Choose your words wisely

Your words have power. They can win you business or cost you hard-earned customers. The words you choose influence how you see the world and how others see you.

For example, do you approach business as a warrior?

Are you in the war room making battle cards and battle plans to go kill it? Or to go kill the presentation? To capture the prize and achieve a mere means to an end?

Or do you approach business as a collaborator?

Do you see your audience - your customers - with empathy? As partners rather than a force to conquer and dominate? To build good will and trust and serve them, creating that long-term value?

Either are viable approaches to business. Both influenced by your words.

Just like your logo and colors, your words create your brand image.

Branding is about how people feel. Think about how you want people to feel about you and your brand and choose words that create that feeling. Eliminate words that take away from it.

Think about how you respond to customer complaints. Do you treat them as human or a nuisance? It’s the times things go wrong that you have an opportunity to make a big impact. Positive or negative.

Are your words hollow or backed by action? If they’re just empty words, people will return the favor.

Frank Luntz, who worked in the political sphere, wrote “Words that Work” on how to shape public opinion. There are key concepts that work in business too. For example, we’ve all heard the term “peace of mind”. That’s what your customers want. So telling them how you provide “peace of mind” goes a long way to earning their trust. It puts them at ease. He compares that with “security”, which while it means the same thing, it can sound scary rather the softer and more encompassing concept of “peace of mind”.

Putting it all together

Assuming you have your brand voice dialed in, you need to tell the write stories to get people to act. In Made To Stick by the Heath Brothers, they outline the essence of getting an idea to stick and be useful and lasting:

1. Unexpected (get them to pay attention)

2. Concrete (get them to understand and remember)

3. Credible (Get them to believe and agree)

4. Emotional (get them to care)

5. Story (Be able to act on it)

You want to be unexpected because that’s what stops the scroll. Create a pattern interrupt.(Frank Luntz uses the concept of novelty to get attention in Words that Work.) To make things concrete, use simple, clear words that communicate your point quickly without jargon.

Then you need to demonstrate credibility through your facts and examples. Conveying emotion is what gets people to act. The oft-cited example is when soliciting donations for an impoverished group, focusing on a single person rather than an entire society makes it personal and tangible. The power of story is how you weave this together to inspire action.

This week’s kickstart

Review the copy on your website and in your marketing. Do the words reflect how you want people to feel about you and your brand? Is there consistency in your tone of voice? If you spot gaps, rewrite to make it consistent.

Next Thursday: Growth by Design - Free Webinar

On November 14 I’m hosting a free webinar on using the power of design to drive leads and sales. In short, marketing that is impactful and human. Please share with anyone you think may benefit too!

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