One way to tell your business story when you work in a technical industry

When we're starting to tell someone about our business, it's really easy to jump right into the technical speak. We've all done it because, in my business, I'm the expert, and in your business, you're the expert, and we want to tell people the details.

If you work in a very technical area, you might need to explain quite a lot of the technical issues associated with your product or service. However, to the person who is not working in your business, including perhaps your customers, the technical aspect is not the most compelling part of your story.

You need to tell people the ‘why’ behind what you do. Why does it matter to them?

Being too technical with your content can mean there is no really compelling reason for people to engage in that content or with your product, service or business, and more importantly, to take action from reading it or hearing about it. Whether your message is there to encourage them to buy a product or invest in one or join your company if you’re advertising for a job, for example, it doesn't compel the person to take action.

If we talk about what the product physically does and how it works, and so on, what we're not doing is saying why that person should be buying it, and if they don't buy it, why they're going to have a serious issue.

You need to dig deeper. What do you give them that they really need? Why should they buy from you, or invest in you, or work with you, and not another company?

The 5 why's is an approach to problem-solving - I sometimes use it to help clients in my strategy workshops to find out their own 'why'

There is a technique I use called the 5 Whys to really get into the motivation behind your customers’ decision to buy from you. You start with a statement about what you think you do as a business and what you’re trying to help people with. Then you look at that and ask why again. You keep breaking it down and thinking about the difference your product or service makes.

You will end up with something far less technical, and more human-focused, which really gets to the crux of the issue for your customer and makes you the obvious choice.

If you would like help to come up with your definitive message get in touch or check out my services on this topic.

I also talk you through this process in 10 mins in my podcast episode 06 What's Your Story?

I'd love to know if you tried this approach and if it worked for you? there's more on the podcast 'what's your story? how to create messages with impact' on all major platforms just search Communication Strategy That Works or Emma Drake or listen on my website where you will find an RSS feed.