Joint and several liability protection. It’s a bloody genius idea. Don’t be left responsible for your housemate’s share of the rent if they stop paying the landlord. It’s probably the sort of thing you want after the horse has bolted. Who assumes their housemates are arseholes when they move in together? But if you’re stung in this way, you’ll definitely wish you had it. Let’s assume you have a cynical view of the world. Let’s assume that one of your lovely cohabiters is likely to screw you over. Well kudos on your forethought. Off you go to go and acquire some of that joint and several liability protection.
But let’s be honest, would you know what to search for? OK, maybe you’re not the right person to ask that question to. If you’re reading this, you’re likely to be in the prop-tech space. You probably frequently drop terms like “rent indemnity period” and “assured shorthold tenancy”. I’m sure makes you a hoot at dinner parties but most people do not think or speak in this language. In fact, even when told the words most people have no idea what they mean.
This creates a problem in the prop-tech space.
There are many incredible solutions out there to very real problems that many consumers have. The trouble is they have no idea how to describe the problem they are facing or the solution they are looking for.
Let’s go back to our previous example. “Joint and several liability protection” – a fantastic idea for -house sharers. Most house sharers are younger, but there’s probably not many fifty year olds who’d be able to summon such a term. People are more likely to say, “I want to be covered in case my housemate doesn’t pay their share of the rent”. It actually makes “joint and several liability protection” look like a snappy moniker in comparison.
And here’s the crux of the matter; prop-tech deals with some quite wordy and convoluted scenarios, the terminology for which is often unknown to their target users. How is anyone going to discover your business if they don’t know what to search for. Many won’t even know the problem or solution exists.
This isn’t an issue unique to prop-tech, but it is a pertinent one within this space. You know the exact term for your problem and solution, but your customer doesn’t. This means there can be a real disconnect and that even if a prospect stumbles across your website, they’ve no idea what they’re looking at.
A huge disadvantage is in the realm of SEO. If people aren’t searching for what you sell or don’t know the terms, then you are missing out on a rich source of traffic. Do you then rebrand your product? No longer “Joint and several liability protection” and instead “Don’t get screwed”. Catchier certainly. And also, more like the language your customer will use but not describing the problem correctly.
Well, is that an issue?
You might recoil a bit from such a colloquial term, but if it works for the personas you are targeting, then it’s a hell of a lot better than “joint and several liability protection”
People might very well be searching for variations on “don’t get screwed by your housemate”. It’s easier to remember and once heard, it emotes and should make explanation simpler.
And here’s the thing with a lot of prop-tech, you’re double selling; first you must sell the problem, then you must sell the solution. You don’t want to muddy those waters further by having to explain the name of your solution.
So don’t, speak in their terms if it suits your brand and your target audience. You can engineer some more effective long tail keyword ad copy which may appeal to few people but mean more to those it does resonate with. If few people know of the problem, then use social, PR and display to inform of the problem. Then align search ads with the terms you use in those mediums. If the search volumes aren’t there, then you’ll have to create them, but do it in your customers language not your own.
