Beware of Asking Too Much of Marketing Copy

I have witnessed executives asking for a single communication to do too much. "I would like this communication to build awareness and initiate a purchase." "I would like this to speak directly to our customers, prospects and employees." "I want this communication to prompt them to give us their name and contact information and purchase our special offer." "This communication should get prospects interested in us and educate our customers." "This communication should introduce them to our brand and describe all of our products and services in detail."

Less is more. And, just as importantly, one needs to know what specific thought or action the communication is being optimized to achieve, and with whom.

Yes, one can use marketing vehicles and communications to achieve different actions in a multi-step sales or marketing process. But in that process, the first communication's objective might be as simple as making a prospect aware of your brand. Or it might be to help people understand your brand's unique value proposition. Another might be to establish your brand's credibility or thought leadership. Or perhaps it is designed to encourage a click-through from a social media platform. Yet another message might be designed to get someone to enter his or her name and email address. Or the purpose of a communication might be to get someone to watch a video. Another might be to get someone to sign up for a discussion with a salesperson. One of the final steps is usually to initiate a purchase. Most sales processes are multi-step processes. The appropriate marketing communication must be matched with each step.

In other scenarios, the objective of the communication might be to get someone to stop by your trade show booth or drop a business card in a raffle bowl. Or it might be to invite someone to a product demonstration or other event.

It is hugely suboptimal to try to get a single communication to achieve multiple ends. When this is tried, it usually achieves no end well. It is ineffective. So when you are designing a marketing message or writing its copy, make sure you are very clear on the objective (singular, not plural). And the objective shouldn't have multiple parts either. If each communication is written well with one objective in mind, it should achieve its goal and move people through the sales process.

Think twice and then push back if you are being asked to write copy to achieve multiple ends, and especially with multiple audiences. If you don't you might end up with something that doesn't achieve any particular objective well.

Focusing on the Why

Another common error in marketing communication is focusing on the product or service description including its functions and features rather than focusing on the end customer benefit, the why. People will read further once you have gotten their attention. And you get their attention by speaking to one of their desires, fears or problems. Only after you have captured their attention in that way can you begin to talk about your solution to their problem.

Always begin by speaking to the customer's desires, fears or needs:

• Saving you time
• Saving you money
• Making life easier
• Simplifying your life
• Reducing your stress
• Keeping you safe
• Increasing your comfort
• Entertaining you
• Strengthening your reputation
• Getting you out of a bind
• Solving a difficult problem

When writing marketing copy, always think from the customer's perspective, not your own. Further, organize the information from the customer's perspective, not your own. Often, internal departments, divisions, categories, programs or even product groupings do not make sense to the customer. Organize what you are saying into the categories that the customer understands. 

The bottom line is that you need to emphasize emotional, experiential and self-expressive customer benefits rather than product functions, features or attributes. Only address the latter (product attributes) when they can be used as proof points for how you will deliver the former (customer benefits). 

The Power of Simplicity in Branding

In branding, less is more. Whether it is a simpler logo, a simpler tagline or a simpler elevator speech, less is more. Copywriting and graphic design are extremely important to brands and brand communication. The simpler the design or message, the more impact it will have and the more memorable it will be.

I have spent a career writing brand plans, brand promises, brand elevator speeches, brand taglines, brand missions, visions and values and brand advertising copy. A real talent is to be able to take something complex and present it simply so that everyone will understand it. I have taken many writing courses in high school, college and elsewhere. The most useful one I ever took taught me this - use an economy of words. The writing exercise I remember most was one in which we wrote a paper after which we were told to cut it in half without losing any meaning - again, again and again until we got the paper down to one paragraph. Our professor said, "Now you have mastered the art of writing well."

Blaise Pascal, John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Henry David Thoreau, Cicero, Woodrow Wilson and Mark Twain have all been quoted as saying something similar to this - "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." Anyone who has written taglines knows that eloquently capturing a brand's promise in three words or less is no easy task. 

When I worked at Hallmark as a marketing executive, our CEO suggested that if we could not fit our communication on a 3 x 5 sheet of paper, we should rethink our communication. 

One of the best print ads we ever ran at Hallmark featured white space except for a black and white rendering of the Hallmark logo and one very short Hallmark brand positioning statement artfully  related to the magazine's content on the magazine's back cover. It was such a successful ad that dozens of magazines approached Hallmark to run the ad in their magazines. The ad was mostly white space. That is why the brand and its message had such impact.

I have had clients whose businesses were extremely complex with dozens or more subsidiaries in different lines of business. Yet, they wanted brand elevator speeches that tied everything they did together under one brand umbrella while communicating the breadth of their business offerings. Crafting that is also more difficult than it appears. If crafted well, it will seem to be a simple and easy statement to those who read it. Much like a world class figure skater's routine seems much simpler than it is when executed flawlessly and with style.

And to add science to this, research has repeatedly shown that the more complex the message is with more benefit statements, the less the message is remembered. 

So, if you remember one thing in crafting brand communication, it should be "keep it simple."

Simplified Brand Messaging

Al Reis was the first to state this clearly, "A brand should own one thing in the mind of its customer." When we work with clients to craft their brand promises, our guidelines stipulate that their brands should only promise one or two relevant differentiated benefits. Any more than that and the brand promise becomes too complicated and people's ability to recall it decreases substantially. Research has borne this out - simpler is better.

Blaise Pascal once wrote, "I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter." Another version of this is often attributed to Mark Twain, "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."

I have taken numerous writing courses in high school, college and as an adult, however the most useful writing course I ever took was at Harvard Business School. We were given a topic on which to write a paper. Upon bringing our papers to class, we were instructed to cut the word length in half without losing any meaning. Upon doing this, we were instructed to cut the word length in half again...and again...until we got our thoughts down to one paragraph. 

Every manager at Hallmark was given a stack of 3x5 index cards. We were instructed to use those to communicate in writing with others. Our CEO indicated that if we can't communicate what we need to say on a 3x5 index card, we need to rethink how clear our thoughts are.

While I love eloquence and my vocabulary is extensive and I enjoy using parenthetical clauses in my sentences causing them to rival Faulkner's in length, I have found that shorter is better. Simpler is better. So I strive to use simple words.

Compare the power of the last two sentences in the previous paragraph to the first one.

I often interact with clients who put too many words in their brand promises and elevator speeches and on their product packaging and outdoor advertising signs. Too much copy confuses people. 

Have you noticed that people, especially younger people, are increasingly thinking and talking in sound bytes? Everything is a text message or a Twitter tweet. And we have a president who prefers to communicate in tweets. His brevity can be impactful - "Sad!" or "Disgusting!"

In marketing, simpler is better. And concise, powerful copy matters.

Phrases that Sell

In creating brand copy, it is useful to be aware of words and phrases that sell. In a previous blog post, I listed some words that sell. 

Here are some phrases that sell: 

• An exclusive assortment
• From our exclusive collection
• Collector's Edition
• In a class by itself
• A modern classic
• Hand crafted
• Bespoke quality
• Locally grown
• Easy on the eye
• Handles the most difficult and complex situations
• Made to order
• Only from [us]
• A bold new look
• Understated elegance
• Lots of bling
• A refreshingly clean look
• When you want to impress
• Always appropriate
• A [product] you will treasure
• Here's the best part
• Maintenance free
• A dream come true
• A once in a lifetime opportunity
• Unleash your wild side
• Why wait?
• For those of you who just can't wait
• Bring out your inner child
• A delicious gift
• Creating lasting memories
• Perfectly enchanting
• Available 24/7
• It's an original
• A rare piece
• A world apart
• Will stand the test of time
• Be the first
• In a completely different league
• Designed for the sophisticate
• Don't settle for the ordinary
• Putting your mind at ease
• What the insiders are buying
• No two are exactly alike
• Great for everyday wear
• Highly versatile
• Simply joyful
• A true blockbuster
• A turnkey operation
• It is the NEXT thing

Words That Sell

There is a book by this name. It was written by Richard Bayan and first published in 1984. A companion book, Phrases That Sell, was written by Edward Werz and Sally Germain and first published in 1998. I have both books. 

My last post was about Using Symbols in Branding. Symbols are triggers to emotions associated with hopes, fears and self-image reinforcement. Words and phrases can also be powerful. They can evoke strong emotions - both positive and negative.

When I was a new business strategist at Hallmark, I knew how to increase the score of a new business concept (in concept testing) by using the right words that I knew would evoke positive imagery and emotions. I didn't however because I did not want to inflate the results. I used neutral language to describe the concept so that its score would be more predictive of its market potential in our volumetric forecasting.   

What are some of the words and phrases that can help a brand? Here are some:

• Imagine
• Finally
• Now
• Long-awaited
• Unique
• New
• Irresistible
• Enchanting
• Captivating
• Stunning
• Amazing
• Adorable
• Picture-perfect
• Engaging
• Innovative
• Leading-edge
• Revolutionary
• Groundbreaking
• Unparalleled
• Unsurpassed
• Authentic
• Original
• Legendary
• Refreshing
• A breath of fresh air
• Empowering
• Passionate
• Bespoke
• Heir apparent
• The chosen one

Now think of some words and phrases and other labels that have been used to turn people off. Politicians and political parties use these to create negative emotional associations for their enemies. Here are some more recent ones:

• [insert the issue]gate (to imply a cover up of an illegal or immoral activity)
• He's a flip-flopper
• He's a carnival barker
• He's a Nazi
• He's another Hitler
• He's a socialist
• She's out of touch
• She's ambitious
• She's a liar
• He's a wackadoo
• He's a terrorist
• He's a racist
• He's a government insider
• He's polarizing
• He's a dinosaur

Or, consider modifying or replacement words to make people feel better about something (often resulting in oxymorons). Here are some examples of that:

• Peacekeeper missile
• Peacekeeping force
• Clean coal
• Sanitary landfill
• Compassionate conservative
• Friendly fire
• Smart bomb
• Troops (instead of soldiers/humans)
• Partial cease-fire
• Energy Citizens

My point in all of this is that words can evoke strong associations and emotions. Words can also mollify situations and people. And they can change the meaning of things and make them more acceptable and even compelling. As marketers, we need to be masters of words and phrases.