A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
This famous line from Macbeth by William Shakespeare, who never actually composed any copy for the web, could nonetheless apply to so much of the text we all come across from time to time when surfing the internet. How many times have you encountered the meaningless phrase ‘second to none’, which kind of implies that you are second to zero, something which isn’t all that impressive in any setting. Maybe you work in a very technical field in science or medicine and you insist on telling people that your personnel are ‘highly trained and fully qualified’? Let’s be honest, wouldn’t you expect such expertise if you are looking for someone who is a specialist in a certain type of surgery, intricate medical or scientific procedure? Many websites advertise that the company employs not only the right staff, but that they have ‘the very latest technology’ or ‘up to date equipment’. Again, wouldn’t you be expected to have that if you were claiming to be one of the leading experts in your particular field? Perhaps your website also uses the infamous phrase inviting people to ‘visit us for all your (insert industry sector here) needs’? While this no doubt represents a very pleasant invitation, it doesn’t really say much about you. Nor does a claim to offer ‘the very best in customer service’ or to posses anything that is ‘state of the art’. If the home page on your website includes such words as ‘our 80,000 square foot facility is state of the art’, what does that actually mean and more importantly, why would your customers care? What benefits does the size of your building actually provide the customer with? Size may matter to you, but what matters most to your client is whether, for example, you can provide difficult to obtain, fully warranted parts, that can be shipped overnight at 20% less than your competitors. This is the sort of thing people want to know in order to buy from you and pointless buzzwords and catchphrases will do nothing to inspire ongoing customer loyalty.
Simon Rose – Author and Copywriter.
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