When you're framing your pitch, pick your words with your customer in mind. It's often easy to just use the phrasing of an "insider," but to have the desired effect, you're wiser to speak the language of your audience.

I saw a recent press release regarding "virtual schools." This term isn't new. It's been used within the academic arena for quite a while. But the term virtual makes it sounds like almost a school, which is not the impression they really want to make.

Off the top of my head, I'd suggest they begin calling their model "remote education" instead. It communicates the what (education) and the how (remotely, with flexibility), without overused and poorly understood terms like "virtual."

Another example can be found in the coming debate over healthcare. President Obama's plans for healthcare are pretty easy to predict -- just today, in fact, he was working hard to keep the term "socialized medicine" out of the discussion. Also easy to predict is that the Republicans are crafting an alternative.

But in the preview I just heard, they're already making an error of verbage. If Congressional Democrats are the target audience for their proposal, referring to it as the "Republican alternative" is not a good way to encourage defections.

Small changes in wording are hardly irrelevant. When you're naming something or pitching something, the words you use truly matter. So watch your language, and make sure your point will make sense to your customer, not just you and your staff.

Labels: branding, marketing, messaging