What words do you use when you describe your company and services to a prospect? Do any of these come to mind?

Quality
Custom
Experienced
Dependable
Superior Customer Service

And my personal favorite-

Award-winning

Guess what? These words are meaningless. Maybe not to you, but to those who's perceptions matter most--your prospects.

As management consultant Peter Drucker once said, "What everyone in a business believes to be quality turns out to have little meaning to the customer."

"Everybody stands for quality. As a result, nobody does."
From The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout

Why do these words ring hollow in the marketplace?

Because there must be a proponent for the opposite position. And there never is.

Do you know of any Green Industry companies who stand for "unquality"?

Does your competition tout themselves as being "undependable" or offering "inferior" customer service? Of course not.

The biggest mistake of all

A quick glance at your local Yellow Pages will reveal a handful of unfortunate companies using these empty words in their company name--thus rendering their name meaningless (and forgettable).

Here are just a few from my phone book:

Quality Irrigation
Custom Concrete
Integrity Landscaping

And this being the single most important marketing decision you can make!

Integrity Landscaping!!!???

Choose your words wisely when describing your company and services. Choose words that are simple, benefit-oriented and available (meaning not already belonging to a competitor).

In a recent conversation with John Roark, co-owner of Roark's Garden Center in Hudsonville, Michigan, I said, "You've created quite a niche by selling inexpensive plants."

He looked at me incredulously and replied, "Inexpensive? We sell CHEAP plants!"

That's John's word. And his prospects understand it.