Oscar Wilde has a quote I like:
“Don’t use big words. They mean so little.”
But most B2B brands don’t follow Wilde’s advice.
They love big words.
They want to revolutionize stuff.
They want to supercharge growth.
But guess what these big words and phrases mean for buyers?
Nothing.
They are vague.
They are disconnected from the language clients use to describe their problems.
Nobody starts a day thinking, “We want to revolutionize our operations.”
So reading it on a website doesn’t help buyers.
It creates friction.
Hence they become less likely to take the next action.
What’s funny is that employees of the same brands rarely talk the same way in their sales calls.
Because they know the reaction they’d get from buyers: a blank stare.
Then why does that happen?
Why do people feel it’s okay to use unnatural words to present their brand on their sites or ads?
Well, the main reason is a lack of clarity.
They lack clarity around the problem they solve and who they solve it for.
They lack clarity around how they solve it differently.
And they lack a point of view.
So they try to hide behind big words.
They invent a vision that should supposedly impress buyers.
They claim loosely related outcomes without telling exactly how to deliver them.
But big words can’t fix a weak positioning.
They transfer employees’ lack of clarity to potential clients.
When a brand truly has clarity around its positioning, the messaging needs no big words.
It becomes easy to put plain words to work.
And buyers get it without confusion.
So have a look at your website and content.
If you use too many big words to explain what you do, you might be confusing your potential clients.
Clarity kills the need for big words.
So clarify your positioning, messaging, and point of view first.
And use simple words to deliver big ideas.
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