Telling your own story on your own terms

David Moss and David Rowan at the Northern Tech Awards 2019

I recently heard a story that immediately made me want to jump up out of my chair and shout “yes! That’s why I do what I do!” ...But I was at an awards ceremony watching an interview onstage, so that probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.

I was at the Northern Tech Awards, and David Moss, CTO of automation company Blue Prism, was onstage telling journalist David Rowan about his company’s journey.

He explained how back when the company began, few in the business world understood how automation could help them do more with their resources. There wasn’t a handy, widely-understood term like ‘SAP’ or ‘ERP’ to define their category of software as it was just starting out.

So they invented their own.

‘Robotic Process Automation’ (or RPA) is a hot field right now, with companies like Blue Prism and UiPath attracting the business of big corporations looking to get more done, faster by automating the systems they already use. But while CTOs across the world will have an ‘RPA strategy’ nowadays, back in the early days of the 21st century, Robotic Process Automation was simply a phrase Blue Prism invented to describe what they do.

Moss explained that once they could put what they did into a few words, it helped their business take off. Selling became much easier because there was a clarity of communication they’d previously lacked.

In Blue Prism’s case, they invented an entire category of software to help them define their market. This certainly isn’t necessary for most tech startups, but the lesson from Blue Prism is that giving prospective customers, journalists, and investors a linguistic hook to peg your company onto is important for getting across a complex product in just a few words.

I started Big Revolution because companies often need help with this. Even if they have a talented marketing team, they can often be too close to the product and the company to explain it in simple, but unique terms. When you know a product inside out, you often know it too well to explain it simply.

Taking a step back is important, and having someone with an experience eye to stand back with you and help make sense of what you see is even more important.

Drop me a line if you’d like Big Revolution to better communicate everything it is that you do.