What Are Your Words Worth?

Word choice can change the perception and value of your business communications. Each piece of correspondence, promotional, marketing and advertising material your company produces is an investment in your success. Are you investing wisely?

Think about the words “old” and “experienced”. They have similar meanings. However if you advertised that you are the most “experienced” business as opposed to the “oldest” you’d probably receive a better response.

Let’s look at the definitions.

Old by definition means one of specified age or from an earlier time.

Experienced by definition means made skillful or wise through experience (also practiced).

By definition the words are similar and can be interchanged, yet what do you visualize when you think of each word?

Would you rather do business with an “old” or “experienced” business? It depends on personal perception and you need to know the perceptions of your customers.

This is only one example of why what you say is just as important as how you say it. When considering word choice, think about what motivates and what will move your customers closer to the desired action.

Surprisingly, many businesses fail to recognize the importance of strong content for marketing, advertising, promotional materials and even basic business correspondence.

Often design or format of such materials is given first consideration. It’s true that a visually pleasing layout helps form image and is an important part of the branding process. However, content is king and your materials will be more effective with a balanced marriage of content and design.

Here’s why.

Copy (that’s the written part of documents) should move your customers through a process. A well designed brochure may catch the eye but if the content doesn’t pique interest, clearly describe the “what’s in it for me” factor, answer commonly asked questions or ask for action, customers won’t respond as favorably as they could. Plus, your return on investment will be not be as strong as it should be.

Your customers should do more than merely glance at your materials because they look good. You want your customers to be engaged and interested in what you have to say about your product or service. Most importantly, you want them to take action. What are your marketing and advertising materials saying? Are you getting the response you desire?