In the latest e-newsletter from MarketingProfs, Wendy Gibson of Skywire Software talks about “The Most Overused Word in Technical Marketing.” What is it? Why, “solutions,” of course.

Another good word ruined by corporate America. Trends like this one are very interesting. A new word is introduced into the fray and has a solid, clear, meaning. But once that word gets picked up by more and more companies, its meaning gets diluted and schizophrenic. It’s just like that game we played when we were kids: The first person in the circle makes up a sentence and whispers it in the ear of the next person, who in turn, whispers it to the next person, etc. By the time the message gets to the last person and they speak it aloud, it�s something completely different.

This is exactly why we try our very best (we are not always successful) to stay away from the words “brand” and “branding.” It means too many things to too many people. And it probably won’t be long before that happens to “identity” as well. Whether you realize it or not, you tie certain emotions to certain words. And when someone is on the phone talking to me about how they need to”create a new brand” and that they need a “marketing strategy that will really create some buzz,” my eyes glaze over.

“Solutions,” you served the world well. We will miss you.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 14th, 2005 at 11:10 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Other posts by Spike.