We’ve all seen it. The company that presents itself as a series of bullet points, on a website or a brochure or a Powerpoint slide show.
- It’s a bad practice
- In fact, it’s a really bad practice
- Because it’s ineffective
- And turns off the audience
- So don’t do it!
Recently, I was at an evening meeting for a professional organization I work with, and a vendor company that was sponsoring the meeting was given a few minutes to deliver their spiel. Those were some of the longest minutes I’ve lost in quite some time! Bullet point after bullet point of all the expected phrases, yet not one thing that could help the audience understand why this company is unique! No real brand, no distinguishing message, just blah, blah, blah.
“We deliver on-time and on-budget.” “Our people are our strongest asset.” “Our customers always come back for more.” “Our project management process is blah, blah, blah.”
Small companies, and particularly technology companies, are prone to this branding transgression. If we list out enough features and benefits, surely everyone will be impressed! No, actually, everyone will be asleep. A related error is trying to market one’s company by over-use of buzzwords, when the only person who actually understands the message is the author – not the audience!
Find the one major distinguishing element of your company, and build the message around that. Is it customer service by human beings (not voicemail menus)? Is it rapid deployment? Is it rich industry experience? Sift through all the bullet points and extract out the one most distinguishing, customer-appealing, and memorable element. Then find a way to make the point stick, so that at the end of any presentation, the members of the audience carry away a clear picture of who you are and what you do.
Make it your goal not to try to tell people everything. Tell them one thing. Effectively!
