Welcome to this week's issue of Unpacking Meaning. If you received this from a friend and enjoy it, subscribe here.

The hidden problem your prospects can't tell you about

Back in my software engineering days in industrial automation, I programmed interfaces for factory workers operating heavy machinery. One small UI mistake and someone could lose a finger - or worse.

I remember spending hours watching operators use these interfaces.

They'd developed all sorts of workarounds for poor design choices, never mentioning them because "that's just how it works". Sound familiar?

I noticed this LinkedIn post today that brought those memories flooding back:

It perfectly captures what I learned from those factory floors and what I'm seeing now in my message testing sessions: users adapt to friction. They struggle through a task, then immediately say "That was easy!" as if the struggle never happened.

This pattern shows up constantly in SaaS messaging. Your prospects won't tell you your value proposition is unclear or your onboarding is confusing. Like those factory workers, they've learned to live with the complexity.

And either they’ll bounce right away or they’ll go ahead, book a demo, only to realize the product’s not for them.

Well my friend, as a marketer or founder, it’s on you.

The real insights come from watching what users do, not what they say:

Where do they pause on your website?
What questions come up repeatedly in sales calls?
Which features seem to confuse them?
Where do they struggle on that sign up form?

I'm seeing this right now in usability/message testing sessions for a client. The gap between what users say and what they actually struggle with reveals major opportunities for improvement.

Most companies settle for "good enough" because users don't actively complain. But continuously optimizing your messaging and user journey isn't optional - It's how you build a base of loyal customers who stick around.

When was the last time you watched someone interact with your website or product for the first time? Not asking questions, just observing?

Let me know what you discover.

P.S. I'm always testing some new approaches to uncover these hidden friction points. Reply if you'd like to hear what’s working.

DISCOVERY

The Message-Market Fit podcast is back!

Next week I'm launching season 2 of the pod. We're starting with a banger: Dmitry Shamis, who's been Global Head of Creative at Hubspot for 8 years before diving into consulting. Don't miss it.

And if you want to listen to stories from other B2B SaaS experts and operators, check out past episodes on the site.

Have ideas for great guests with interesting takes on messaging and copy? Let me know.