Write in a Language Your Readers Understand
Just because you know the “parameters of team competency assessment support” as it relates to your business, remember whom you’re writing for. Just because management talks about “maximized systems of strategic environmental processes,” don’t assume your readers know what the heck you’re talking about. Buzzwords confuse and annoy your audience.
Politicians and marketing professionals alike make good use of “gobbledygook communication” — words that sound like they should convey meaning, but really don’t. Most of the time, the discerning public knows to dismiss gobbledygook as useless verbiage designed to sell or deflect blame. As a side effect, though, it makes people think they’re dumb or less-than-informed.
Don’t fall for it. What makes you think your customers will buy into the mish-mash of buzzwords, trendy slogans and industry jargon? If you try to pass them off as your “message,” it doesn’t make you look smarter, it makes you look dishonest (or at very least — a poor communicator).
Say What You Mean
Nothing is more frustrating for your customers when they’re trying to find a vendor or service provider online. If they continue to come up against the buzzword salads that marketers are trying to push on them, you’ll find some push-back. To put it simply: If a visitor to your website can’t figure out what you do after reading your home page, they’re not going to call or buy from you.
Instead of telling readers that you invented a new “multi-tined tool to process a starch resource,” like Dilbert might try to pass off as revolutionary, just tell us that you built a better “fork for eating rice.” Don’t try to make yourself look smarter at the expense of clarity. Don’t say that your company can “leverage analytics to drive prediction.” Tell prospects that you’re really good at helping them “learn from the past to predict future sales.”
You Live It, We Don’t
Many blog writers and website content writers also get so wrapped up in their work that they forget that the average readers — including many prospective clients — don’t speak the same language. Salespeople and marketing professionals get caught up in their language when they’re going at full tilt, anxious to “ABC” (always be closing) and get their “CRM” (customer relationship management) up to date. To the rest of us, they’re just buzzwords.
Bankers forget that their customers don’t understand “AWE” (average weekly earnings) as well as they do. And tech marketers are infamous for using lingo when they talk about progress and their “sticky products” — those are products with high retention rates — and how their new programs create “zombie mode” — when users don’t look away from the app on their phones — for you.
The Bottom Line: Avoid Buzzwords
Write like you talk and consider who you’re talking to. If you’re writing for moms, let your mother read your latest article to see if she gets it. If you’re writing for homebuyers, ask find a new homebuyer to review it. If you’re writing for a medical practice, ask a doctor to read your writing. It’s only fair.
Success comes to your business when you break out of your stereotype and write so that everyone can understand you. If you have a relevant service or product, you want to reach as many potential customers as possible, right? So don’t use buzzwords in your writing.
Don’t alienate potential customers by trying to “effectuate improvement of your manuals to better elucidate your customer goals and empowering your interactive competency team processes.” Instead, try to “improve your manuals to clarify your offerings.” When you avoid buzzwords, you gain trust. And that leads directly to more sales. If you need the help of expert writers, you know whom to contact.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.