Good small business marketing needs words. Maybe not a novel or even a paragraph…but it does need words. And those words can guarantee your success or sabotage you, because it turns out bad marketing also needs words.
When 5G was new, major wireless carriers bombarded consumers with messages about it without explaining how it changed anything for them. Gatorade’s “Let Her Cook” campaign for the WNBA was meant to reference the modern slang allowing someone to take control and show expertise…but became a controversial statement if incorrectly interpreted.
So, again, words matter.
A common problem with marketing messaging is it contains wheelbarrows full of jargon, and any business can suffer from a jargon infestation. Here’s how it can hurt you and what you can do about it.
The Curse of Knowledge
You know your industry inside and out. It’s a strength most of the time…but not when it comes to writing small business marketing copy for a mass audience. Without thinking, you assume everyone shares your intimate knowledge of the business and automatically understands what you’re saying.
They don’t.
The curse of knowledge causes you to fill your marketing with specs and tiny details important to you but not to a consumer. It veers you into talking about features rather than benefits.
Of course, there are always exceptions. An audience of hobbyists or enthusiasts may know more jargon…but that’s a small cohort much of the time.
Writing for Yourself
Even if you avoid industry-specific lingo, highbrow word choices can make your message incomprehensible. According to the National Literacy Institute, 54% of American adults read at or below a sixth-grade level. That means, for the most part, you need to write at or below a sixth-grade level.
Keep your writing simple, clear and easy to understand for anyone.
Again, there are always exceptions. A campaign targeting business owners or a highly educated community may require more advanced language, but be wary of complex word choices for a broad audience.
3 Quick Ways to Cut Jargon From Small Business Marketing
Marketing-killing messages aren’t done on purpose. They’re automatic actions based on your everyday knowledge and how your brain works. But that doesn’t mean you can’t stop them before they reach a mass audience.
Here are three quick ways to cut jargon in small business marketing:
- Write quickly, revise slowly. Write without overthinking or examining every word. Get your thoughts on the page. Then, edit slowly (and with a buddy if possible) for industry terms or complex words.
- Focus on benefits. Jargon tends to focus on features, so ask yourself what a certain feature does for someone. Save them money? Save them time? You’ll simplify a concept by making it into a benefit.
- The double meaning double check. Do any of your words or phrases mean two things at once? If so, it may cause confusion or controversy depending on the phrase. Double entendres can be clever, but it’s better to be clear than clever.
Of course, these messaging pitfalls are hard to spot since it’s often just a part of how your brain works. Get an outside perspective to help you identify small business marketing errors. Book a marketing assessment now.
FAQS: WHY JARGON HURTS SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING
Why do words matter so much in small business marketing?
The wrong words can sabotage an otherwise good campaign. When 5G launched, carriers flooded consumers with technical messaging that never explained what was in it for them. Gatorade’s “Let Her Cook” WNBA campaign sparked controversy because the phrase read differently to different audiences. Good and bad marketing both run on words — which ones you choose determines which outcome you get.
What is the "curse of knowledge" and how does it hurt marketing?
It’s the tendency to assume your audience knows what you know. When you’re deep in your industry, jargon and technical details feel natural — but most consumers don’t share that context. The result is marketing full of specs and features that mean nothing to the people you’re trying to reach.
How simple should small business marketing copy actually be?
Simple enough for almost anyone. The National Literacy Institute reports that 54% of American adults read at or below a sixth-grade level. That’s the target for broad-audience messaging. Exceptions exist — campaigns aimed at business owners or highly educated niches can go deeper — but complexity is a risk for mass audiences.
What are the fastest ways to cut jargon from marketing copy?
Three approaches help most: write fast to get ideas down, then revise slowly with a fresh eye (or a second person) to catch industry terms. Reframe features as benefits — ask what a feature actually does for the consumer. And do a double-meaning check on any phrase that could be read two ways, since confusion and controversy both kill campaigns.
Why is it hard to catch your own jargon problem?
Because jargon doesn’t feel like jargon when you use it every day — it just feels like normal language. That’s why an outside perspective is usually the fastest way to identify messaging problems you’ve become blind to.
