A Dying Art? Literacy In Marketing

One of the sights that distresses people the most when it comes to marketing is the attempts by companies to be just like us. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of companies who make advertisements that try too hard to make them look as if they are your friend. One of the most galling examples of this is when a company will resort to use abbreviated forms of words that we are seeing being used frequently in text messages to fit into a character limit.

When it comes to advertising there are no character limits so there is no need to spell words wrong in order to try and convince people that your product is something that they may like to buy. In fact you don’t need to pretend that you are the customer because by dumbing down you end up insulting your potential customer’s intelligence. Clarity is far more important than being able to identify with your customers. So in the nicest possible way –  it is important to remember you are not their friend. They have enough friends already.

If you speak clearly and literately you are placing your company in a position that customers will respect.  They are more willing to buy from you. There is no benefit to pretending you are someone you aren’t. What is important to remember at the end of the day is you are asking them to buy your stuff.  As a friend would you ask them to do that, you will give it to them for free.