Grandma marketing gut-checks

When it comes to marketing, I live and breathe by the idea that if my grandma can’t understand what the heck I’m talking about - then my messaging sucks and I need to simplify it. And as it so happens, one of my coworkers recently wrote about how she feels like an old lady because she is always late to adopt new technology. Besides being hilariously relatable, it got me thinking.I run into so many innovative SaaS/MarTech companies (mine included) that could definitely improve their messaging to be more relatable and easily digestible.So, here are three ways to conduct your grandma gut-check and improve your SaaS and MarTech messaging.*One note - my team is currently in the process of making improvements to our own messaging... just so you won’t read this and think we’re total hypocrites. We’re taking our own advice here people!

1- Go back to your why

At my company, we build (what we call) Digital Storefronts and also create hyper-local Digital Marketing campaigns that drive online to in-store traffic. That’s a fancy-schmancy explanation for WHAT we do.But that explanation doesn’t include WHY we do what we do. WHY we build all this tech is because we’re obsessed with making life easier for people to research and buy products online or in-store. So if you find yourself stuck trying to break down what your business does, take a step back and ask yourself why your business does it. Not only will you find that this makes creating marketing materials feel more natural, but it also better aligns with audience sensibilities.

2- Simplify your language, omit the fluff

After you’ve aligned your messaging with your WHY, the next step is to cut out the fluff. There’s almost nothing that alienates an audience (especially me) faster than copywriting fluff. It’s frustrating to read and it frankly wastes people’s time.Here’s an example of the type of industry jargon I’m talking about:“Drive customer adoption and innovation at scale” “Experience intelligent business solutions”“Ready-to-use engagement platform.” Recognize fluff by reading your message out loud. Now pretend you’re reading it out loud to your grandma. Would she have any idea what you’re talking about? The second easiest way to remove fluff is to toss out any industry buzzwords that seem phony and pretentious. I love this video as an example of the type of buzzwords I mean.

3- Create visuals that are appealing AND useful

Whether it’s a video, a case study, an infographic, or a presentation - visuals need to be equally helpful and eye-catching. If it’s not helping grandma understand your super intricate tech, then it’s no good.

A common trap I see from SaaS/MarTech companies is a tendency to cram too much information into a single visual. Here’s an example of a website that I thought was super cool, with tech that sounds really interesting. But while the image is appealing, it isn’t super useful because it overwhelms the viewer.

Help your content stand out by stripping away superfluous elements. For most graphic designers this is common knowledge. But to get started, take these tips from anything agency.

Incorporate Dramatic Typography
Contrast Visual Elements To Create a Focal Point
Limit The Color Palette
Use Negative Space

Grandma marketing just ain't what it used to be

Just because your tech is fancy doesn’t mean your explanation of it should be.

Remember, people will respond to your WHY way more than they do to your WHAT. Your WHY gives them something to hang onto when they forget what they’re looking at. When your copy is de-fluffed and your visuals are straight to the point, you’ll be 100% grandma approved.