The One Thing SO Many Companies Get Wrong That’s So Easy To Get Right.

After working with, talking to, and perusing multiple companies over the years, few get their company description right. And this is the essence and root of where almost all of their problems begin and can potentially end.

According to Gartner, your sales reps have roughly 5% of a customer’s time during their B2B buying journey. That means they do the upfront work themselves before they talk to a sales rep. TL;DR: prospects don't have time or patience to go fishing around your website to figure out what it is you do. Stop making it hard for them.

If the average six-year-old can’t understand what your company does, the average business won’t, either. Worst of all, you won't stand out from your competitors.

Let’s take this example below that sounds like so many tech companies today.

XYZ is at the forefront of disruption that is revolutionizing the way companies harness data so they can make better decisions, faster. Leveraging AI, machine learning, and real-time data, XYZ accelerates trusted business outcomes by using real-time granular insights that help businesses pinpoint areas that need action through instant AR cues.

Ummm -- what the what? Seriously, what on earth does this company do? What did we just read?

Yes, it’s fictional but this description could fit so many of the companies springing up everywhere (we’ve actually taken bits and pieces from real-life companies to make it). And what breaks our marketing hearts is that SO MANY COMPANIES SOUND THE SAME -- especially in the software/tech space.

Side note: please don’t take for granted that the universe knows what things like machine learning and AR (ahem, augmented reality) are. While they may be the latest buzzwords, from a consumer standpoint, they're no bueno.

Instead, this fictional XYZ company could say:

XYZ is a customer insight and action platform that takes the guesswork out of why customers are unhappy and helps keep them. Unlike other platforms,  XYZ eliminates the soul-crushing part of knowing what to do with data when you get it. XYZ automatically groups unhappy customers into categories and gives employees the tools to retain them faster.

Better. But would a six-year-old understand that? Hmm, maybe not. How about this below?

XYZ is a customer insight and action platform that helps companies turn customer frowns upside down. XYZ eliminates the time and grunt work it takes to identify unhappy customers so you can fix their problems before it’s too late.

Is this perfect? Maybe not. It’s fictional and done in 10 minutes, but hopefully, you get where we are going here. Simplicity and humanizing how you solve business problems are key.

Are your customers six? Probably not, but some of the stakeholders won’t understand or care about the latest buzzwords and mumbo jumbo your competitors say. They want to know how you are going to make their lives easier AND make them look good. You’ve got to grab their attention, FAST. They don’t have time to Google what the heck you actually do. And if you get to a website that has the frown upside down comment vs the buzzword bingo bonanza  (BBB) -- which one will grab your attention? (If you choose BBB, we can’t be friends).

Here’s what we suggest:

1. Find a six-year-old, or ten-year-old (you get it) and explain what your company does. Do they understand? Do your grandparents? Crazy Aunt Jada?

2. DUMB. IT. DOWN.

3. Make sure it isn’t boring and embodies your brand personality and tone. If you don’t have that, please contact us.

4. Make sure your sales, marketing, customer success, support AND product teams get it.  We can’t tell you how many times we’ve worked at or with tech companies and realize half of the marketers don’t even understand the value proposition of the product or brand they are working on.

5. Don’t be a copycat.

Remember when you were told not to do something, but still did it, just because the cool kids were? Well, you can be cooler and braver by speaking English and standing out. Because let’s face it: that sea of sameness shite isn’t going to make your consumers swipe right.

If you need help, think of us as your own personal Richard Marx. We’ll be right here waiting for you.