Truth in Marketing

TRUTH IN MARKETING

by Marcia Yudkin

A woman who showed me a press release she wrote said in it that she'd gone from cleaning toilets to owning the largest janitorial service in Delaware. Casually in conversation with me, she mentioned that that wasn't true -- her company wasn't anywhere close to the largest. I suggested that she change her materials accordingly. She didn't.

An aspiring author showed me a tearsheet from an adult education catalog that claimed he'd published "numerous" books. The catalog cited him as author of a book title that had never been published. I said he was jeopardizing his reputation to make up credentials. I don't think my advice sank in.

Last summer I presented these (true, though disguised) scenarios to the subscribers of my free weekly e-mail newsletter, The Marketing Minute, and asked whether these examples counted as acceptable exaggeration or stank of lying. In a year when dishonesty in politics and journalism had created turmoil, I was startled at the unanimous response I received. Of more than 100 replies, every one condemned these two marketing miscreants as beneath contempt.

Here are a few of the comments I received. If you're ever tempted to fabricate credentials, reread this column!

If building a business (as I've learned) is about building relationships, a cornerstone of good business relationships is trust. Lies destroy trust. - Mary Pat Messina

Fame and money are fleeting. Integrity is forever. White lies are for saving someone's feelings -- a peaceful endeavor. Filthy lies are for cheats -- a destructive endeavor. - Yocheved Golani

Personally, I don't want to have to remember who I've told what, or worry about who might find out what. You never know whose conversations you might be brought up in! - Melissa Vickers

I would not hire these people. If they lied to me once, then they will most definitely lie to me twice. - Chris S. Merriam-Leith

Besides showing poor self esteem and strong personal insecurity, the inflated claims you describe are unethical and will do more damage than good in the long run. Most customers aren't stupid. - Don Weidner

Integrity is important and shouldn't ever be muddied. Surprising how many times lies are exposed, and the word always travels. - Sal Towse

If they NEED to lie about their achievements, it becomes obvious that they HAVE no achievements, so it is better to find someone who represents what they have become through their hard work, rather than what they wish they were through their fantasies. - Davis Fiedler

This is not 'positioning', 'putting in a positive light', or 'tuning,' these are lies. Integrity is where I place my bets every time. - D A Raynor

A half-truth is a whole lie. Lying is never good for business. - Alan Sharpe

By the way, to get added to the subscriber list for The Marketing Minute, which will arrive free in your e-mailbox every Wednesday, just send an e-mail message to: majordomo@world.std.com with the message "subscribe marketing" (without the quotation marks). It doesn't matter what's in the subject line.

YOUR VOICE ON PAPER

by Marcia Yudkin

Whenever you speak with a stranger on the phone, in just half a minute, your listener gets an impression of a personality, background and attitudes. Brusque. Upbeat. Slow-witted. Prissy. Confident. Similarly, whenever you put words down on paper for business, you create an aura that accompanies the meaning you intend to convey. Your reader gets an impression of what you'd be like to do business with. Energetic. Pretentious. Genteel. Candid. Slimy.

For instance, imagine the person behind each of these four business communications.

Next January 15, I will be crossing the finish line of the first ever, nationally televised Pensacola Pentathlon -- first. If you act right away, your company's logo will be exposed to millions on my shirt.
I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the short red-haired woman who spoke to you after your talk to Pen Women United in Kenarsie last September. I hope it's all right to take you up on your invitation to send the completed manuscript of my first novel.
We appreciate the opportunity to serve you. So that we may continue to offer you the finest business information available, kindly fill out our survey form.
Despite the good work I did for you, doubling your profits, I haven't heard from you again. Have you gone out of business? Died? Unfortunately, if you don't set up another appointment this month, I will be forced to expunge you from my file of contacts.

To me, person #1 appears brash, but not arrogant. Person #2 strikes me as unusually timid. Writer #3 comes across as a faceless, insincere corporation, not a person at all. Person #4 gets the biggest rise out of me, impressing me as a rude egomaniac who assumes that I owe him my business.

Your reactions may differ. You might appreciate person #2's apprehensiveness or find person #4 refreshingly forthright. There is no magic voice that appeals to everyone, every time.

Still, it's wise to match the personality of your prose with your business image and your target market. Do you want to present yourself as the customer's ally? As a no-nonsense expert? As a refined, cosmopolitan colleague? As an efficient, down-to-earth service provider?

Feel free to use words you rarely see in business, such as "haggle," "wacky," "peachy." Distinctive language makes your message more memorable.
Avoid stuffy word choices like "apprise," where shorter, ordinary words like "inform" or "tell" communicate well.
Convey a friendly, personal spirit by addressing the reader as "you" and referring to yourself as "I."
Present tense ("Our program brings you...") conveys more confidence than past tense ("...brought..."), future tense ("...will bring...") or the conditional ("would bring...").
Unless you're an uncommonly nimble writer, don't try to become someone in writing that you're not. Phoniness hurts in marketing. Even if your sleight of words worked, you'd run the danger of disappointing the prospect when he or she called or showed up at your office.

Marcia Yudkin <marcia@yudkin.com> is a syndicated columnist, radio commentator and author who teaches small business owners how to get out the word about their business effectively and inexpensively. You can read more of her articles at http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm.

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