Customer Language Mastery

Research how your customers actually talk, then use their exact language across Product and Marketing to create instant resonance.

The Core Principle

First Law of Customer Physics: A customer at rest will remain at rest unless you provide a motivating, attention-grabbing force.

Language is that force. Your words must bypass the customer's natural filters by creating resonance — the "OH YEAH! THAT'S FOR ME!" reaction.

If your language is bland or tries to appeal to everyone, it exerts no gravitational force and gets ignored.

Where Customer Language Applies

Domain	Examples
Product UI	Button labels, error messages, empty states, onboarding
Feature Naming	What you call features determines if users understand them
Documentation	Guides, tooltips, help text
Settings/Options	How you frame choices affects decisions
Notifications	Push, email, in-app alerts
Marketing	Landing pages, emails, ads, social

Conversation Starter

Use AskUserQuestion to gather context:

1. Who is your target audience? (job title, industry, experience level)
2. What problem does your product solve?
3. What copy needs work? (Product UI, landing page, feature naming, etc.)
4. Do you have existing customer conversations? (support tickets, reviews, interviews)

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Part 1: Sales Safari — Finding Watering Holes

A watering hole is anywhere your target audience gathers to discuss problems, share advice, or seek help.

Watering Hole Keywords

Combine audience terms with these keywords to find communities:

Category	Keywords
Community	forum, community, group, mailing list, chat, Discord, Slack
Help-Seeking	help, problems, advice, questions, FAQs, support
Learning	tutorial, resources, guide, best practices, how to
Evaluation	reviews, comparison, best, vs, alternative
Discussion	discussions, sharing, experiences, stories
Social	Twitter/X chat, Facebook Group, subreddit, LinkedIn Group

Search Patterns

[audience term] + forum
[audience term] + community
[audience term] + "I'm struggling with"
[audience term] + "how do you handle"
[audience term] + site:reddit.com
[audience term] + site:news.ycombinator.com
[problem] + "anyone else"
[problem] + "is it just me"

Platform-Specific Searches

Platform	Search Pattern
Reddit	site:reddit.com [audience] [problem]
Hacker News	site:news.ycombinator.com [topic]
Stack Overflow	site:stackoverflow.com [technology] [problem]
Product Hunt	site:producthunt.com [category] discussions
G2/Capterra	site:g2.com [competitor] reviews
Twitter/X	[problem] filter:replies min_faves:10

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Part 2: Extracting Customer Language

Once you find watering holes, extract these language patterns:

1. Pain Language

Words and phrases expressing frustration, anxiety, powerlessness, or uncertainty.

Listen for:

• "I hate when..."
• "It drives me crazy that..."
• "I'm so frustrated with..."
• "Why can't I just..."
• "I've tried everything but..."
• "I'm worried about..."
• "I don't know how to..."

Extract: The exact phrases, not your interpretation.

2. Desire Language

Words expressing what they want but don't have.

Listen for:

• "I wish..."
• "If only..."
• "I just want to..."
• "It would be amazing if..."
• "My dream is..."

3. Jargon & Insider Terms

Every audience has vocabulary that signals belonging.

Types of jargon:

• Technical terms they use (not textbook definitions)
• Abbreviations unique to their world
• Slang that identifies insiders
• Phrases that have specific meaning in context

Why it matters: Using insider language creates instant trust. Wrong language signals "outsider."

4. Recommendation Patterns

How do they give each other advice?

Listen for:

• "You should try..."
• "What worked for me was..."
• "Read this..."
• "Check out..."
• "Think about it this way..."

Use these structures in your copy to feel like peer advice, not sales pitch.

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Part 3: Language Extraction Template

When researching, fill this out:

## Language Research: [Audience]

### Watering Holes Found
- [Platform]: [Community name] - [Why relevant]
- [Platform]: [Community name] - [Why relevant]

### Pain Phrases (Exact Quotes)
| Quote | Emotion | Frequency |
|-------|---------|-----------|
| "[exact quote]" | frustrated/anxious/desperate | common/rare |

### Desire Phrases (Exact Quotes)
| Quote | What They Want |
|-------|----------------|
| "[exact quote]" | [interpretation] |

### Insider Jargon
| Term | What It Means to Them |
|------|----------------------|
| [term] | [contextual meaning] |

### Recommendation Patterns
- "[How they give advice]"
- "[Structure they use]"

### Words They NEVER Use
- [terms that signal outsider]

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Part 4: Worldview Resonance

Effective language expresses a worldview — shared beliefs and values.

Take a Stand

Polarizing language attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones.

Weak (appeals to everyone, resonates with no one):

"A better way to manage projects"

Strong (takes a stand):

"Project management for teams who hate project management"

Worldview Crossover

Find the overlap between YOUR worldview and your CUSTOMER'S worldview:

Your Beliefs          Customer's Beliefs
     \                    /
      \                  /
       \                /
        [CROSSOVER ZONE]
        This is where your
        messaging lives

Positioning Through Language

Audience Type	Language Signals
Professional/Enterprise	"controls", "governance", "compliance", "scalable"
Startup/Indie	"ship fast", "no bloat", "just works", "for builders"
Creative	"beautiful", "craft", "artisan", "curated"
Technical	"API-first", "extensible", "open source", "self-hosted"
Budget-conscious	"affordable", "free tier", "no hidden fees", "transparent"

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Part 5: The "OH YEAH!" Test

Before shipping any copy, run this test:

Does your language...

Criterion	✓/✗
Use words your customers actually use?
Express a worldview they share?
Address a pain they've expressed (in their words)?
Feel like advice from a peer, not a pitch?
Repel people who aren't your customer?
Make the right person say "That's for me!"?

Red Flags

• ❌ Afraid of offending anyone → too weak
• ❌ Using industry jargon they don't use → outsider signal
• ❌ Describing features, not outcomes → no resonance
• ❌ Corporate-speak when audience is casual → tone mismatch
• ❌ Casual when audience is professional → credibility loss

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Part 6: Application Examples

Product UI

Before (generic):

Error: Invalid input

After (using customer language):

Hmm, that doesn't look right. Double-check the format?

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Before (feature-focused):

Enable notifications

After (outcome-focused, using desire language):

Never miss an update from your team

Feature Naming

Before (technical):

Automated Workflow Engine

After (using customer problem language):

"Set it and forget it" automation

Empty States

Before (bland):

No projects yet

After (using desire language):

Ready to ship something? Create your first project.

Error Messages

Before (blame user):

Invalid email address

After (helpful, peer tone):

That email looks incomplete — missing something after the @?

Landing Page Headline

Before (feature-focused):

All-in-one project management platform

After (pain language + worldview):

Finally, project management that doesn't feel like a second job

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Output Format

When applying this skill, deliver:

## Customer Language Analysis

### Research Summary
- **Watering holes searched:** [list]
- **Quotes extracted:** [count]
- **Key insight:** [one sentence]

### Language Patterns Discovered

**Pain phrases:**
- "[exact quote]" → Use for: [where to apply]

**Desire phrases:**
- "[exact quote]" → Use for: [where to apply]

**Insider jargon:**
- [term]: [meaning] → Use for: [where to apply]

### Recommended Copy Changes

| Location | Before | After | Why |
|----------|--------|-------|-----|
| [UI element/page] | [current] | [recommended] | [language pattern used] |

### "OH YEAH!" Test Results
[Run the test on recommended copy]

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When to Use This vs Other Skills

Use language when...	Use other skills when...
Researching how customers talk	Need emotional trigger words (power-words)
Writing product UI copy	Need full landing page (landing-page-builder)
Naming features	Need brand names (namer agent)
Improving resonance	Need SEO optimization (seo-audit)
Extracting voice of customer	Need to find communities (customer-discovery)

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Replace user research interviews
• Guarantee conversion (testing required)
• Provide word lists (see power-words for that)
• Write full marketing campaigns