The Four-Letter Word That Will Kill Your Marketing Efforts

Comedian George Carlin had an infamous routine where he discussed the seven words you cannot say on broadcast television. Not surprisingly, five of the seven consist of four letters, enforcing the dubious connotation of something referred to as "a four-letter word." Other words such as "work" also have four letters, yet they have a good meaning ... that is until we are overstressed or thinking about a vacation. Then, the fact that it is a "four-letter word" becomes very evident.

In your marketing efforts, there is a "four-letter word" that will undermine just about everything you do. In fact, I have used that word a couple of times now to prove the point. The word is "will." Replace the future tense of this article's title and the first sentence in this paragraph with the current tense. Notice the difference? "The Four Letter Word That Kills Your Marketing Efforts" is a stronger title and "a 'four-letter word' that undermines just about everything you do" is more meaningful. That kind of difference is even greater when attempting to make a sale or a persuasive argument.

Which is more likely to convince you to buy that convertible you have been eyeing for so long? "When you buy this car, you will have the wind blowing through your hair, and the spring day sun will feel great on your face." or "Get behind the wheel ... let the wind blow through your hair ... feel the spring day sun on your face." It's a subtle difference, but the first suggests the future, albeit the very near future. The second relates that it's happening now and that you are currently experiencing it.

In the majority of marketing situations, the current tense creates an emotion, a feeling of participation in what is being said. The future tense inherently suggests something will happen at a later time. And if you think that even a small amount of time doesn't make a difference, realize that marketing experts have determined that a web page that takes over seven seconds to load causes the vast majority of people to move on. In marketing, the future has to be now.

Be sure to stop using that four-letter word in your marketing efforts, and get more of those other four-letter words ... cold, hard cash.