It’s a long-held joke that when a realtor is telling you that a house you’re about to view is “quaint and charming” it really means you’re about to see a space way smaller than the one you’re dreaming about. When they talk about how it’s “affordable” you might be wondering if it’s even within your price range. This kind of consumer wariness may come to mind when you’re meeting with marketing agencies. Although we have our own cache of catchphrases that are apt to get tossed around, you don’t have to be suspicious; but you can come in prepared to speak our lingo. So what are some of the common catchphrases to keep an ear out for? And what do they really mean?
Marketing-Interactive.com published an interview with the marketing director of an information technology agency wherein he states that some verbiage businesses need to be aware of is “integrated marketing” and “return on investment.” This doesn’t mean that these buzzwords should be immediate red flags to business owners or reps meeting with advertising agencies; however, these professionals should go into any meeting with a handle on what the words actually mean to them.
For example, the interviewee stated that “integrated” options often fall short of their optimal capacity, because this word can be applied to many media plans with minimal integration methodology. Similarly, multi-level or tiered marketing can mean touching on just two strata (like mediums of print and radio, or demographics of females 18-25 and males 35-50) when a dozen options are available to further diversify and target your goal.
And ROI language can connote loftier ambitions and quicker returns than is actually reasonable. Often, significant profit takes quite a good dealing of spending to achieve, and the results may not be immediately measurable. However, marketers that can help you understand and anticipate realistic goals for ROI can be a major boon for your investment strategy. When you’re able to directly track and analyze how your campaigns are paying out over time – not just monetarily but also in terms of brand awareness and business model growth – then you can successfully achieve return on investment.
At Mad 4 Marketing, one of our favorites is “relationship marketing” simply because it seems like a redundant phrase; how can you work with a company and promote it to potential customers without building relationships on either side? What next, “food eating”? Seems like a no-brainer to us, don’t you agree?
Never hesitate to ask us about our phraseology for your upcoming campaigns; we’re happy to explain our favorite phrases and educate existing and potential clients so that everyone can communicate openly and be on the same page about how you’ll achieve all of your marketing goals.