Do certain words have more marketing power than others?

Today’s marketers have an ever-growing choice of how they can reach their targets. Besides traditional media such as print, TV or radio, marketers can use email, podcasts, text messages and social media. Yet, marketing experts say regardless of the medium used, one thing hasn’t changed — certain words hold more marketing power than others.

Identifying powerful and weak words

The first step to incorporating more powerful words into your marketing communications is to know them. A common example of this comes from the real-estate industry.^1,2 Agents often realize a few key words in a listing could be the difference between enticing a prospective buyer and creating suspicion.

Four marketing words to avoid

Some words used in marketing can confuse, and worse yet, result in loss of a sale. These are usually words most would assume to be universally understood as a positive by the audience. The trouble, however, is that some words have multiple or varied meanings depending on who is interpreting them. For this reason, it might be wise to simply avoid these common offenders.

VALUE. Since this term is in the “eye of the beholder,” it’s a risky word for marketers to tout about their own product. The customer will ultimately determine if value, as they define it, was there. Without using the word “value,” you can build your case for it by focusing on specific features and benefits of your product or service.

QUALITY. Technically, quality means conformance to a set of requirements. However, consumers ultimately define quality in their own terms based on how well a product or service met their expectations. You can let third parties confirm your product’s quality and then communicate it with a level of credibility. J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports are two examples.

SERVICE. This is a word that is often overused. It’s much like “quality” because the consumer defines it personally. That means it’s better to just provide good service and let the customer spread the news. Rather than say “great service,” try to be specific. For example, you could say, “All calls answered in 45 seconds or less.”

PRICE. This is sometimes referred to as the “ugliest” word in marketing, because once you start talking about price, the consumer will start comparing you and the competition on that basis right away. This can distract your customer’s buying process and make you a commodity seller. Consider your brand image and ask yourself: “How does a low or high price affect long-term perception?”

Value: An elusive definition

If all customers and prospects interpreted word meanings alike, marketers wouldn’t need to worry about misunderstandings. But since that’s not reality, you might want to take steps to reduce the odds of saying something you didn’t intend. In particular, you may want to steer clear of four words that often trip-up marketers — value, quality, service and price.

What’s all this mean to you?

Certain words add more power to marketing tactics than others. As it turns out, some of the more commonly used terms in marketing can lead to negative results. Words that can boost marketing power come in a couple of general categories: sell and scare words. Depending on how they’re used, both types of power words have a fit in marketing and can help improve the results of your efforts.