Marketing Technical Products: Five Myths of Writing Technical Marketing Copy
"All my customers are nuclear engineers," said the company owner, "so our marketing materials have to sound like nuclear engineering textbooks.
" The company owner has bought into one of the five myths that prevent technical companies from communicating with their customers.
The first myth of technical marketing is that you have to write up to your audience.
This myth overlooks the fact that customers don't know your product or service; in your field, you're the teacher and they're the students.
A good teacher speaks as much as possible in everyday language and slowly builds the student's knowledge.
Consider how clearly and simply you would explain your technical product to a customer standing before you.
Then write like you talk.
The second myth of technical marketing is that repetition is terrible.
Why call a keyboard a keyboard when you can call it an operator interface, a human machine interface (HMI) or an input device? However, changing the names for equipment, screens and procedures within a document is like changing the name of a road at every corner; the road is more interesting but the audience is completely lost.
Instead of wondering whether the HMI in paragraph 1 is identical to the input device in paragraph 3, your customers should be focusing on your technical message and value.
Allow yourself to repeat words.
The third myth is that adjectives and adverbs convince customers to buy.
Sometimes it seems that every company in the world offers a unique, state-of-the-art, proactive solution that's expertly manufactured to the highest standards.
But no one searches online for "state of the art" or "unique.
" Those words take up room that should be devoted to details about your product or service.
How do you define "unique"? What makes your company an expert? What industry standards do you meet or exceed? Try writing your marketing copy without adjectives and adverbs but with strong details.
The copy that results will set you apart from competitors and prove your expertise.
When you find it most difficult to explain a technical concept, try abandoning words for pictures.
A flow chart, diagram, video, photograph or table may communicate technical information more clearly than any number of paragraphs.
The fourth myth of technical marketing is that you have to use words.
Sometimes words get in the way.
The final myth is that only the people who create a technical product understand it enough to write about it.
Unfortunately, creators are often myopic.
They market their own success and not the value to the customer.
Celebrating an achievement is fine, but every customer asks, "What's in it for me?" That's the question your marketing materials have to answer--and answer first.
" The company owner has bought into one of the five myths that prevent technical companies from communicating with their customers.
The first myth of technical marketing is that you have to write up to your audience.
This myth overlooks the fact that customers don't know your product or service; in your field, you're the teacher and they're the students.
A good teacher speaks as much as possible in everyday language and slowly builds the student's knowledge.
Consider how clearly and simply you would explain your technical product to a customer standing before you.
Then write like you talk.
The second myth of technical marketing is that repetition is terrible.
Why call a keyboard a keyboard when you can call it an operator interface, a human machine interface (HMI) or an input device? However, changing the names for equipment, screens and procedures within a document is like changing the name of a road at every corner; the road is more interesting but the audience is completely lost.
Instead of wondering whether the HMI in paragraph 1 is identical to the input device in paragraph 3, your customers should be focusing on your technical message and value.
Allow yourself to repeat words.
The third myth is that adjectives and adverbs convince customers to buy.
Sometimes it seems that every company in the world offers a unique, state-of-the-art, proactive solution that's expertly manufactured to the highest standards.
But no one searches online for "state of the art" or "unique.
" Those words take up room that should be devoted to details about your product or service.
How do you define "unique"? What makes your company an expert? What industry standards do you meet or exceed? Try writing your marketing copy without adjectives and adverbs but with strong details.
The copy that results will set you apart from competitors and prove your expertise.
When you find it most difficult to explain a technical concept, try abandoning words for pictures.
A flow chart, diagram, video, photograph or table may communicate technical information more clearly than any number of paragraphs.
The fourth myth of technical marketing is that you have to use words.
Sometimes words get in the way.
The final myth is that only the people who create a technical product understand it enough to write about it.
Unfortunately, creators are often myopic.
They market their own success and not the value to the customer.
Celebrating an achievement is fine, but every customer asks, "What's in it for me?" That's the question your marketing materials have to answer--and answer first.
