Which means...?

Several years ago, I was consulting with a physician client who had recently completed a research project whose results, he believed, were newsworthy.

During that meeting, the physician described for me the protocols that had been used during the study, named the high profile partner facilities involved in the research, and provided exacting detail on the device that had been tested (and, ultimately, perfected) in this project.

Naturally excited by this professional accomplishment, the physician concluded his presentation by asking, “So, do you think you can get media attention for this?”

I replied, “I don’t know...what does it mean for patients?”

All too often, marketing communications can get caught up in the “what” and forget the “so what?” We become so impressed with what we have to say that we neglect the real information needs of our target audience: how the product or service will enhance their current happy lives, improve their less-than-satisfactory lives, lead them to better lives, etc.

Advertisers have long understood that consumers usually have little interest in the technical points of differentiation. Sometimes, however, it’s easy to forget that this fact also applies to other forms of marketing communications. Brochures, fliers, direct mail, posters, sales letters, e-mail messages – you name it – all need to “sell, not tell.”

If you “tell,” you expect your audience to be as fascinated as you are with the technical advantages your product or service has over the competition. When you “sell,” you express those advantages in the language of your audience. Here are some ways to make sure your entire marketing communications program is always selling:

• Take the “Which means...?” test – Anytime you describe a specific feature, make sure that your copy also makes it clear to the target audience how that feature will make a difference in their lives. The only time when you can break that rule? When the benefits have become so well-known that it would be redundant to mention them. For example, golf club manufacturers spent years (and millions of dollars) explaining the benefits of titanium-shafted clubs to hopeful weekend duffers. Today, golfers can hear “titanium” and think “which means a strong, lightweight club.”
• Whenever possible, keep it short – Remember that, according to some studies, your target audience is exposed to as many as 3,000 “advertising” messages a day. Their time is precious; their attention span, brief. Unless long copy and story telling are part of your brand (like the famous Land’s End™ catalog), you’ll get better results in every piece of marketing communications if you follow a pretty simple credo: get attention, make your point, “ask for the order” and get out.
• Watch your jargon – It’s easy to get so comfortable with the language of your industry that you can slip into jargon when writing marketing communications materials. Depending on the target audience for which you are writing, some jargon may be appropriate – even necessary. Just make certain that you don’t carelessly use a term that might leave your readers wondering.
• Write everything as if it were an ad – While your English teacher may bristle at the thought of starting sentences with “and,” “but,” or “because,” solid marketing communications sometimes requires writing in sentences that defy diagramming. You might even have to resort to using an occasional fragment or two to make a point. A really important point.

These guidelines also apply when you are trying to sell an idea, a strategy, a position or anything that isn’t as tangible as a product or service. Audiences always want to know what’s in it for them – so don’t make them look for it. They won’t.