Marketing "Sin" #4: Can we ix-nay all the jargon?

Fifty years ago, legendary comedian George Carlin caused a stir with his stand-up routine: “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”

The bit was so shocking at the time, Carlin got arrested while performing it in Milwaukee. (Today people say those words on TV constantly.)

Here—in part four of our series "The 7 Deadly Marketing Sins"—I give you the “Five Words You Should NEVER Use in Your Marketing.”

They are:

  1. Buzzwords

  2. Jargon

  3. "Business speak"

  4. Industry lingo

  5. Insider language

I see those blankety-blank words in digital marketing all the time!

Like when a business brags about how it “synergistically operationalizes industry-best practices” and “provides comprehensive value-added solutions.”

Nobody's getting arrested for writing copy like that. (But neither is that gobbledygook helping you sell.)

The fact is...

Business jargon confuses—rather than convinces—customers.

If you want the attention—and business—of more customers, nix the pretentious lingo.

Quit trying to sound smart and simply answer the three questions your customers are asking:

  1. What problem do you help me solve?

  2. How will your product/service make my life better?

  3. How do I get it?

Wondering if you've lapsed into "business speak"? Try this:

• Pay a fifth-grader $10 to read your website. Tell him/her to make a list of every mysterious acronym and every term or phrase that sounds like something only an egghead professor would say.

• Google “overused business buzzwords” (there are multiple lists online). Check the ones you are currently using in your messaging. Then think of fresh, clear ways to say the same things in plain English.

• Instead of: “We are on a customer-centric mission to leverage the CPD framework for you so you can move the needle!" say something like, “We manage your accounting, so YOU can keep selling!”

Think I'm just being cranky? Listen to Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic: "High school taught me big words. College rewarded me for using big words. Then I graduated and realized that intelligent readers outside the classroom don’t want big words. They want complex ideas made simple."

Here's to clear, simple words in your marketing!

Len Woods