You can do it, and we can help

This was a slogan I came across for one of Home Depot’s ad campaigns (a construction store).

When I read it, I thought it was brilliant.

You have to be careful distinguishing to your customers whether what you’re selling solves a problem or helps solve a problem.

The majority of companies will blatantly say they’re the first when they’re really the second.

This either leads to alienation down the line, or turns them off right away if they understand the problem they’re trying to solve.

Being accurate is the same as being honest.

There is no inherent weakness in saying you “just” help solve a problem.

If a real problem is being solved, any help will be welcomed.

While some companies will do anything to reel customers in, these are the same companies that will have to deal with high churn, taxing customer support, and negative reviews.

If you cannot convey in your marketing what your solution actually does, you will skate on thin ice and catch people by surprise.

You can fool people once, but not twice.

Taking an example in the same space, we can look at IKEA.

IKEA has a great reputation. They don’t outright say their products are the most stylish, the best materials, or the longest durability.

Their website headline is “Smart designs, low prices.”

They focus on what they actually do offer.

People instinctively know that low prices mean there is a sacrifice somewhere else (such as quality).

If you’re able to accurately transmit to the customer what you do while maintaining the highest level of professionalism, people will be intrigued about how and why you’re in business.

When your customers ask questions about you, you have their attention.

Professionalism means that people see you're serious, dedicated, and have something real to offer to the market.

Having a product that “only” helps solve people’s problems could just be the market’s limitation of the possible approach to the problem.

Rather than outright saying you solve a problem, you will want to state your position in the market and your unique value proposition compared to other solutions (if there are any).

Consider it like this:

No more manual data transfer <-> We take care of 80% of your manual data transfer <-> The cutting-edge data transfer product

Each of these conveys a different message, but only the last two can be equally true.

Using hyperbole in your messaging is traditionally an excellent way to get attention, but it might gather attention you don’t want.

Get that attention in other ways.

For example, the tech startup world has become flooded with companies that each individually claim they hold ”The Key” to your business’s success.

They believe that this is the best way to compete with the giants in the market when people have to decide the opportunity cost between software purchases.

This attitude of competitive supra-superiority has grown a large segment of hyper-skeptical customers.

These hyper-skeptical customers will often be the ones that have seen the real forefront.

More often than not, it is simply best practice to take the Home Depot approach:

"You can do it, and we can help."

You’re selling to real people.

They will appreciate the full story.

And that appreciation will turn into something far better: trust and loyalty.