Buzzword Bingo

One of the greatest joys in building a marketing campaign is looking at the product, and trying to come up with words that truly exemplify the experience the customer will have with the product. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to return to the same well, and pull out several of the same words. There are plenty of lists out there of overused advertising buzzwords, and we aren’t going to make another one.

Instead of creating a similar list, what we are going to do is help you become more descriptive. If you click on this link, you will find an excel spreadsheet to download. Once you download it, you will see that there are six bingo cards filled out with words pulled from a list of 100 most overused words in Press Releases.

This is one game of Bingo you don’t really want to win.

If you’re reviewing your soon-to-be-released PR package, and it stands a chance of winning a game, you have too many buzzwords. This means that there is a good chance the average reader of your release will immediately think “Sales” and Pitch your copy directly into the cylindrical file.

The solution is to look at each of those buzz words, and examine them from the customer’s point of view. Domino’s Pizza’s brand image relaunch would have gone horribly, if they had said, “Domino’s crust is New And Improved”. Instead, what caught the general public’s attention was “Domino’s crust is cardboard and no one likes it.” Then, they explained that it was new, and improved. The fact that the buzzwords were implied, and not surrounded by bright flashing lights, made this campaign a huge success.

Writing smarter doesn’t mean use bigger, better buzzwords. It means connecting with your audience more effectively, so they have a better understanding. Write in a way that illustrates to the reader that you care about their needs, and are here to serve them, not just to WOW them.

(buzzwords for the cards were taken from a great blog, listed here:http://www.adamsherk.com/public-relations/most-overused-press-release-buzzwords)

What Defines “Bad Service”?

There is a lot of competition for my business on my drive in to the office. I pass by 6 different coffee shops/restaurants that offer a drive thru service to sell me my coffee. That’s not including the 9 different mini-marts, of which 7 are attached to gas stations, that also provide freshly brewed coffee. All in all, on my half hour drive in, there are 15 different places that can earn my business.

I’ve been to the majority of these places, and had decent coffee at all of them. Four out of five mornings, I stop at the same one. The one time I don’t, it is usually because I need gas, and I don’t want to stop twice. How did the one business win my business?

They offer better service than the others. It’s that simple. When I drive up to order, they do not interrupt, and say, “Anything else?” while I’m halfway through my order. They let me finish talking. When i have completed my order, they repeat back the entire order, tell me the price, and ask me to pull up, please. When I arrive at the service window, they acknowledge my existence, even if my order is not ready yet. More times than not, the order is completed quickly. When it is taking a little longer, they tell me it will be a minute. Then, I am on my way, with a “Have a nice day!”

Did any of this sound like phenomenal service? If you look at it on the whole, they did nothing that I would consider above and beyond. They let me order without interruption. They were courteous. That’s really it. Does that mean that the other places offer bad service? I believe it depends on your definition of “Bad”.

To me, “Bad” service is any that leaves a bad impression. If you do not let me finish my sentence when I’m talking, I feel like you're not listening to anything I'm saying. If I drive up to the service window, and you look like you are avoiding me until the order is complete, you make me feel as though I am a leper. If you hand me my coffee and my change, and say, “Thanks” as the window is closing, I feel like I’m the one that provided you a service, not the other way around. You don’t have to spit in my coffee for it to be bad service. You don’t even have to be overtly rude for it to be bad service.

This is good news for small start-up businesses. You don’t have to be a superhero. You don’t have to be the most innovative, and re-create the wheel. You simply have to make sure that your level of service is better than your competition’s service.

I’m waiting for the phone call from the coffee shop willing to advertise, “We’ll let you finish talking before we ask, ‘Anything Else?’”

The New Consumer

The most important trend that we see in marketing today is the change in the consumer to the “ME” consumer. The collapse of the financial world in 2008/9 has had a major impact on today’s consumer. No longer were world financial issues a world away or someone else’s problems. Now they are my problems, or my family’s problems or my neighbor’s problems.

The collapse of the real estate market, financial markets and the economy in general has had a direct effect on today’s consumer. It has made a substantial change in how they think, whom they choose to do business with and what services they expect.

The days of blind trust in financial institutions are over. Today consumers wants to know first and foremost what you are going to do for them, followed closely by concerns for their community and society as a whole.

Today’s consumer expects more from all those they choose to do business with. Banks today need to build trust through actions not just words. Today’s consumer wants to know what you’ll do for them today not what you did in the past. In June 2009, a KPMG study reported only 19% of Americans trusted the financial system.

How you communicate with this consumer…the perception this consumer has of your bank is at the core of your bank’s future success. Today’s consumer is more serious, has more savvy, and is not willing to put up with poor service. Don’t expect loyalty from them, especially the younger demographics. They will leave you after one bad experience. That experience will soon be communicated to the hundreds of friends they have on social networks. Viewing this with today’s technology that single negative experience is likely to be multiplied by the hundreds.

This consumer needs to know that they have a true friend in their bank. They need to be communicated with one on one. They need to know that they are your focus.