Tech speak vs human speak: translating complex offerings into clear customer messages

Have you ever wondered why you can drive traffic to your website, but visitors aren't engaging?

For most tech SMEs in the UK, this is a problem that I see happening time and time again: small companies spend so much effort creating great products and services, but when it comes to communicating to a desired audience, they blurt out technobabble and present functionalities of the product or service as if it is a benefit. 

I recently went to the Big Data LDN Conference to see what data companies were saying and how they were different from one another, and honestly, I couldn’t tell them apart. Most companies were spending their time shouting about how they can solve data warehouse issues and streamline data flows into their dashboards. 

Frankly, nothing resonated with me. The businesses there, I am sure, had fantastic products/services and would provide exceptional customer service, but beyond the look of the booth and going by their pricing, I would have nothing that would make me feel loyal or connected to any of them. 

Now, the same is true for small tech companies’ websites; most of the time, the websites say exactly what they were saying on the booth, and to some, this is good, it is consistent and aligned. But here’s the reality: the technobabble on the site may as well be hieroglyphics. 

The subsequent action of the customer is to head to your competitor's website, see if they say it better and clearer, or they decide based on how pretty the website is, and who is offering the best price. 

The downside of this for small tech companies is that this becomes a race to the bottom. Bargain basement prices, where the business stalls and fails to grow. This is because they can’t charge more, so they end up hoping that they can then grow through volume of sales. This is where we get into the vicious cycle of the poor narrative complex.

Fun fact: According to Proxima research, 53% of marketing budgets are wasted due to ineffective execution, poor targeting, and unclear messaging. 

The poor narrative complex

If you look at most businesses and ask employees what they do and what their company does, they’ll be able to tell you. If you delve deeper, you may even learn how they do what they do. 

But if you ever asked them why they do what they do, they most likely would recite the vision and mission statements. The truth is, you need to go deeper and showcase the values you emulate through everything your business does and the people within it. 

The language barrier

Technical founders are often in the weeds; they know every detail of the product and therefore default to “tech speak”. This is because they believe that their product/services can do that they made the bold decision and created it, so why wouldn’t they want to shout from the rooftops, this is WHAT it does. 

This is totally fair. It is important to explain what your product/service does and what the company does. It is vital to show how the features are beneficial as well. It is the way that the majority of businesses communicate, and some of them are really doing well, and others are doing okay, so why shouldn’t you do the same, right? 

Well, I’d argue it is rare for someone to make a real purchasing decision based on features. Yes, it is part of the decision-making process, but it doesn’t give you the warm and fuzzies. It is not always the case that the best tech wins; look at Betamax vs VHS as an example. The features of a product that make you #1 don’t matter if you can’t portray the benefit.

In truth, continuing to message with features as though they are benefits and talking about what your company does is a fast track to alienating customers, because not everyone knows what the acronyms and deep tech details mean, and therefore, it doesn’t convey real value. 

So how do you translate? 

Firstly, we are people, and people tell stories; this has been the case since time began. So you need to be able to create a narrative that is higher and more engaging than the WHAT you do. You need to be able to decipher your messages into human-centric stories. 

Secondly, you need to look at your features, and then you need to critically evaluate each feature and define what that feature does to benefit a company. 

For example, a business that exhibited at Big Data LDN has a platform, and one of the features of the platform is as follows:

"Authentication & Security: Manage user access and ensure system integrity."

To most people, this sounds okay and understandable, but let me show you how to turn this into a much better, more humanised benefit.

Authentication & Security

• Lock out the wrong people, let the right ones in, and never lose sleep over system breaches.

• Give users instant access while keeping hackers permanently locked outside the door.

• Protect your data fortress with military-grade access control, no cracks, no leaks, no compromises.

• Authentication so airtight, you’ll forget what security panic feels like.

• Your system’s bouncer jacked up; only the VIPs get in. 

Customers want it spelt out to them in terms that they can understand. Therefore, it is critical that businesses deliberately simplify their messages, find ways to resonate with their audience based on the company and, most importantly, the people of the company’s values, and cause them to really start connecting, to improve lead flow and increase sales without resorting to price reductions. 

Some practical steps 

In order for your business to communicate effectively, you need to:

1. Really get under the hood of who your ideal customer is, you need to be able to think what his or her day might look like, in fine detail. This will get you into their psyche.

2. Write down every feature and function of your product or service, and break that down into real benefits that your customer needs or desires. 

3. Break that down into an offer, and put it into writing in terms that talk to the customer's desires.

4. Back it up with a guarantee that removes the risk for them to purchase your product. 

   
   

In closing

No matter how good your product or service is, and no matter what the functions and features are, you are talking to humans; therefore, you must be able to connect with your audience on a human level. 

This doesn’t just mean that you need to do it from the product level; this has to start from the business's main narrative and then filter into the products and services you provide, as they are an extension of your business's values and desires. 

Messages that are able to connect on a human level are the best way to build stronger connections with your customers and improve trust. 

If you’re interested in learning more about how to do this, then we are currently offering two free messaging workshops that will:

Feature	Benefit
Define your just cause/why	So that you: Stop blending in, uncover the reason your business exists and make customers rally behind you. Get crystal-clear on your why so every pitch, post and product makes people lean in instead of tune out.
Align your values with how you deliver	So that you: Have no more empty value statements on the ‘About us’ page, and turn your values into actions your customers can see, feel and trust. Bridge the gap between what you say and what you do, so that your team lives it, and your customers believe it.
Clarify exactly what you do	So that you: Cut the waffle. In two hours, you’ll explain what you do so clearly that even your grandma, or a distracted investor, will understand it.  Never lose an opportunity again because people didn’t ‘get it’, you’ll walk away with a story that sticks.

If this is of interest, I urge you to contact me: hello@moonbeam.marketing we can set up your messaging workshop, and then work on creating great offers, guarantees, and practical sales funnels to increase your leads and prospects. Or learn more here.