Five marketer resolutions

As someone who loves words and language (and indeed is a writer when he's not a marketer), I'm amazed at how some marketers abuse their biggest tool for communication. Now that 2003 is becoming a memory, there are words and phrases that should be banished from marketers' and PR practitioners' lexicons. Not just in technology marketing, but in all marketing.

Why? Because they're overused, meaningless or lazy. Indeed, I suspect when most prospects or customers see these words and phrases, they reflexively treat them as one treats long names in a classic Russian novel: their brains glaze over and they skip to the next word or phrase.

Allow me to suggest five words or phrases for banishment:

1) "Leading" This standard of PR boilerplate (as in "leading company") should have been killed off years ago. It's lazy. It shows a company can't figure out why its product, service or self is different from anyone else, or -- worse yet -- confirms that it really isn't any different. "Leading" should only be used for athletic events or questions.

2) "Because you deserve it" This pops up in broadcast and print advertising ad nauseum. Admit it: What most people who think they "deserve" something really deserve is a good smack upside the head. We have a culture of entitlement and this is going to change it? Encourage a bit of personal responsibility. Seriously, this phrase is the most blatant kind of ego manipulation that anyone with half a brain sees as such.

3) "Collectible" This label tends to be slapped on product packaging for a higher-priced version or one of a series. If any toy, DVD or issue of TV Guide bears this label, you can be certain they've created enough copies of it to ensure it never will be.

4) "Powered by [blank]" or "[Blank] inside" This favorite of technology and Web site companies worked once: for Intel. And Intel spent millions in advertising to reinforce that message. Still, people buy Dell or IBM laptops, not Intel laptops, and the chip inside is a tertiary choice to manufacturer brand and price. Customers generally don't care what powers something as long as that something works. And it can backfire. ("Powered by Google? Why, wasn't their own old search engine any good? Wonder what's not up to par about the rest of the site?") Sure, a brand name like Intel or Google can give a boost to an otherwise unknown. But if the unknown turns out to be any good, that's the brand the unknown's marketer should be trumpeting. We live in an overmarketed world: Expect prospects to remember one brand message, not two.

5) "... And more" This catch-all usually appears in small business names, company tag lines or advertising copy. I suspect it results from weary marketers giving in after endless internal arguments: "But we sell more than widgets." "OK, OK, we'll call it 'Widgets and More.'" Look, you've carefully identified your target audience, identified what your competition is known for and decided what makes you unique. Why water it down by tagging on "and more" to your name or description? Let people know you for what you want to be known, and be pleasantly surprised that you offer a broader range. But let your marketing message emphasize your core.

Sure, there are others ("mission critical," for example, itself should be on the critical list, as should "interactive," "cyber" and "e-" anything, all of which have that dot-com stench of death about them), but the above five would be a great start. Language is a marketer's tool and, like any tool, it can be used well ... or in these cases, quite badly.