How To Make Your Business Easier For Customers To Understand

You have been told to keep things simple a million times. You know this, and yet we both know that advice is easier said than done - it’s so easy to get caught up in everything that’s happening (or should be happening), and then add in industry jargon, complex product features, or over-the-top marketing strategies. At the end of the day, if your customers can’t understand what it is that you do or what you offer, they will simply move on to someone else who can make things clearer for them. 

The question has to be then, how do you cut through all the noise and complexities and make your business easier for customers to understand? Let’s take a look at some of your options; read on to find out more. 

Speak Their Language 

First and foremost, if you’re going to make your business easier for customers to understand, you’re going to need to stop using technical jargon - just because you, your employees, and your partners and suppliers know what it means, that doesn’t mean your customers will, and, the truth is that most of the time they’ll have no idea because it’s not something they’ve ever had to learn or think about. Nor should they, as that is why they are hiring YOU!

We know it’s tempting to use industry-specific terms that can sound impressive, but if they’re not helping your customers in any way, why bother? Most likely, your customers may feel a tinge of being impressed, but that will quickly lead to them feeling lost, confused, and potentially entirely alienated. Your goal in business has to be to communicate with them, not to show off how many buzzwords you know. If your customers have to google everything you’re saying, they’re not going to be around for very long. 

So let's start by thinking about how your customers talk. What phrases do they (or would they) use when they’re describing their problems? What words do they use when they’re talking about what they need to fix those problems? By including that language in your marketing materials, on your website, and, when you’re talking face-to-face with your customers, they’ll be able to understand you better and they’ll feel like you understand them too, which builds trust and leads to closing more sales. 

Simplify Your Offering 

Do you offer many products or services? If so, you could accidentally be confusing your customers. Remember, a confused mind, rarely buys. It’s imperative to make it easy for customers to understand what you’re selling and how it will help them. 

Instead of throwing everything at everyone all at once, think about organizing your products or services into clear categories and limit it to three if possible. Make sure you offer easy-to-read and understandable descriptions of every category as well as the value from selecting that package.  

Create A User-Friendly Website

Your website is most likely going to be the first point of contact between your business and your potential customers. When they get there and it’s hard to navigate, it’s cluttered with too much information, it’s slow to load, or littered with spelling mistakes (among plenty of other issues), they’re more likely to leave quickly (the term for that is ‘bounce’) and they’ll never actually get to know how you could help them. Even if you’ve got the ideal solution for them, they won't take the time to find it and simply go somewhere else. 

So of course, that means your website has to be user-friendly. This includes a clean, clear, simple design, making sure your menus work properly and are logical. If you ensure everything you do is done to make it as easy as possible for customers to find what they’re looking for on your site, you’ll be on the right track. 

And don’t forget the mobile experience either; depending on your industry, that's even more important. From an SEO perspective, if your site is not mobile-friendly, your ranking will be lowered. 

Use Visuals To Explain

Sometimes, words by themselves just aren’t enough to explain something. If your expertise is particularly complicated or there are lots of moving parts - it’s just going to end up being too technical and confusing (and please note that we’re not suggesting your customers can’t grasp complex ideas, it’s just that that’s not what they’ve come to you for; they’ve come to you for solutions and probably don’t have time to read a whole novel’s worth of information about something before they can know if it’s what they want or need). 

That’s why visuals are so important and how using them more can help your customers understand your business faster. You can use diagrams, infographics, videos, and good images to help convey information quickly and effectively. 

Plus, visuals are handy if you want to break up some text-heavy content, making it more engaging and far easier to digest, which is really what everyone is going to be happy to find on your website. When you’re making your visuals, the best thing to do is to keep them simple but relevant - keep those two words in mind and you’ll have a great result in the end that your customers love and don’t get confused by. 

Packaging For Your Customers 

If you’ve got products to sell, you’ll need to have packaging. A mistake that is easy to make is thinking that packaging is just about how a product looks when it’s on a shelf or a website, and that kind of design idea is indeed important. It also has the opportunity to tell your customers everything they need to know about what they’re buying - it's an opportunity to connect, so make it count. 

Whatever design you land on for your packaging, needs to be clear and concise - the more straightforward the better. You’ll need to include the product name, key benefits, and instructions for use if there are any in an easy-to-read and understandable way. When it comes to medication or anything health-based, there are some important rules you have to follow, and it’s usually best to get help from experts in patient adherence solutions to ensure you’re doing the right thing - when it comes to people’s health, there’s no point in taking any risks. 

No matter what you’re selling, the packaging should be simple, easy to read, and memorable - the adage of less is more is the way to go. 

Offer Clear Pricing 

One of the most confusing things for customers is pricing - or at least it can be if you’ve not thought things through or if your business offers a few different options and pricing tiers, packages, and add-ons. It’s crucial to make your pricing as simple as possible so - once again - it’s easy for people to understand. 

It’s wise to offer a clear breakdown of what’s included in each pricing tier or package, and use simple language - plus, avoid hidden fees at all costs otherwise you’re going to find people stop trusting you and they might even warn others against using you. Transparency is key here, and customers are always going to appreciate businesses that are upfront about their costs and what they’re going to get for their money.

Remember, the easier you make it for a potential client to understand the value you provide, the easier it will be for them to say "yes". The easier you make it for them to do business with you, the faster they will say, "yes".