Interpretations

I watched an interesting story on buyers’ interpretations of sellers’ real estate descriptions. Here are a few examples:
Cozy means too small.
Charming is too old.
Conveniently-located represents too noisy.
Efficient kitchen tells that a kitchen is too small.
Usable land describes no trees.

Do you agree? Do any of these surprise you? Have you used them?

Many times we use words that appear to be attractive from our points of view. We fail to consider the customer’s point of view. As you can see from this list, what the seller thought would be attractive wording was not interpreted that way by the potential buyer. I suspect that many buyers did not even consider properties with these words in the descriptions due in large part to the wording.

That fact would be a big shock to the sellers.

The story went on to suggest what to do to get the buyer’s attention. I heartily agree with the suggestions. The first was to start with an attention-grabbing headline. Most print and electronic ads lack a headline. Why have one? The headline piques the reader’s interest and pulls him into the ad. In order to do that, the headline must tell the reader what’s in it for him to read the ad. The story’s examples included “No Closing Costs” and “Close in Seven Days.” Both of those are benefits to the buyer, aren’t they?

Those benefits save a customer money or time. Either one would likely pull a potential buyer into the ad.

The second suggestion was to be specific. Look back at all the descriptions above which customers misinterpreted. All of them have one thing in common. They are all vague. They are words chosen to sound good. Today’s buyers know that and are immediately suspicious. Sellers use the words in hopes of enticing buyers, but the opposite is happening.

I see this regularly in a company’s advertising, too. Rather than specifically speaking to the customer about what’s in it for him to do business with a company, the company uses fluffy, nice-sounding terms which are meaningless to the customer. While the company thinks it has written beautiful copy, there is no substance to it. This is interpreted by the customer as not worth his time.

Instead of those vague terms, the story recommended something such as “Mid-century modern with mountain views.” That phrase gives a great deal of information. The buyer now know the style of the home and the view. From this information the buyer can make a decision on his next step, whether to look into the home further or not.

Take a close look at how your company’s advertising is worded. Are you using words which clearly communicate with your customer from his point of view? Are you giving him information which will help him make his decision? Are you employing specific words which will be interpreted by your customer as you intended?

Make certain that your words are specific and clearly communicate your message from your customer’s point of view.