Stop, drop & roll: A simple technique that could save your home page
So, you “deliver results?” 12,500,000 others do, too.
I looked it up on Google.
“Produce results?” You’ve got company. 22,700,000, to be exact.
Hope you have enough clean plates to share your clients with everyone.
By simply scanning the results of my Google search, you can see why this approach isn’t doing them any favors. Bear witness:
“We Deliver Results… Consistently. Sanford Group is a leading consulting firm providing. strategic marketing, marketing communications, design…”
“Sterling Marketing Solutions • We Deliver Results
At Sterling Marketing, we pride ourselves in professionalism, integrity, hard work, and above all, being a results driven company.”“Motif Creative - we develop brand solutions that deliver results
Motif Creative is experienced at developing brand communication strategies that differentiate your business, engage with your customers and, …”“INTEGRA PRODUCTIONS | INVENT | INNOVATE | INSPIRE | WE DELIVER RESULTS
Integra Productions specializing in project management and execution of private corporate meetings and special events nationwide.”“Welcome to OracleCMS - We Deliver Results!”
“Deliver Results
Rigorously applied project management principles and processes deliver results. … We assure project customers quickly receive tangible, measurable results …”“Welcome to Birthday Card Marketing - We Deliver Results!”
How we deliver results: Teleservices technology
To meet the sophisticated needs of our clients, we must utilize cutting edge technology. Our systems are unique because they provide us with unlimited …Marketing Strategy Experts that Deliver Results. - Marketing …
We have searched high and low to find the most effective, fastest-results yielding tools. Our clients come from every business, industry, and background …FreeStyle Communications - We deliver results.
We can handle any job big or small. Short deadline? We can get it done. And we will do the job right! We will complete your project on time, on budget and …Gecko Webs :: About Us We Deliver Results
We blend exceptional technological skills with old-fashioned business principles and customer service to deliver uncommon results. …Emerging Productions | We see Potential | We Deliver Results
print | video | web | contact.
So many companies deliver results, you’d think ‘results’ had hypnotic powers, enabling anyone to instantly attract all audiences and compel them to take action.
But, as you can see from the above search results, saying you “deliver results” simply makes you sound like everyone else. And if your clients and customers want to work with the best, they’re not going to work with someone who uses the same language as both Bowflex and a birthday card delivery company.
Strangely enough, the worst offenders–and by worst I mean most common–appear to be the marketing firms. Marketing consultants, marketing communications, graphic design, web design. In other words, people who really ought to know better.
But wait. Who cares if 22,500,000 others are saying they deliver results, too? That must mean delivering results delivers results, right?
Isn’t this just one of those ways we writers like to show we’re better than everyone else, to make you feel inadequate without us, so you’ll never feel complete without a thesaurus? While I admit the image of everyone carrying around a security-thesaurus like a blankie pleases me, there are more honorable reasons not to sound like everyone else.
Using a word like “results” isn’t going to help anyone understand what you can do to help them.
Introducing the Stop, Drop, and Roll Procedure. Everyone should practice and know this important marketing safety technique.
Even if you don’t need help, you never know when you’ll be called to help a friend, colleague, or relative.
You’re welcome.
The Stop, Drop and Roll Procedure
How to Safely Eliminate RESULTS from Your Marketing Copy
- STOP generalizing—specify instead! How exactly do you help them? Be like Thinkshift Communications.
- DROP a story on ‘em. Detail details, name names. Be like Jen Benz.
- ROLL it all up into the problem you help solve. The thesaurus is not the answer to all of life’s little writing challenges. First think about your clients and how you help them with their own stuff. Be like Mark Silver.
Still shaky after your near-mediocrity experience? Here’s a time-tested trick to help you avoid danger:
Test key phrases of your website by typing them into Google and seeing what comes up. Hundreds of thousands of other matches, with people who share an identical tagline, is not a good sign.
Oh, and a memo to the clean tech industry: Please add “triple bottom line” to your list of phrases that must never be allowed to slip into a corporate website or brochure. No one who is in the power of making decisions about sustainability is new to the idea. They get it. Let’s move on to how specifically you help them achieve this.
If you would like to share your own life-threatening experience with results, please do it below.
3 Responses to “Stop, drop & roll: A simple technique that could save your home page”
Great post. I’m curious - but afraid to try.
Hey Kelly- thanks for the link! Obviously, I totally agree with you. What you’re saying definitely delivers results… er… produces results… er… will take you to the next level… ummm… best year yet… erg… help those in transition… uh… anyway, I, like, am totally all over what it is you’re saying up there.
Ha! I hadn’t considered that fear-of-knowing element. I guess if you don’t FEEL like you’re burning, maybe it’s best NOT to initiate potentially scary safety procedures.