What does that even mean?

In the spirit of WTF does your startup actually do comes a follow-up as the title suggests:

What does that even mean?

You’ve clearly defined your value proposition with a relevant message, and your audience is also extremely clear, but your copy is absolutely unclear.

A wild example is when you’re saying you provide an ultra-hyper-multi-level-super-retargeting solution, only ‘retargeting’ tells us what you actually do, the rest makes us ask what it even means and grants no added value, nor positions yourself different than other retargeting solutions.

Sometimes this is done in hopes to inject as many buzzwords within your tagline or explainer, sometimes it is an attempt to make you sound slick or futuristic or “disruptive”, and sometimes it is because your competitor said it better and you’re hoping to differentiate yourself.

But you need to look back and ask yourself if your audience would really understand what you mean (you could try the mommy test). Would they be able to find you without being referred to you (will anyone actually search for ultra, hyper, or super…retargeting)?

The good news is that you may be closer than you think. You could possibly pivot and say it differently, or take a step back, look at your value proposition, and simply write it all out…and only then edit to make it clear and concise.

At the end of the day, your value needs to be straightforward, and if you’re simply adding words to make it sound cooler, different, and without practicality…then you’re actually making it much more difficult for your audience to understand why they may need you.