Highlight The Problems Your Product Solves, Not Just It’s Attributes
Too many products are marketed like spec sheets.
Faster. Lighter. Smarter. More powerful. More features than the competition. On paper, it all sounds impressive. In reality, most audiences skim straight past it.
The reason is simple. People do not buy products because of what they are. They buy them because of what they fix.
At Hiatus, we see the products that gain traction are rarely the ones with the longest list of attributes. They are the ones that clearly articulate a problem the audience recognises, feels, and wants solved.
Attributes explain. Problems persuade.
Attributes are factual. They describe the thing you have built. Screen resolution, battery life, AI integration, compliance standards, processing speed.
Problems are emotional and situational. They describe the friction your customer experiences before your product exists in their world.
An attribute might be “real-time data visualisation”.
The problem is “decision makers operating with incomplete or outdated information”.
An attribute might be “secure, cloud-based architecture”.
The problem is “teams wasting time and taking risks because their data lives in silos”.
When messaging leads with attributes, it asks the audience to do the hard work themselves, to connect the dots and imagine how those features might help them. Most will not bother. When messaging leads with problems, the relevance is immediate.
Your audience already knows their pain
One of the biggest mistakes brands make is assuming they need to educate customers about their technology before addressing the problem. In reality, most buyers are acutely aware of what is not working.
They feel the inefficiency. They see the delays. They know where risk is creeping in. They are frustrated by tools that almost help, but not quite.
Effective messaging mirrors that internal dialogue back to them. It says, “We understand the challenge you are facing, and we built this specifically to address it.”
Only after that trust is established do attributes matter, and even then, only in service of the problem being solved.
Problems create narrative. Attributes create noise.
Humans think in stories, not bullet points.
A product framed around a problem has a beginning, tension, and resolution. There is a before and an after. There is a reason the product exists.
A product framed purely around attributes becomes noise in an already crowded market. Another dashboard. Another platform. Another solution claiming to be best in class.
This is especially critical in complex or technical sectors. Defence, security, space, health, and XR are full of incredible engineering. But engineering alone does not create adoption. Clear narrative does.
When you articulate the problem well, your product feels inevitable rather than optional.
Internal clarity drives external clarity
Brands that struggle to communicate externally often have not fully aligned internally on the problem they exist to solve.
Ask a few simple questions:
What specific frustration disappears when someone uses our product?
What risk is reduced, removed, or better managed?
What task becomes easier, faster, or more reliable?
What happens if our product does not exist?
If the answers vary wildly across your team, that inconsistency will show in your messaging.
At Hiatus, much of our work starts here. Not with visuals, interfaces, or campaigns, but with clarity around the core problem. Design becomes significantly easier once that is locked in.
Attributes still matter, but they come second
This is not an argument against features or performance. Attributes are proof points. They justify belief. They help buyers compare options once interest is established.
But they should support the story, not replace it.
Lead with the problem. Show you understand the reality your audience is operating in. Then demonstrate how your product addresses that reality better than the alternatives.
If you get that order right, your messaging stops shouting and starts resonating.
And resonance is what drives adoption, trust, and long-term growth.
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