Zero-G Creative

Is everyone an idiot?

Apr 28 2009

Obviously not everyone is an idiot. Sure, let’s be honest we all know a few — um — interesting people but very few folks I know would classify the majority of their acquaintances as such. So if relatively few people are, in fact, actual idiots, why are so many marketers and business owners so eager to dumb down their messages in an ill-conceived effort to make sure that every silly objection is answered ahead of time?

It seems to be a natural and nearly irresistible impulse to clutter our communications with the most mundane information about our products and services because we’re afraid that our customers aren’t going to “get” what we’re selling and so we feel compelled to tell them absolutely everything.

I say that if your customers don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them, don’t complicate things by telling them it comes in other colors, has six lights built in and can be used in the living room just as easily as it can in the family room. Instead, why not simplify the message? The reason the iPod became so popular has something to do with the elegant design and those famous white earplugs, but unlike the many MP3 players that came before it, iPod never talked about technology and features or any of that. They focused on a single message: “all your music, anywhere you are”, communicated clearly and concisely in all of their communications and often without a single written word other than “iPod”.

Maybe we all can’t get away with doing things as cleanly as Apple does, but the principle applies to businesses of all sizes and in all industries. Simple messages work best. Think about all the greatest lessons you’ve ever learned in your life… Odds are you can easily sum them up in a sentence or less. So why would you need three pages to tell someone about a basic product or service?

When I start complicating things because I’m afraid my audience won’t get it, maybe I should be wondering whether or not I even get it…

Published by Erik Wolf under Uncategorized