Don’t overwhelm your customer

Would be intellectuals often use poly-syllabic words during their pontifications. Eschewing celerity, they emit a plethora of verbiage couched in a façade of profundity. Harkening to a day when eloquent prose was esteemed, they issue forth an insidious conglomeration of words and punctuation that renders the most studious observer into a state of insipient confusion.

In other words, muddy waters appear deep.

Painting contractors often resort to a similar tactic. They overwhelm their customer with technical information regarding products—information that the customer neither understands nor cares about. The customer does not care about features. He cares about benefits.

Certainly some customers care about features, but primarily because they understand the benefits. For example, some customers understand the benefits of using a 100% acrylic latex. But the focus is on the benefits.

A cardinal rule of public speaking (and writing) is to known one’s audience. If I wrote about Immanuel Kant’s influence on John Dewey, you would likely think I am crazy. That topic is not appropriate for a blog on building a paint contracting business.

Similarly with our customers. We must understand their context—their level of knowledge and their concerns. If we don’t, our words are little more than noise—they have no meaning. We may sound impressive in doing so, but we fail to communicate anything meaningful.