A few years ago, some friends of mine adopted a 5-year-old from Korea. When she arrived, their entire family welcomed her with open arms, showing her the many ways of the American culture...and of their family. There was one small glitch, though. When she arrived from Korea, she didn't know a word of English. So what happened was that the girl would speak in Korean to her new family. And when they didn't seem to react or answer her request, she would repeat her Korean utterance – only louder. When, as was inevitably the case, she still didn't get a response, she screamed the same thing, again in Korean. Out of frustration, she often stormed off, disgusted that the family must be either slow or unfriendly. Eventually, of course, she learned English and only used her Korean in Korean cultural get-togethers.
As I watch marketers create brand communications, I often notice them speaking Korean. They use 'inside' language: the language of a manufacturer or service provider. Trade jargon abounds. Complex phrases that a marketer may think makes them sound smart populate Web sites and brochures alike. And most commonly, the outlook is "We have"....all these wonderul widgets or services.
In many ways, this kind of marketing strategy is very much like shouting in Korean, louder and louder. It's unlikely to be the same language that customers speak. Worse yet, customers are not going to spend time out of their busy days wading through indecipherable technical language. Marketers, frustrated with the lack of response to their best marketing plans and messages, may walk away in frustration, shaking their heads and wondering why their audience isn't responding.
Here's the problem: you are speaking in Korean. Your customer's language is much more conversational, most likely shorter and to the point. (use bullet points and short paragraphs, not endless amounts of body copy). Most likely your customer uses easily understandable words and is in a hurry to get to the meat of the message (translation: very busy). And the one thing they want to know is WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? So instead of talking 'we have', speak the language of 'you get' (in the words of my friend, Bruce Hetrick).
Together, let's stop the madness. Because repeating the same marketing strategies again and again, only louder, will, unfortunately, get the same old results.
As I watch marketers create brand communications, I often notice them speaking Korean. They use 'inside' language: the language of a manufacturer or service provider. Trade jargon abounds. Complex phrases that a marketer may think makes them sound smart populate Web sites and brochures alike. And most commonly, the outlook is "We have"....all these wonderul widgets or services.
In many ways, this kind of marketing strategy is very much like shouting in Korean, louder and louder. It's unlikely to be the same language that customers speak. Worse yet, customers are not going to spend time out of their busy days wading through indecipherable technical language. Marketers, frustrated with the lack of response to their best marketing plans and messages, may walk away in frustration, shaking their heads and wondering why their audience isn't responding.
Here's the problem: you are speaking in Korean. Your customer's language is much more conversational, most likely shorter and to the point. (use bullet points and short paragraphs, not endless amounts of body copy). Most likely your customer uses easily understandable words and is in a hurry to get to the meat of the message (translation: very busy). And the one thing they want to know is WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? So instead of talking 'we have', speak the language of 'you get' (in the words of my friend, Bruce Hetrick).
Together, let's stop the madness. Because repeating the same marketing strategies again and again, only louder, will, unfortunately, get the same old results.
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