The Leading Provider Syndrome
by Reid M. Neubert
Quick, explain what you do. Some businesses and some
professions are easily enough categorized with a
word or two, such as an attorney, an accountant, a
baker, and a candlestick maker. But does that sort
of description really do you justice? Probably not,
unless you already have all the business you will
ever want. What kind of law do you practice? What
sorts of baked good do you make?
A common complaint about business Web sites is
that they don’t give a clear picture of the
company’s business. It seems hard to believe, but it
is true. It is often difficult to tell what
companies actually do from their home pages. It
requires digging into the detail … and even then it
may not be too clear.
One all too common problem is the "high-falutin"
statements many companies adopt to try to make it
sound like they are bigger players than they are.
It’s the "maintenance engineer" thing. These
statements tend to baffle rather than impress,
though.
Actual examples
The following are actual examples with the company
names left out. Quick, what do these actual
companies actually do?
"… Northern California’s leading provider of
industry-specific outsourcing and direct marketing
management solutions."
"… a leading provider of high availability
software solutions for OEM accounts and enterprise
end users…"
"… a leading provider of eBusiness
applications."
"The Leading Provider of Technology Asset
Management Solutions"
"A Leading Provider of Technology Solutions"
"A leading provider of Internet Business
Solutions"
Wow, so many solutions! It used to be "systems."
Vacuum cleaners became home maintenance systems. Now
it’s "solutions." Some business guru popularized the
notion of "solution selling," so now everyone is a
leading provider of solutions.
"…a leading provider of fully integrated
technology solutions to the market place."
"the world's leading provider of electronic
trading solutions…"
"A leading provider of business services to
companies and individuals."
I am a company and an individual. I use business
services. I’ve never heard of them.
"Leading Provider of Value Based TPA
Services"
I guess if you know what TPA services are, this
might tell you something. Anyone? Anyone?
"… a leading provider of Consulting, Mobile
Communications and Outsourced Business Services
for the Air Transport Industry and beyond."
"And beyond," too. Now that’s impressive!
"… a leading provider of management
consulting and e-business solutions for business
intelligence, customer relationship management,
enterprise resource planning, enterprise portals,
enterprise workflow, and partner relationship
management."
What a mouthful that one is. Get the feeling they
are trying not to leave anyone out?
"the leading provider of private label
service programs"
"a leading provider of eBusiness solutions
to the public and private sector ..."
"… a leading provider of expert-level
resources for the most widely used Enterprise
Management Systems and Technologies."
"The leading provider of communications
services management solutions."
It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it? Instead of
clarifying the company’s business and impressing us,
these statements just make our eyes glaze over. They
are just more extraneous information (or
non-information) to skim over and ignore.
So what is it you do, anyway?
Self-aggrandizing statements like those above don’t
work because they violate several marketing rules.
If you use the following rules to answer the
question, "What is it you do?", you will be way
ahead of the game.
Quick, explain what you do. Some businesses and
some professions are easily enough categorized with
a word or two, such as an attorney, an accountant, a
baker, and a candlestick maker. But does that sort
of description really do you justice? Probably not,
unless you already have all the business you will
ever want. What kind of law do you practice? What
sorts of baked good do you make?
A common complaint about business Web sites is
that they don’t give a clear picture of the
company’s business. It seems hard to believe, but it
is true. It is often difficult to tell what
companies actually do from their home pages. It
requires digging into the detail … and even then it
may not be too clear.
One all too common problem is the "high-falutin"
statements many companies adopt to try to make it
sound like they are bigger players than they are.
It’s the "maintenance engineer" thing. These
statements tend to baffle rather than impress,
though.
Actual examples
The following are actual examples with the company
names left out. Quick, what do these actual
companies actually do?
"… Northern California’s leading provider of
industry-specific outsourcing and direct marketing
management solutions."
"… a leading provider of high availability
software solutions for OEM accounts and enterprise
end users…"
"… a leading provider of eBusiness
applications."
"The Leading Provider of Technology Asset
Management Solutions"
"A Leading Provider of Technology Solutions"
"A leading provider of Internet Business
Solutions"
Wow, so many solutions! It used to be "systems."
Vacuum cleaners became home maintenance systems. Now
it’s "solutions." Some business guru popularized the
notion of "solution selling," so now everyone is a
leading provider of solutions.
"…a leading provider of fully integrated
technology solutions to the market place."
"the world's leading provider of electronic
trading solutions…"
"A leading provider of business services to
companies and individuals."
I am a company and an individual. I use business
services. I’ve never heard of them.
"Leading Provider of Value Based TPA
Services"
I guess if you know what TPA services are, this
might tell you something. Anyone? Anyone?
"… a leading provider of Consulting, Mobile
Communications and Outsourced Business Services
for the Air Transport Industry and beyond."
"And beyond," too. Now that’s impressive!
"… a leading provider of management
consulting and e-business solutions for business
intelligence, customer relationship management,
enterprise resource planning, enterprise portals,
enterprise workflow, and partner relationship
management."
What a mouthful that one is. Get the feeling they
are trying not to leave anyone out?
"the leading provider of private label
service programs"
"a leading provider of eBusiness solutions
to the public and private sector ..."
"… a leading provider of expert-level
resources for the most widely used Enterprise
Management Systems and Technologies."
"The leading provider of communications
services management solutions."
It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it? Instead of
clarifying the company’s business and impressing us,
these statements just make our eyes glaze over. They
are just more extraneous information (or
non-information) to skim over and ignore.
So what is it you do, anyway?
Self-aggrandizing statements like those above don’t
work because they violate several marketing rules.
If you use the following rules to answer the
question, "What is it you do?", you will be way
ahead of the game.
1. You can’t be
everything to everybody
These companies don’t want to miss any potential
business, so they make as broad and general a
claim as possible. "Leading provider of business
services," for example, is a ridiculous claim.
There are so many business services, how can we be
expected to believe that some company we never
heard of is a leading provider?
2. Think like a
customer
None of those broad statements communicates in a
way that is meaningful for the customer. If I need
a new modem, I don’t care if the company is "a
leading supplier of communications systems,
applications, and solutions." I just want to know
if they have a good 56K modem and how much it is.
3. Own a
specific position in the prospect’s mind
The problem with trying to be everything to
everybody is that you become nothing to anybody.
Broad, general claims may work when filing a
patent, but they don’t when marketing your
business. In order for you to be memorable, you
have to own a unique position. Saying you are a
leading provider of some solution does not
position you. "Absolutely, positively overnight"
does. We associate FedEx with something very
specific: fast, reliable deliveries. Even though
they haven’t used that slogan in years, it still
comes to mind when we think of FedEx. If you don’t
have millions to spend on advertising every year,
your need for a clear, unique position is even
greater.
4. Web sites
have to communicate with a wide audience
If you deal primarily with knowledgeable customers
in a specific niche, your ads and your literature
can use your industry jargon and still communicate
with your audience. But Web sites are part of the
World Wide Web. The general public, stock holders,
vendors, the press, and job seekers all need to be
able to grasp what it is you do. Leave the jargon
behind, no matter how painful it is for you.
5. Don’t assume
Much of the company and product information we
find on Web sites seems to be written by people
who know far too much about the subject. The
statement, "eBusiness solutions," for example, may
be crystal clear to the company’s sales manager,
but that can encompass any number of products and
services. It could be a $50 per month subscription
service or high-end systems integration costing
millions. All we know from their statement is that
they do something around electronic business. That
is not enough.
The trade show shuffle
The same lack of clarity and positioning is epidemic
at industry trade shows. At every show there is row
after row of "leading providers" of all kinds of
"solutions." And unless you already know the company
or product name, you have no idea what they offer.
Computer and technology trade shows are perhaps
the worst. Every exhibitor has computers, monitors,
keyboards and mice, printers, etc. in their booth.
But unless they are IBM, Microsoft, Apple, or one of
a handful of other well-known brands, you often have
no idea what they are actually selling. It could be
hardware, software, Internet services, monitors,
video cards, network cards, modems, hard drives,
printers, or who knows what.
And their signs don’t help. More "fully
integrated technology solutions" instead of
specific, useful information.
Web site as billboard
To improve your Web site, it’s helpful to think of
the home page (or a tradeshow sign) as a billboard.
With a billboard you have a second or two to catch
the person’s attention and communicate your message.
The rule is five words, maximum. Show the product,
show the logo. "Got milk?" That is a brilliant one.
Two words, and they don’t even have to show the
product.
A Web site home page can have more words, but the
site visitor must be able to get a clear picture of
what it is you do just as quickly. Leave off the
high-falutin overview description that doesn’t tell
us anything anyway. Don’t claim "leading provider"
status. Look like it and act like it instead. Treat
your customers like they are the "leading customer."
Tell them clearly what you can do for them. Not
just what you do, but what you can do for them. They
either have a need or a desire. If you can fill the
need or fulfill the desire, tell them so. Thirsty?
We’ve got milk. Not, "We are a leading supplier of
full-fat, low-fat, and fat-free dairy products in
California."
Brought to you by:
Reid Neubert + Friends
"A leading provider of comprehensive,
strategic, industry-specific marketing, branding,
and Web solutions for businesses large and small."
(LOL)
Actually, we think it is more effective just to
say,
Reid Neubert + Friends
S M A R T E R M A R K E T I N G ™
http://www.neubertweb.com
Tel: 415.924.8037
Copyright 2005 by Reid M. Neubert
Reid periodically writes and emails out
articles like this one on marketing, branding, and
the Web. If you would like to sign up to receive
them, you can do so on his
Web site.
This article was first published in the
October 2005 issue of our e-zine, Propel Your Venture.
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