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IN GOOD VOICE

November 12, 2009 by Scott Flood

When you’re creating market and communications materials, content and design are important, but there’s a third consideration that deserves your attention: the voice used in the materials. No, not talking about the voice talent used in radio commercials – it’s the voice of the items you put into print.

What do I mean by voice? Ads, brochures, direct mail letters, and other communications tools stand in your place. They sell and inform for you when you can’t be there to do it yourself. In a way, you’re quietly sending a trusted employee into the homes and businesses of your customers and prospects.

MORE FROM MISS SPELLING

November 10, 2009 by Scott Flood

Embarrassing spelling errors compounded by wayward spellcheckers continue to crop up, much to my delight (and that of several correspondents).

One recent example that provoked a chuckle was the Indianapolis-area newspaper that referred to those served by a County Home as the “poor and indignant.” I suppose poverty can bring out the worst in some people. (Of course, the writer meant to say “indigent”.)

DELETE WHAT DOESN’T MATTER

November 5, 2009 by Scott Flood

While waiting for a flight yesterday, I heard the same PA announcement several times: “Effective June 30, 2008, smoking is prohibited in the airport.”

The “smoking is prohibited” part I fully understand. But what’s the bit with the “effective June 30”? That’s more than a year ago. Does the date the ban went into effect really matter? Do we want people to think, “Gosh, I shouldn’t smoke in the terminal,” or is it really important that they mentally add, “and I haven’t been able to do so since June 30, 2008”?

KEEP IT INSIDE

October 29, 2009 by Scott Flood

If you’ve ever attended a spouse’s office party, you’ve probably found yourself staring at your drink after one employee says something like, “Yeah, but don’t ever give Bob a glass of 7-Up!,” and everyone else in the room collapses into convulsions of hysterical laughter. When the laughter dies down, your blank expression is answered with a ‘It’s a long story … I’ll tell you later.”

INAPPROPRIATELY APPROPRIATE

October 27, 2009 by Scott Flood

Many people use some words that don’t really need to be there. A great example is “appropriate,” as it’s used in sentences such as “once we review the information, we’ll take appropriate action.”

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

October 22, 2009 by Scott Flood

After a recent blog entry about exclamation points, fellow writer Tony Perona shared his own personal frustration – people who present their messages with an abundance of capital letters. They generally do it either because they think what they’re saying is REALLY IMPORTANT or because they think it ADDS EMPHASIS. They rank right up there with people who overuse boldface or underlining.

Using ALL CAPS, boldface, or underlining in print is the same as raising your voice to make a point. If you were speaking and wanted to make sure that your audience recognized that something was really important, you’d probably only stress the word “really.” If you stressed every word, you’d end up sounding like a raving maniac.

FEATURING BENEFITS

October 20, 2009 by Scott Flood

Recommendations to emphasize benefits rather then features when communicating are so old that I think they may date back to cavemen. Still, some marketers don’t understand the difference, so they miss out on an opportunity to connect more powerfully with their audiences.

Simply put, a feature is some aspect of your product or service. A benefit is what makes it a good or useful thing. If a bank tells you that they have 24-hour ATM access, they’re calling attention to a feature. If an automaker mentions stability control, that’s a feature.

IT’S NOT DUMBING DOWN

October 15, 2009 by Scott Flood

Imagine what would happen if the average math professor found himself lecturing to kindergartners. His words about chaos theory would fly over the group’s heads and the room would revert to real chaos. Now put one of your company’s engineers across the table from one of your product’s end-users. The gulf isn’t nearly as wide as that between our professor and the tots, but it might as well be.

One of the most challenging tasks facing those who create marketing materials is putting them in language that’s right for the reader. That doesn’t necessarily mean dumbing them down; it means that information should be presented at a level and in words that are comfortable for the audience.

OF LANGUAGE SPEAKING YOU ARE?

October 8, 2009 by Scott Flood

No matter how much money a company invests in its advertising and marketing efforts, no matter how hard they try to create and promote a compelling brand, and no matter what they do to get your business, they often lose sight of the fact that their reputation hinges on every employee or representative who has contact with customers and prospects.

Why then do so many companies put people who are unable to communicate clearly in these frontline roles? Whether it’s someone at the counter who can’t deliver a coherent answer to a customer question, or “Bill,” the highly accented voice that tells you he is really sorry you are having this problem, and then offers advice you can’t understand, these poor choices forever tarnish your impression of the organization behind them.