, the five whys system is a must-try exercise.
Why, Why, Why, Why (And again…Why?): A Marketing Example
How exactly do you use this framework in your messaging? To help you find the root of your people’s problems so you can speak directly to them.
It works exactly as it does with Toyoda’s factoring example.
You name the problem you think you’re dealing with, then you ask why. Then you do it again. And again. You do this five times.
List the problem you think your people are dealing with: (Top Floor Problem)
Ask why. Answer that.
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that
Ask why. Answer that.
Now, list the problem your people are actually dealing with: (Root Problem)
At that first why, your problem is a lil vague. By the fifth why, you’ve worked down to the ROOT problem – the feelings and real-life stuff that hits.
The 5 Whys Behind My Mini Messaging Marker
Let’s make this personal for a second. As a copywriter, I’m always thinking about and talking about messaging. I know more than your average person does about messaging. I’m really, really close to messaging.
And that’s great on one hand, because it means I’ve worked hard to become great at what I do. On the other hand, it makes it harder for me to understand my people’s root issues with messaging because I spend so much time on the top floor of the messaging skyscraper.
When I developed Mini Messaging Marker – my 12-minute training that gives you a hot jolt of inspo for what to say to sell your latest thing – I knew why the problem I wanted to solve. But it wasn’t hitting with people.
So, I did the five whys for my own offer.
The Top Floor Problem: Messaging is hard.
Why? People are confused by messaging.
Why? There’s so much info and advice out there from gurus that it's overwhelming.
Why? It’s intimidating! If there’s all this info, they feel they must be missing something.
Why? Marketers make it seem so natural. My people freeze! They think they must not have a good offer.
Why? They don’t trust themselves to message good enough, so they don’t message at all.
Root Problem: My people don’t trust themselves enough to message, so they freeze without messaging confidence.
Yes, obvs, I’m using my own offer to give you an example of this!
On the surface, the problem my people are dealing with is that people just say “messaging is hard,” but when you get down to the root issue, it’s more about trust and confidence.
They don’t trust themselves to say the right thing, so they don’t say anything at all.
Now that I have a stronger understanding of my people’s root issue, a few good things can happen:
I can talk to them about their problems with true empathy and understanding. I’m not just acting like I get it, I do get it – I’ve done the work to understand where they’re at and what’s bugging them.
I can speak in a language that connects with them. I know my people are already intimidated by messaging and marketing lingo. I can adjust how I talk about it in ways that make sense and aren’t jargon-y. I call messaging “the what stuff.” I don’t create messaging guides, I give you “a hot jolt of inspo for what to say.”
I can clearly illustrate how this offer is a solution to that root problem. I have no interest in throwing a resource at someone if it won’t actually solve a problem they’re directly dealing with. If I stopped at the surface problem (messaging is hard), I might have built a totally different resource. Instead, the root issue is that my people are so in their heads they need a shakeup and a confidence boost – that’s why Mini Messaging Marker exists.
Ready to Ride the Why Train to the Root Issue?
Messaging isn’t just about saying the right things – it’s about understanding the right things first. If you’re tired of throwing words at the wall and hoping something sticks, the 5 Whys is your new secret weapon.
P.S., if you ever want to chat about messaging strategy, I offer complete messaging strategy services for brands, offers, services, and beyond! If you’re down to chatter all about it, fill out my inquiry form right here!
