If you watched the Amazing, Awesome Amanda Gorman, our 22-year-old National Youth Poet Laureate, at the Inauguration yesterday, then you saw an Excellent, Exciting, Example of the power of alliteration in real-time. Amanda took this literary device—the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words– to its highest level in her poem, but you don’t have to be a poet to use alliteration to advantage in your business as well. When people ask you to explain why they should hire you or what exactly you do, an initial alliterative response makes it easy for them to understand, remember, and buy into your unique value. A few business examples…
Suppose you are…
1.An integrated digital marketing company. You could say, “We Build Buzz to
increase your Business,” then jump into the details of how you do that for clients.
- How you work with a client to develop the content of the Buzz
- How you target who sees/hears the Buzz
- What bottom-line Buzz results you have achieved for others
We Build Buzz to increase your Business – Catchy, memorable, benefit-oriented.
2.Any consultant, a software company, trades person, financial advisor, printer, graphic designer, or event planner. You could say, “Clients hire us for three reasons: Experience, Expertise, and Execution.”
- Your Experience details might include stories of other clients in their field which means a real understanding of their industry or situation and therefore a shorter learning curve and ability to see nuances competitors might miss
- Your Expertise might include the backgrounds of your team to increase confidence in your ability to solve their problem, and
- Your Execution would include before and after success stories delivered on-time and as promised
Experience, Expertise, Execution – easy to say, easy to remember, easy to buy.
3.Any service professional. You could say, “You’ll get proven Service, Solutions, and Success with our firm.”
- Your Service details might include prompt handling of questions, a dedicated account manager to handle all client issues, real people answering calls, no getting lost in pre-recorded responses hell, etc.
- Your Solutions details might include stories of difficult problems you solved for other clients
- Your Success details would include results data and stories of work for others
Service, Solutions, Success – not sexy, but short, easy to recall, and what clients want.
Your Turn
Think about why clients buy your services. Can you turn your answers into an alliterative trio to make it easier for clients to understand, remember, and ultimately buy your value?
Anne Miller
Words Matter – Make What You Say Pay!
P.S. If you missed Amanda’s extraordinary presentation, watch it here.
If you like this Post, please share it with friends, colleagues, & clients. Thank you!