Why marketing is a load of rubbish
Ok, so obviously we don’t think marketing is a load of rubbish. But, we understand why so many people do. Especially small business owners, sales people, and our colleagues in finance. It’s because marketing people insist on speaking in their own language. Which is ironic, seeing as marketers we are meant to be the masters of communication.
Imagine going into a management team meeting and saying something along the lines of…
“We’ve nailed a really great concept, I’m totally loving the big idea, I reckon this campaign will go viral, generating excellent word-of-mouth amongst our advocates. I’m really looking forward to tracking the buzz metrics.”
Those of you who are up to your eyes in the latest ‘marketing thinking’ day-in, day-out might think that sounds great (and many more will roll your eyes in dismay).
But, what’s for sure is that most business people will have heard something like…
“I’ve just spent a load of money with hand-waving creative types doing something that I think is fun, that will generate little but hot air.”
The problem isn’t confined to marketing. It’s in any expert discipline or established community. Business disciplines, like IT, law, marketing, finance, operations, human resources, etc. all have their own jargon. It’s worth taking a moment to consider whether the people you’re talking to actually understand a word you’re saying. If not, think again. Find someone outside your area to give you some honest feedback – do your words sound like gobbledygook to them?
Now, the keen-eyed amongst you will quickly see that this website has its fair share of marketing jargon. We like to think we make it digestible, but we know that the plain English campaign would take us aside from time to time. The point is to at least consider the language your business is using – because what you mean to say is not always what people hear. We’re not completely anti-jargon, we simply advise handling it with care.
And, if you do need a translation of any marketing rubbish, drop us a line and we’ll decipher it for you!
By Bryony Thomas | Chief Clear Thinker | Clear Thought Consulting Ltd | @bryonythomas | www.clear-thought.co.uk
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Clear Thought Consulting works with small businesses, equipping them with the marketing strategies, suppliers, skills and set-up that they need to become bigger businesses. We do this by planning and delivering 12-month marketing transformation programmes – supporting a small business through a step-by-step process to making marketing pay. We firmly believe that when you can’t out-spend your competition, you have to out-think them.
Published on 4 November 2010
