Never Use This Phrase in Your Marketing

I very seldom use the word never, but I am using it today because I feel so strongly about this phrase.  After hearing it this morning, I was prompted to write about it today.  The phrase is “We have everything you need.”  You may have heard other versions such as “For all your (fill-in-the-blank) needs,” “The only store you need,” or “Your one stop shop for (fill-in-the-blank).”  Any version has the same impact.

None.

I understand why businesspeople use these words.  They want to communicate that their business has an extensive selection, and, therefore, the customer can find “everything” at their stores.  They want customers to shop only their stores and think that making this statement will help accomplish that goal. 

In truth, they are just wasting words.  The word everything indicates too much.  What store has everything?  That is not possible and, thus, unbelievable.  Everything is also vague and general.  Everything of what?  Oh, that’s right.  Everything I need.  How does that store know what I need to say nothing of everything that I need?  Again, that is unbelievable.  I don’t even know everything I need.  If I hear of something new tomorrow, I may feel that now I need that item.  Yesterday, I didn’t think that I needed it.  I didn’t even know it existed.  How did the store’s management know?  

Did the store’s management add the item to the store’s stock because of me?

Of course not.

Actually, what the store’s management did in using the phrase is lose an opportunity.  They used meaningless words, “Everything you need,” instead of specific words that tell customers exactly what they can find at the store.  All target markets have particular items that attract them.  Citing those items communicates clearly to customers that the store has what they want.  They get the message and react positively to it.

Meaningless words do not get a reaction.  They do not encourage customers to frequent the store.  They also indicate that management has not thought through the message that they want to convey to get customers into the store.  Instead of identifying the store’s market and thinking through what the store offers that market, management is merely throwing out some words to create an ad. 

Management is not placing value on the words employed in communications with customers.  I call these $100 words.  However, these words may be worth much more than $100 because of the revenue they generate.  Specific words in a message prompt customers to contact the business.  These words are priceless.

Seek them out and use them wisely.

This week's marketing trivia challenge is What specific words have helped you generate revenue?  E-mail me your answer.

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.

Wasted Words

Tuesday night in his headlines segment, Jay Leno read a curious headline. "Dining Out? Try Somewhere Else. Johnson Family Restaurant."

I have no idea if this was good advice from those who know or if it was an attempt to catch attention. Either way, these were wasted words.

They reminded me of a billboard that I had seen a couple of months ago which read, "It swallowed a luxury vehicle." The billboard was for a 4 x 4 truck. I don't remember which brand because I immediately focused on the words. The imagery of a truck swallowing a luxury vehicle did not seem to have a purpose.

"Do truck owners want to drive a luxury vehicle?" I pondered. "I'm sure that the idea of a truck having the ability to swallow a luxury vehicle appeals to truck owners' perception of the truck's toughness, but I don't think that is the purpose of the statement."

In addition, beginning a statement with the word "it" was a very weak opening. Since "it" is a pronoun referring to a noun, the reader of this billboard was forced to decide what was "it." That decision took the reader's attention away from the message. I suspect that the reader's attention never returned. Consequently, the message was not received, all because of "it."

"It" was a wasted word.

What are wasted words? Words that do not clearly communicate your message are wasted. The Johnson Family Restaurant wasted words telling consumers not to come. A headline giving consumers a mouth-watering reason to dine at Johnson Family Restaurant would have been much more profitable. Those words would not have been wasted.

Like "it," some words are wasted because they are unclear. Other words are wasted because they have become abused through overuse. They have been used in meaningless ways by so many that these words no longer communicate a clear message. In fact, they may communicate no message at all. A few examples of abused words include: quality, selection, value, biggest, and best. Consumers have heard these words shouted at them with such frequency that they "tune out" these words.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," a consumer might react. "You have the biggest, the best quality, selection, and, of course, value. I've heard that before, many times. I know what these words mean to me. What do you mean by using them?"

Rather than repeating the words that others overuse, choose words that specifically tell your business's story. What makes you think that your business offers quality? What do you mean by value? How is what you offer the biggest or the best?

Answering these questions and then giving your answers to consumers employs your words profitably. We live in a time when consumers want information. Give them what they want. In doing so, communicate specifics. Don't grab words that communicate nothing or a vague generality. Tell consumers exactly what you want to say and what they want to hear.

This will require thinking on your part. To encourage you to think through your words, consider that each word you use costs $100. How many $100 bills do you want to waste?