New products often sound most impressive to the people who built them. A team describes an “adaptive orchestration layer” that transforms workflows. A buyer wants to know whether it will reduce duplicate data entry, who needs to set it up, and what systems it works with. The mismatch does not mean the product is simple. It means the explanation starts from the company’s architecture rather than the buyer’s task.
Plain language does not require removing important technical detail. It gives readers a clear entry point, then lets them go deeper. That matters especially when the product is new and customers do not yet know which category or comparison to use.
Begin with a real task
Describe a situation the buyer recognizes: “When a project manager receives updates across email and spreadsheets, the product gathers them into one status view.” Then explain what the product does, who uses it, and what it does not do. Use the actual workflow, not a fictional success story presented as a customer result.
Ask users how they currently perform the task. Borrow their verbs and nouns where accurate. If the team’s internal term is necessary, define it after the familiar description. GOV.UK’s interface writing guidance recommends clear labels that help people complete tasks; the same principle applies to product explanations (guidance).
Check whether the term changes across teams. Product may call a capability one thing, sales another, and support a third. Customers then see inconsistent labels across the website and onboarding. A shared glossary can help, but do not force an internal taxonomy on the buyer. Keep the user-facing labels stable and reserve specialist names for documentation where they help evaluation.
Layer the explanation
Use an introductory sentence for the buyer and problem, a concrete example for how it works, and technical detail for evaluation. A page can include an architecture diagram, integrations, security documentation, limitations, and implementation requirements without forcing every reader to start there. Headings should tell people where to find the depth they need.
Do not oversimplify claims involving safety, compliance, or performance. If the product requires human review, say so. If it supports a limited set of systems, list them. If an outcome depends on data quality or configuration, explain the dependency. Plain language increases clarity; it should not erase conditions.
Check for understanding with target users
Show the first screen to people in the intended role who have not helped build the product. Ask them to describe what it does, who would use it, and what they expect to happen after clicking the call to action. Do not coach them. Record misunderstandings and ask what wording triggered them.
Separate comprehension from interest. A person may understand the product perfectly and have no need for it. Another may be interested but misunderstand an important limitation. Use additional questions about their current process and recent behavior to assess relevance. A small test identifies language issues; it does not prove demand.
Use examples without inventing evidence
If no customers use the product yet, describe a clearly labeled hypothetical workflow or demo scenario. Do not dress it up as a case study. Show a prototype honestly and state which functions are working. If early users have tested it, get permission before quoting them and describe the scope accurately.
When using outside case studies, attribute them and distinguish the reported result from your product’s capabilities. A result from another company does not establish that a new product will achieve the same outcome. It may illustrate the type of problem or metric buyers care about, not validate your own promise.
Identify where understanding breaks
Collect repeated questions from sales calls, onboarding, and support. Are prospects unsure what is included, whether the product replaces an existing tool, or how long setup takes? Place answers at the point of uncertainty. If customers repeatedly misunderstand one technical term, replace or define it. If they know what the product does but cannot explain why it matters, strengthen the link to their task and consequences.
Check the explanation with more than one role. An end user may care about time saved; an IT reviewer may need security and integration detail; a procurement lead may need pricing and contract terms. A single headline cannot answer every question, so structure the content to let each role find the information relevant to its decision without hiding important dependencies.
Keep a version log of descriptions and what users understood. As features and target customers change, revisit the explanation. A phrase that made sense to a technical early adopter may confuse a procurement lead or frontline user. Test with the actual decision makers and users, who may be different people.
Plain language is part of the product transition
A complex product’s first job is to become imaginable to the buyer. Clear wording can help a prospect recognize a familiar task inside a new system. It cannot compensate for an unclear use case or a product that is not ready. Make the promise understandable, the limits visible, and the next step proportionate to what the product can deliver today.