The Brand Factory's Branding Blog

The Perils of Being 'Professional'

Devin Anderson Added 7 months ago

 

Have you ever noticed that when you ask people what they do they reply using stiff business language?

This is because most people think it sounds more professional to use terms like 'expert', 'experienced', and well – 'professional'.

This week, I decided to to a bit of research.

I went to the yellow pages and selected the first 50 businesses in New South Wales listed under 'Accountants & Auditors' who had web sites. I surfed to the About page on each site and subsequently picked out all the adjectives and implied adjectives (eg. Having expertise = to be expert) in the copy. Where no About page was available I used the Home page, as this is also a popular place for descriptive copy.

 

The results were telling. The top 5 most commonly used words were:

 

• Professional - 68%
• Experienced - 54%
• Committed / Dedicated - 40%
• Customised / Tailored / Personalised - 36%
• Expert - 30%

 

It seems the majority of NSW accountants feel the need to underline the fact that they are professional and experienced. But my question is, if you don't explicitly say you're an experienced professional, do we assume otherwise? I certainly hope not, as only 6% of the sample firms stated that they were 'confidential', and only 8% are 'qualified'. I don't mean to argue that it is bad to use phrases from this list, just that you don't have to. Your market research may tell you that these are the qualities your prospects look for in a business, but after a certain point it just becomes background chatter.

What if - instead of telling your audience what they're expecting to hear, you tell them something they're not expecting? Find out what words everybody else is using, then use your own. Small business marketing is all about differentiating yourself from your competitors.

If you cut out the fluff and speak honestly you might just find that more people want to talk to you.

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Posted by Devin Anderson at 12:29 pm 0 Comments