You probably can’t think of a company today that doesn’t boast about the fact that they have the best quality; unparalleled service; mountains of integrity; an advanced level of experience; leading the industry or the best solution for you. Companies use these words in their advertising, their collateral material and in just about all of their messaging.
If everyone claims to have the best QUALITY; deliver the finest in SERVICE; handle challenges with the utmost INTEGRITY; credits themselves with unmatched EXPERIENCE; is the LEADER in the industry and provides the best SOLUTION; how can you tell one firm from the next? If so many firms are saying these things, who will your prospects believe? There are millions of words in the English language, yet everyone insists on copying each other with such profound words as Quality, Service, Integrity, Experience, Leading or Solution. How can anyone distinguish between one company and its capabilities and another when everyone is using the same rhetoric? Here are just a few examples…
In one Pharmaceutical industry magazine, the following claims were made:
Has extensive experience at both…
Scientific training and experience includes…
Highly experienced scientists…
Considerable skills and experience…
Comprised of experienced industry professionals…
We can provide experienced consultants…
Our services and breadth of experience…
Our experience in large …
Experienced team and unique approach…
Experienced scientists are capable of rapidly…
Product development through knowledge and experience…
Experience comes together with flexibility…
Our team applies its extensive experience in…
Talent and experience of our team…
Our people have the expertise, experience and…
Combined with new investment and experienced…
The following statements were made in a technology industry publication:
The solution of choice for over…
Most comprehensive and easy solution in the industry…
Automated solutions that maximize…
Solution of choice for over…
Solutions that maximize efficiency and…
Business solutions providers with…
Our solutions provide fully integrated…
Customized solutions to the…
And our other company solutions…
Developing creative solutions to your unique…
Customized product development services and solutions…
Creative solutions to unique challenges…
We have unique solutions for unique projects…
Everyone claims to have some type of creative solution, yet I am sure most people have no idea of what that solution even is. In a recent business magazine in the software industry, everyone is claiming to be the leader.
Is a leading provider of fully…
Our industry leading product…
Associate yourself with the leader in…
Is an established leader in management…
The nation’s leading and most…
The global leader in…
The leading provider of cost-effective…
The leader in web-based…
The leading industry solution providers…
A potential customer couldn’t possibly tell you apart from the clutter; your name won’t stand out when you’re driving the same message that everyone else is. Beyond these meaningless words that everyone is throwing around, how do you breakthrough? How do you move beyond empty claims and provide substance and value?
The only way to breakthrough the clutter is to take a different path. You must be willing to standout and be different. Uncover new ideas and methods of solving old problems. Find out what’s important to your customers by talking to them, collect data through a survey. With that data you’ll be in a good position to create an impactful message that stands alone.
In fact, being different may be a bit uncomfortable for many people; when you’re different, you stand out. This is the premise that marketing is based on: standing out. Think about it, you invest in marketing so that people will notice your organization, and then you give them nothing to notice! You cannot expect results just because you purchased media space or advanced some publicity initiative; you have to stand out with your message and your actions! The only way to standout is to strike a nerve with your messaging, not to bore them with the same words and message that run rampant through your industry.
If everyone else is doing it, don’t!