“An assumption of understanding is the enemy of acceptance”
Apologies, I don’t know where this saying came from and have only been reminded of it because I found it scribbled on an index card at the bottom of a bag.
Appropriately, this is the same bag I used to carry 14 Business Plans on a day when it was decided which University of Winchester Students might get funded via the Start Up Scheme.
I say appropriately since, of course, we cannot decide who merits support unless we understand what they are talking about. Fortunately most of the entries were clear, articulate and engaging and of course that’s exactly what you need your marketing material to be.
Some companies talk too technically and use acronyms and phrases that are entirely familiar to them but which may be totally unfamiliar to their potential customer – of course all this does is to make them feel stupid - which is not a great start to any relationship.
Start ups often fall into this trap, especially when they are newly qualified in a profession which has its own “language”. They are so anxious not to look like new kids on the block that they use reams of jargon and inspeak. In this respect my advice to them is RELAX…
Whip through your own marketing copy - is there anything in there that others may not understand? Read it aloud – does it sound stilted? Then it is. A word to the wise - the more chatty you sound, the quicker you’ll be accepted.
If you like quotations you might like others in the series:
Great Sayings 1: By Steuart Henderson Britt
Great Sayings 2: Well begun is half done
Great Sayings 3: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always getwhat you’ve always got
Great Sayings 5: Money grows on the tree of perseverance