Esther Schindler is all abuzz about techie marcom people abusing buzzwords at the recent Microsoft TechEd conference.
And she has a right to be buzzed-off about it!
With sessions named: "Amplify the Impact of Your People", "Optimize Your Core Infrastructure" and "Manage Complexity, Achieve Agility" you'd have found me wandering the halls of that conference unsure of where I was or why I was there in the first place.
Esther talks about how too many marketing and communications people get a little carried away with their jargon and buzzwords. Often at the cost of clarity and understanding.
Here's what she has to say:
"...Marketing is no longer able to summarize and simplify complicated subjects. While a good buzzword instantly creates positioning in the reader's mind, it can also obscure the intent by meaning nothing whatsoever. Marketing information, particularly about IT and other technical topics, has to illuminate the subject, not be an exploding flashbulb. Good copywriting is supposed to help you understand, not replace the understanding."
She's absolutely right.
Too much marketing these days is empty. It's full of vacuous, self-serving fluff or self-important jargon.
We all have a message to deliver to our customers. We do so more effectively when we focus on them, not us. We need to help them increase their understanding of who we are, what we do and what we might be able to do for them.
It's not our job to tell people what to think or baffle them with baloney.
It's our job is to help people make the best buying decision they can as it relates to our product or service. We accomplish this when we communicate our message clearly and effectively and free of jargon, buzzwords and other verbal garbage that hinders communications.
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