I just read an interesting article by Dan Pollatta in the Harvard Business Review, with the clever title I Don’t Understand What Anyone Is Saying Anymore. The premise of the article is that business people speak with so much gobbledygook and industry jargon – it is hard to understand what they are talking about.

The topic of communication is important because we have to either create compelling messages for our clients or coach them on how to do so. And whether or not a message is “compelling” should always judged by how prospects receive it, not how someone at your company writes it. We always tell our clients that it is important to present their message in a clear and comprehensible manner, its not the prospect’s obligation to figure out what in the heck you are talking about.

To state this in a different way, clarity is always the responsibility of the communicator, not the one being communicated with. This is sadly the attitude , all too common in B2B marketing. It is our mission to communicate in a way that is clear and concise to all of your potential clients (or most) of them.

The purpose of good marketing is to first attract, then educate, and then persuade the prospect that he or she needs to take advantage of your offer. And while being too cute, too clever, or pretending to be something you are not may appear to be enticing, it is important that you portray yourself accurately. Buyers, both B2C and B2B, can spot dishonesty a mile away. They want to be told exactly what you can do for them and how they will benefit. The hyperbole, industry jargon and confusing language are counterproductive.

In closing talk to your prospective clients not above them open honesty and communication are key.