Cliche of the Day – Industry Standards

Posted by Laura Bergells

February 4, 2008

industry standards

Don’t hide behind industry standards! I often bristle at my least favorite corporate cliche – “industry standard.” I advise clients to banish the phrase “industry standard” from their online marketing vocabularies.

Why talk about “industry standards” in your online copy – when your customers don’t know what they standards are? And if they do — so what? The phase doesn’t emotionally connect with customers. At all.

I expect companies to meet standards. That’s a bare minimum for doing business.

Think about it — what is it about the word “standard” that conjures up an image of “exceptional“?

Hey, does Apple marketing talk about how the iPhone sets some kind of new “industry standard” for mobile phones? Is that why tons of people hunger to buy those ‘lil gadgets? Because of a salivating, mouth-watering standardardness?

If you think there’s some kind of industry standard for marketing in your industry — smash it.

So tell me: what do you think of this jaw-dropping example of industry standard in online marketing? (Remember, it’s 2008!)