Explaining complicated services and unique value
A few years back, clients at Produxs in Seattle turned that old saying about the cobbler's children having no shoes on its head. (Or feet?)
Produxs was a user experience (UX) design firm, which means they were experts in designing interactive experiences ... websites, apps, software and the like. But like many companies, they were busy working and making money, and the work they wanted to do on their own website sat on the back burner.
The outsider advantage
When I began working with Produxs as its writer/communicator-on-call, the team invited me to click through the site and offer up a new visitor's perspective.
I made a list of what I considered to be the good, the bad and the much-needed. Most of what I suggested had to do with words and content, as I'm not a designer, but I did note any confusing or time-consuming navigation problems. From my perspective as an outsider and non-UX expert, I thought the company's biggest communication challenge was explaining clearly what UX design is and why it matters – i.e., why potential clients should want to spend their money on Produxs services.
This is something tech companies of all sizes struggle with, and I see the same issues over and over again. Companies often rely on popular catchphrases and industry jargon that don't help the target customer understand their value. This usually leads to their marketing copy sounding nearly identical to their competitors' copy.
Everyone is driving growth, increasing ROI, "leveraging" everything imaginable, creating "meaningful" experiences, guaranteeing measurable results, etc.
Leveraging no jargon
Together, we worked on new website copy that explained their complex skills and unique value in a straightforward, conversational way – avoiding generic, unhelpful jargon whenever possible.
A few months later, Produxs unveiled a streamlined, inviting new home on the web, and I'm proud to have been involved in the word-smithing part of the project. When Produxs merged with Peak Systems to become UpTop, a UX design, development and usability research firm, I also wrote the content for UpTop's new home on the web.
