Copywriting Archives - Stacey Meadwell

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It’s no joke: The power of using clear and simple language in business

*Business language under scrutiny in comedy show W*nkernomics*

There is a segment in comedy stage show W*nkernomics: Just Touching Base where the two employees are trying to find out what it is the company they work for actually does.

They visit the website and instead of plain English find it stuffed full of wordy corporate language that leaves them none the wiser.

Employees not knowing what their business does may be an absurd notion, purely for comic effect, but company websites that do not clearly state what they do are far more common than they should be.

You know the sort of thing:

End-to-end workspace solutions = office fit out
Curated collaborative environments for the modern workforce = serviced offices
Optimising asset performance across the built environment = building management

This language might sound powerful and clever, but it isn’t.

Phrases like this can feel evasive or lacking in confidence.

It begs the question, why don’t they want to clearly say what they actually do? Why are they hiding behind unclear language?

Then there is visibility.

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General

Another word I’d like to ban from B2B copy

There’s another word that needs to join ‘passionate’ and ‘delighted’ on my banned B2B vocabulary list.

It gets used in B2B business copy a lot:

Solutions.

I saw a press release about a ticketing company recently that described itself as providing ‘ticketing solutions’.

And an office fit-out company that offered ‘workspace solutions’.

Solutions, as used like this, suggests an answer to an unidentified problem.

But what is the problem? How do I know what you are solving?

It’s meaningless. Puff.

And that is amplified because it’s hideously overused.

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B2B media

Is your website copy clear about what you do?

‘Of course, our website copy tells people what our company does,’ I hear you say.

Slightly different question: Does your website copy describe what your company does using the same words and phrases your clients would use?

Because that’s the thing, the words you use and those your potential clients use might not be the same. And it’s a crucial distinction if you want your business website to appear in searches.

When you are in the flow of writing about what you do, talking about your services and offer, it’s tempting to make it sound, well, a bit more flash. You might want to use technical terms or marketing lingo.

Here’s an example. I came across a company name, and I wanted to check what they did. I had an inkling were an office fit-out business.

So I Googled the company name to find their website and clarify what they did.

After spending 10 minutes scrolling through various pages on their website, I was still not 100% sure if they were an office fit-out company.

Fancy phrases vs clear and simple

The reason? Nowhere on the website did it mention ‘fit-out’. Instead, they used phrases like ‘end-to-end workspace solutions’.

If you were looking for a company to fit out your new office, would you search for ‘end-to-end workspace solutions’? Or would you search for ‘office fit-out company’?

It’s not unusual for B2B website copy to leave visitors confused about what the business actually does.

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Why you should put customer benefits first in content

This is quite a common mistake professional service businesses make when writing about their services.

They tell people what they do, then they tell their audience why it is important (what is in for them).

Or worse they skip addressing the ‘what’s in for me’ altogether and just talk about what they do.

Orange megaphone on an orange background — Photo by Oleg Laptev on Unsplash

I saw a social media post recently which was aimed at selling a particular business service.

However, the post started something like: ‘At Jones & Co we have an expert team of widget analysts’.

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A good example of rewarding brand loyalty (and good copywriting)

👏 Abel & Cole.

I may be a regular customer but that doesn’t mean I don’t review the value I get from my weekly fruit and veg box delivery.

Abel & Cole don’t wait for me to cancel or reduce my order, instead, they occasionally send ‘A Little Freebie’ which makes me feel valued as a customer.

But not only that, the friendly note they put in with my freebie directs me to their website to a blog post with handy tips for upcycling the packaging.

So to recap:

👉 They have made me feel valued.

👉 They’ve given me another reason to visit their website.

👉 They have reminded me of their sustainability credentials which reinforce the brand image and appeals to my own values.

👉 Given me useful information/fun ideas.

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