There’s never been a better time to read this article!
Ah, the business cliché. I never knew there was a chasm until we had to cross it. I hadn’t heard of paradigms until they’d shifted.
The business world is wrought with the cliché. When I first graduated university years ago, I was desperate for a proper office job. When I obtained an entry-level marketing position at a mid-level company, I was ecstatic. It took a few meetings before I realized that everyone at the office spoke differently, like they were speaking code. They were cooler and smarter, and boy did they sound impressive.
Before long, I began to like my low hanging fruit. Soon, all my envelopes were pushed, my bar was raised, and I only ever wanted to hit the ground running. I avoided moot points, dropping balls, and elephants in rooms.
I had no idea what I was talking about, but boy did I fit in.
Business speak, and more specifically the business cliché, is arguably the most unavoidable and addictive habit of the corporate world. We’ve seen many come and go over the years, including:
It is what it is
Creating synergies
Let’s take this offline
Let’s put a pin in it
Throwing x under a bus (see also ‘What if x gets hit by a bus’)
Pain points
As business people, we cannot avoid the business cliché.
As marketers, we absolutely must.
Marketers are communicators. We shape messages, create copy, and develop brands. We cannot continue to fall into the trap (*my own cliché*) of tired, grating messages that consumers are bombarded with over and over again.
Hubspot’s 2014 article “10 Cliché Marketing Taglines We Should All Stop Using” targets some overused advertising copy. They state:
The problem is, most marketers spend far too much time trying to be clever instead of clear. Marketers have always wanted to deliver the most creative and compelling messages to achieve high response rates … but being creative and original is hard.
On their list is “We do X, so you don’t have to,” “Efficient and Effective,” “X number of people can’t be wrong.” Missing from Hubspot’s list is “There’s never been a better time to buy” – probably the most overused call to action in advertising today. This particular tagline isn’t new – it’s been overused for years.
Copywriting is tough. Business clichés are easy. Creating advertising copy and content is among the toughest tasks a marketer can undertake. Complicating things further is the push to meet deadlines and launch projects, which often means the overworked marketer leans on already established copy.
Verbally, it’s completely fine to adopt a little ‘corporate speak’, particularly when we’re blending into a corporate culture. However, when we write, we need to be better. We need to place ourselves in the eyes of our audience, and be clear first, creative second. Remember to eye roll at every overused and unoriginal message out there – to remind ourselves to take some time to construct our messages differently.
So let’s all think outside the box. 😉
