February 13, 2002
Blog Entry

Make it Easy for Your Audience: Define Terminology Early

SUMMARY: No summary available.
Do you know what a "locator" is? How about "PRM software?" I'm relatively technical, and while I could guess them both, neither is a top of mind term/acronym for me. Yet, two companies who sell these two products have sent out e-mail marketing in the last week or so assuming I was just thinking about their solution. Neither bothered to offer an alternative description of the product in the opening lines, so that I could read the first paragraph and surmise what their solution did, even if I didn't know their term for it.

Apositives were created for just this purpose. Try this: "Thinking of revamping your locator, the tool on your site that visitors use to find the store closest to them?" Or this: "SelfImportant Research Associates reports that 47% of companies that need PRM software don't have it. Are you one of the 47% that isn't managing its partner relationships well enough?"

If you think you're marketing to such a qualified audience that you don't need to define the terms, you're wrong. The fact that I once had a conversation with your PR guy about your term or acronym doesn't mean it's been stored away for easy recall. Make it easy for your audience to nod along with you -- define your terms and your product early in your messages.

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