Your CEO can explain your product in 30 seconds on a sales call. But your website takes 3 minutes of scrolling and visitors still don't understand what you do.

The problem? You're speaking engineer when your buyers are listening in customer.

This isn't about "dumbing down" your product or website. It's about translating technical capabilities into business outcomes.

Here's how to fix it without losing your technical credibility.

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The Translation Problem (Why This Happens)

The pattern we see constantly:

• Founders/CTOs are too close to the product
• They lead with "how it works" instead of "what it solves"
• Feature lists replace outcome statements
• Technical accuracy > clarity for buyers

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Real example from our work:

• Before: "A modern Listserv for today's world."
• After: "Easy group communication for HOAs using regular email"
• Same feature. Completely different impact.

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Why this kills conversions:

• Business buyers evaluate differently than technical buyers
• They need to justify budget, not understand architecture
• Decision committees include non-technical stakeholders
• Your competitor's simpler message wins

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The Three-Layer Translation Framework

Layer 1: The Business Outcome (What changes)

Not what your product does but what the customer can do/achieve/avoid by using your product. Clear measurable business impact will always win over very technical explaination of your product

Frame: "You'll be able to..." not "Our platform provides..."

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Layer 2: The Value Prop (Why it matters)

The pain point this solves for business AND Cost of NOT solving it. Tell users if they can save time, earn more money, be more cost effective, reducing risk or reduce operational complexity.

Frame: "Instead of..." or "Without needing to..."

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Layer 3: The Technical Proof (How it's possible)

NOW you can mention the technical capability. But only as evidence of the outcome. Keep it brief, link to technical docs for depth but never over explain it.

Frame: "Powered by..." or "Built on..."

The Formula: [Outcome] + [Why it matters] + [Technical credibility]

NOT: [Technical feature] + [How it works] + [More features]

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Translating Your Most Common Features

For data-heavy products (like wealth management software):

• Don't show: Full dashboard screenshots with 47 data points
• Do show: "See your entire portfolio risk in one number" (with simplified visual)
• Technical teams hate this. Buyers love it.

For AI/ML products:

• Don't say: "Machine learning algorithm analyzes behavioral patterns"
• Do say: "Get alerts 3 days before a customer churns" (powered by ML)
• Save the algorithm talk for the technical deep-dive page

For integration/platform plays:

• Don't lead with: "RESTful API with OAuth 2.0"
• Do lead with: "Works with the tools you already use" (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
• Show integrations visually, not in a bulleted list

For complex workflows:

• Don't show: 12-step process diagram or a dashboard screenshot
• Do show: Before state (chaos) → After state (simple)
• Use customer quote: "Used to take 3 people, now it's automated"

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The "Technical Buyer" Objection

"But our buyers ARE technical"

Even technical buyers make decisions based on outcomes first. They evaluate technical specs AFTER deciding if it solves their problem.

Most times, you don't need to sell your product to the tech team but to the leadership team who then need to approve budgets, check compliance or see how it intergrates with current stack.

Two-path approach:

• Homepage/product pages: Outcome-driven (for everyone)
• Technical/Solution pages: Feature-specs (linked prominently)
• Let buyers self-select their depth

Example structure:

• "Automatically sync customer data across your stack" ← Everyone understands this
• [Link: See technical architecture] ← Technical buyers go here
• Both are happy. Nobody is confused.

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Before You Rewrite Everything

The audit questions to ask:

1. Can a non-technical person explain what we do after 30 seconds on our homepage?
2. Do we lead with "what" or "how"?
3. Can someone understand our value WITHOUT clicking anything?
4. Are we solving problems or listing features?
5. Would our customers use our language to describe what we do?

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Quick wins (no redesign needed):

• Rewrite your H1 and subheader using the 3-layer framework
• Replace one product screenshot with a before/after customer outcome
• Add a "without [your product]" section showing the alternative
• Move technical specs to an expandable section below the fold

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When to call in help: If you've tried this and it still feels like you're translating Greek to Greek, you probably need a copywriter who specialises in technical products. Not a generalist. Someone who can interview your technical team AND your customers.

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Conclusion: The Copy Test

Before you publish any page, read it to someone outside your industry. If they can't repeat back what you do, your copy isn't ready.

The best SaaS websites sound like they were written by your best salesperson, not your CTO. Technical accuracy matters - but only after you've earned the right to explain it.

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Next step: Run your homepage through this framework. If more than 50% of your copy is features/technical specs rather than outcomes, you've found your conversion problem.