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05.02.07
About that Corporate Statement... Really Great Or Boilerplate?
By Dan Murphy
Over the last few years, a principle straight out of Marketing 101 has become my guiding light. It's called "impact per inch."
The phrase refers to the reality that in advertising and marketing, space is limited. A copywriter must exercise great skill (as I remind my clients) to infuse maximum sizzle into every single syllable.
So why is arguably the most ubiquitous example of a marketing message intended to generate impact often the dullest, deadliest copy this side of legal disclaimers?
I'm talking about the "About Our Company" statements attached to virtually every public business document in existence. In a typical company news release, it's often the flattest piece of copy on the page.
We know why: They're written in corporate-speak. By a committee communicating in corporate-speak.
But what's the fix? How should these statements read to create impact and deliver a message worth reading? For starters, a company's statement should:
Connect with its customers
Clearly spell out a value proposition
Build the company's credibility
Highlight points of differentiation
Bonus: Underscore its social responsibility (charitable contributions, protecting the environment, etc.)
And here's a tactic rarely deployed: How about highlighting your people, even if it's just a couple of photos on the page? Ultimately, business communication is people communication. Customers first make their buying decisions emotionally, then turn to rationality to justify them. Why not connect on that emotional level, people-to-people?
Now for some real-world examples that highlight these dos and don'ts.
Serve up the whole truth
Consider a corporate statement from a firm I happen to admire, and one that I profiled, along with its trend-setting CEO Steve Ells, during my stint as a food-industry magazine editor. I'd rate this statement as close--but no cigar:
Try a Better Way Today.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bols (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food with Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food . . . from ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food.
You come away with a lot of information, but, I'd argue, an equal number of questions.
What exactly does "sustainably grown" and "naturally raised" mean? These days, most consumers understand the difference between "organic," which requires third-party verification, and "natural," which can mean next to nothing. From its statement, we're not sure how rigorous Chipotle's program really is, and that's not fair to its patrons, some of whom may be quite well-informed about food production, sustainability and humane farming issues. Why settle for nicely packaged phrasing that may (or may not) be all that meaningful?
NOTE: For more on Chipotle, see the Outsource Marketing article, "Add positioning to your menu . . ." or log onto outsourcemarketing.com and choose Marketing Articles under the Resources section.
Be informative--not just accurate
Companies love to detail business data they hope media members might include in their stories. But please--is it more important to replicate you quarterly financials, or inform your clientele what your firm actually does and why that matters?
Continue reading this article.
About the Author:
Dan Murphy is an Outsource Marketing Communications Integrator and a former B2B journalist and editor. He squeezes all he can from marketing copy created for a range of mid-market clients, and also enjoys the luxury of lengthier weekly commentaries on the food-industry infohub www.meatingplace.com.
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