DobieCore Learn

Lesson 2.5

Explain Your Business in Plain English

Now that you have chosen your Unique Selling Proposition, you need to be able to explain your business in language that your ideal customer can understand immediately.

Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain what your business does in language that an ordinary customer can understand. You will use the business information you have already developed to create clear descriptions without jargon, vague marketing language, or unnecessary complexity.

The goal is not to make your business sound smaller or less professional. The goal is to make it easier to understand.

Use This When

Use this lesson when:

  • People regularly ask what your business actually does.
  • Your current description sounds technical, formal, or overly complicated.
  • You rely on industry terms that customers may not understand.
  • Your website explains your process but not the practical result.
  • You need a clear description for social media, directories, networking, proposals, or customer conversations.
  • AI keeps producing polished descriptions that do not sound natural or useful.
  • You understand your business well but struggle to explain it simply.

Before You Start

Have the following available:

  • Your Business Profile from Lesson 2.1
  • Your Ideal Customer Profile from Lesson 2.2
  • Your Business Difference Profile from Lesson 2.3
  • Your Unique Selling Proposition from Lesson 2.4
  • Your Brand Voice Profile from Module 1
  • Your current website description, About section, social bio, brochure copy, or other existing explanation of your business, if available

Paste or upload this information before using the conversation prompt. AI cannot simplify or evaluate existing business language unless it can see the original material.

Conversation Prompt

I want to explain my business in plain English so an ordinary customer can quickly understand what I do, who I help, and why it matters.

I will provide my Business Profile, Ideal Customer Profile, Business Difference Profile, Unique Selling Proposition, and any existing business description I have.

Review the information before writing. Do not fill gaps with assumptions about my business, customers, services, or industry. If anything is unclear, ask me before proceeding.

Please do the following:

  1. Explain what my business does in simple, direct language.
  2. Identify any industry jargon, technical terms, vague phrases, or unnecessary wording in my current description.
  3. Replace those terms with language a customer would naturally understand.
  4. Focus on the customer’s problem, the help I provide, and the practical result.
  5. Do not exaggerate, invent claims, or make my business sound larger than it is.
  6. Do not use empty marketing phrases such as: o innovative solutions o exceptional service o cutting-edge o one-stop shop o passionate about helping o committed to excellence unless the information I provide gives a specific, verifiable reason to use them.
  7. Create these versions: o A one-sentence description o A short two-to-three-sentence description

o A customer-friendly paragraph o A version for someone who knows nothing about my industry o A simple answer to the question, “What do you do?”

  1. Tell me which version is clearest and explain why.
  2. Ask follow-up questions if any important part of my business is still unclear.

Keep the language natural, specific, and easy to say out loud.

Dobie Tip

Plain English does not mean childish language. It means removing anything that makes the reader work harder than necessary.

Your customers should not need to understand your industry before they can understand your business.

A clear explanation usually answers three questions:

  • Who do you help?
  • What do you help them do or solve?
  • What practical result do they receive?

You may know the technical name for every part of your service. Your customer may only know that something is frustrating, confusing, expensive, slow, or not working. Start where the customer is standing.

Follow-Up Questions

After AI responds, continue the conversation with questions such as:

  • “Which words in my original description were likely to confuse a customer?”
  • “What part of this explanation still sounds vague?”
  • “Rewrite this so it sounds more like something I would naturally say.”
  • “Remove anything that sounds corporate or overly polished.”
  • “Make the customer’s problem more obvious.”
  • “Make the result clearer without making promises I cannot support.”
  • “Would a person outside my industry understand this on the first read?”
  • “What questions might a customer still have after reading this?”
  • “Give me a version written for a first-time customer.”
  • “Give me a version I could use in a local business directory.”
  • “Give me a version suitable for my social media bio.”
  • “Read this as a skeptical customer. What feels unclear or unproven?”
  • “Help me explain this without using the name of my industry.”
  • “Which sentence sounds most natural when spoken aloud?”

Expected Result

By the end of this lesson, you should have:

  • A clear one-sentence business description
  • A short business summary
  • A customer-friendly paragraph
  • A description for people unfamiliar with your industry
  • A natural answer to “What do you do?”
  • A list of jargon or vague language to avoid
  • A clearer understanding of how customers describe the problem you solve

These descriptions should be specific enough to explain your business but flexible enough to reuse in different situations.

Save This

Plain-English Business Description

Clear, natural language that explains your business to ordinary customers.

  • Your one-sentence description
  • Your short description
  • Your customer-friendly paragraph
  • Your “What do you do?” response
  • Your approved customer-friendly terms
  • Your list of jargon or vague phrases to avoid
  • Date or version reviewed
  • Evidence label for each claim: Confirmed / Observed / Inferred / Unknown

You can reuse this resource in:

  • Website copy
  • About pages
  • Social media profiles
  • Business directories
  • Proposals
  • Networking introductions
  • Email signatures
  • Brochures
  • AI conversations
  • Sales and customer-service materials

Keep the original detailed business information too. The plain-English version is not a replacement for every technical explanation. It is the front door.

Why This Matters

Customers cannot choose a business they do not understand. When a business description is filled with jargon, broad claims, or complicated explanations, the customer has to interpret what the business actually does. Most people will not spend much time solving that puzzle.

Clear language builds trust because it helps the customer understand:

  • whether the business is relevant to them
  • whether it solves their problem
  • what they can expect
  • what makes the business a possible fit

Clear language also improves AI output. When AI receives a complicated or vague description, it often repeats that same confusion in website copy, social posts, emails, and sales materials. A strong plain-English description gives future AI conversations a reliable foundation.

Common Mistakes

Trying to include everything. A business description does not need to explain every product, service, process, credential, and possibility. Its first job is to help someone understand the business. Details can come later.

Leading with the process instead of the result. Customers may not care about every tool, method, framework, or technical step. They usually care first about what problem is solved and what becomes easier afterward.

Using language customers would never use. Industry terminology may be accurate without being helpful. Pay attention to how real customers describe their needs, frustrations, and goals.

Making the description too broad. Phrases such as “We help businesses grow” or “We provide solutions for your needs” could describe almost anything. Specific language is easier to trust and remember.

Removing all personality. Clear does not have to mean flat. The description should still sound like the business owner and reflect the Brand Voice Profile created in Module 1.

Letting AI invent a cleaner story. AI may try to fill gaps with assumptions, services, customer types, or benefits that were never provided. Review every description for factual accuracy.

Confusing simple with short. A short sentence can still be vague. The goal is not merely fewer words. The goal is easier understanding.

Coming Up Next

Lesson 2.6: Create an Elevator Pitch

Now that you can explain your business clearly, the next lesson will help you turn that explanation into a concise introduction for conversations, networking, videos, and quick business descriptions. You will create an elevator pitch that sounds natural, useful, and believable rather than rehearsed or sales-heavy.